Rehearsal and pedometer reactivity in children.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether rehearsal, defined as the tendency to recurrently ruminate over upsetting aversive experiences, had an effect on pedometry reactivity. A total of 156 Hong Kong Chinese children aged 9–12 years were recruited. Participants completed the Rehearsal Scale for Children-Chinese (RSC-C; Ling, Maxwell, Masters, & McManus, 2010) and wore the pedometers for 3 consecutive weeks. The mean number of steps was significantly higher in Week 1 than in Week 3. High rehearsers showed a larger decrease in mean number of steps from Week 1 to Week 3 than low rehearsers. Future physical activity intervention studies should adjust for reactivity in their baseline measurements and should further examine the relationship between habitual PA and individual propensities for rehearsal

An increase of cereal intake as an approach to weight reduction in children is effective only when accompanied by nutrition education: a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The main emphasis of dietary advice for control of obesity has been on reducing dietary fat. Increasing ready to eat cereal (RTEC) consumption could be a strategy to reduce fat intake and increase carbohydrate intake resulting in a diet with lower energy density.</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>1. To determine if an increase in RTEC intake is an effective strategy to reduce excess body weight and blood lipids in overweight or at risk of overweight children. 2. To determine if a nutrition education program would make a difference on the response to an increase in cereal intake. 3) To determine if increase in RTEC intake alone or with a nutrition education program has an effect on plasma lipid profile.</p> <p>Experimental design</p> <p>One hundred and forty seven overweight or at risk of overweight children (6–12 y of age) were assigned to one of four different treatments: a. One serving of 33 ± 7 g of RTEC for breakfast; b. one serving of 33 ± 7 g of RTEC for breakfast and another one for dinner; c. one serving of 33 ± 7 g of RTEC for breakfast and a nutrition education program. d. Non intervention, control group. Anthropometry, body composition, physical activity and blood lipids were measured at baseline, before treatments, and 12 weeks after treatments.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After 12 weeks of intervention only the children that received 33 ± 7 g of RTEC and nutrition education had significantly lower body weight [-1.01 (-1.69, -0.34) ], p < 0.01], lower BMI [-0.95 (-1.71, -0.20), p < 0.01] and lower total body fat [-0.71 (-1.71, 0.28), p < 0.05] compared with the control group [1.19 (0.39, 1.98), 0.01 (-0.38, 0.41), 0.44 (-0.46, 1.35) respectively]. Plasma triglycerides and VLDL were significantly reduced [-20.74 (-36.44, -5.05), -3.78 (-6.91, -0.64) respectively, p < 0.05] and HDL increased significantly [6.61 (2.15, 11.08), p < 0.01] only in this treatment group. The groups that received 1 or 2 doses of RTEC alone were not significantly different to the control group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A strategy to increase RTEC consumption, as a source of carbohydrate, to reduce obesity is effective only when accompanied by nutrition education. The need for education could be extrapolated to other strategies intended for treatment of obesity.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Australian New Zealand Clincial Trial Registry. Request no: ACTRN12608000025336</p

The quality of dietary intake methodology and reporting in child and adolescent obesity intervention trials: a systematic review

Background: Assessing dietary intake is important in evaluating childhood obesity intervention effectiveness. Purpose: To evaluate the dietary intake methods and reporting in intervention studies that included a dietary component to treat overweight or obese children. Methods: A systematic review of studies published in the English language, between 1985 and August 2010 in health databases. Results: The search identified 2295 papers, of which 335 were retrieved and 31 met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-three studies reported energy intake as an outcome measure, 20 reported macronutrient intakes and 10 studies reported food intake outcomes. The most common dietary method employed was the food diary (n=13), followed by 24-hour recall (n=5), food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) (n=4) and, dietary questionnaire (n=4). The quality of the dietary intake methods reporting was rated as ‘poor’ in 15 studies (52%) and only three were rated as ‘excellent.’ The reporting quality of FFQs tended to be higher than food diaries/recalls. Conclusions: Deficiencies in the quality of dietary intake methods reporting in child obesity studies were identified. Use of a dietary intake methods reporting checklist is recommended. This will enable the quality of dietary intake results to be evaluated, and an increased ability to replicate study methodology by other researchers

The Use of Low-Calorie Sweeteners by Children: Implications for Weight Management

The rise in pediatric obesity since the 1970s has been well established in the United States and is becoming a major concern worldwide. As a potential means to help slow the obesity epidemic, low-calorie sweeteners (LCS) have gained attention as dietary tools to assist in adherence to weight loss plans or prevention of excess weight gain. Observational studies tend to show positive correlations between LCS consumption and weight gain in children and adolescents. Although the data are intriguing, these epidemiologic studies do not establish that LCS cause weight gain, because there are likely many lifestyle and genetic differences between children and families who choose to consume LCS and those who do not. Short-term randomized controlled trials have shown LCS use to be BMI neutral or to have modest weightreducing effects in overweight and obese adolescents. The long-term effects of LCS in children and adolescents are unknown. Some compelling research is currently underway and may provide needed insight into the potential role of LCS in weight management. The paucity of data regarding the effects of LCS use in children and adolescents creates challenges in decision-making for health care providers and parents