Using Group Model Building to Understand Factors That Influence Childhood Obesity in an Urban Environment

Background: Despite increased attention, conventional views of obesity are based upon individual behaviors, and children and parents living with obesity are assumed to be the primary problem solvers. Instead of focusing exclusively on individual reduction behaviors for childhood obesity, greater focus should be placed on better understanding existing community systems and their effects on obesity. The Milwaukee Childhood Obesity Prevention Project is a community-based coalition established to develop policy and environmental change strategies to impact childhood obesity in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The coalition conducted a Group Model Building exercise to better understand root causes of childhood obesity in its community. Methods: Group Model Building is a process by which a group systematically engages in model construction to better understand the systems that are in place. It helps participants make their mental models explicit through a careful and consistent process to test assumptions. This process has 3 main components: (1) assembling a team of participants; (2) conducting a behavior-over-time graphs exercise; and (3) drawing the causal loop diagram exercise. Results: The behavior-over-time graph portion produced 61 graphs in 10 categories. The causal loop diagram yielded 5 major themes and 7 subthemes. Conclusions: Factors that influence childhood obesity are varied, and it is important to recognize that no single solution exists. The perspectives from this exercise provided a means to create a process for dialogue and commitment by stakeholders and partnerships to build capacity for change within the community

The Lantern Vol. 27, No. 2, Spring 1959

• The Case for a Stratified Society • Education Courses • Some Thoughts for God\u27s Thinking Creatures • Sawdust to the Oats? • To Change the Things I Can... • Vignette • I Meet Goliath • Reverie and Reminiscence • On Flight • In Defense of Jazz • A Description • Line of Retreat • Alan Lomax and the American Folk Song • Dawn Stillness • Seasons • Two Poems • Despair • Too Late • Education • For All Practical Purposes He Was Bald • Contrast • I Belong to the Sea • Waves • Love • The Glory and the Dreamhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1077/thumbnail.jp

“I Am Very, Very Proud of Myself”: Improving Youth Activity Levels Using Self-Determination Theory in Program Development

Many adolescents are not meeting recommended levels for physical activity. Increasing physical activity among urban African American youth is both a challenge and a public health priority. Most research in community-based interventions has taken a didactic approach, focusing on skill and knowledge development alone, with inconclusive results. This 10-week progressive activity intervention with adolescents in an urban faith community introduced a self-determination theory (SDT) approach with the aim of promoting the adoption of self-management skills necessary for sustaining activity. Components of SDT included relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Together with didactics, aligning activities with participant interests, and using existing social structures for health message delivery, the approach led to high satisfaction ratings for the three components of SDT along with improved skills, knowledge, and outcomes in cardiovascular fitness. Understanding and utilizing approaches that enhance enjoyment, personal choice, confidence, and social affiliation may lead to more lasting healthy activity behaviors and attitudes than didactic approaches alone in this and other adolescent populations. The SDT is reviewed in the context of this youth intervention

Post running, post cycling, and post training running economy in duathletes

Includes bibliographical references.The first purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a cycling bout on running economy with the effects of a running bout on running economy. Four males and four females (M age 28.25 ± 2.2 years) took part in five testing sessions: (a) treadmill and cycling familiarization; (b) measurement of running economy at four speeds (228, 240, 252, and 266 m min'1) and running V02max (M = 65.7 + 2.7 ml kg'1 min'1); (c) remeasurement of running economy and cycling V02max (M - 58.0 ±3.1 ml kg'1 min'1) ; 0 (d) 40 minutes cycling at 80% cycling V02max immediately followed by remeasurement of running economy (cycle-run); and (e) 40 minutes running at 80% running V02max immediately followed by remeasurement of running economy (run-run). A 3 X 4 repeated measures (RM) analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare running economy and lactate concentrations in the rested, cycle-run, and run-run conditions across speeds. When appropriate, Tukey post hoc comparisons were used. Running economy was significantly (p= 002) lower following both the cycling bout and running bout compared to the control condition [cycle-run difference = 1.43 ml kg'1 min'1; run-run difference = 1.76 ml kg'1 min'1] but these did not vary from each other. Lactate concentration did not vary across conditions. The second purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an eight- week training program that included transition training (one endurance and one interval sequential cycle-run session per week) on running economy. Three males and three females (M age 30.17 ± 2.45 years) took part in sessions (b), (c), and (d) from above at four speeds (231, 243, 256, and 270 m min'1) pre- and post-training. Results from a 2 X 2 RM ANOVA showed that V02max did not change significantly (p = .073) in either modality from pre- to post-training (running, pre 68.2 ± 2.8, post 69.4 ±1.8 mlkg'1 min'1; cycling pre 60.9 ± 3,3, post 66.6 ±3.9 mlkg'1 min'1). Results from a 2 X 4 RM ANOVA indicated that running economy did not change significantly (p = .758) from pre- to posttraining in the control condition. Gain score analysis showed that running economy improved at post-training (p - .007) and the greatest improvement occurred at the first speed when compared to all other speeds (p = .000). Lactate concentrations were significantly (p = .002) higher pre- to post-training in the control condition but showed no significant difference in gain scores. It was concluded that running economy declines from control conditions whether the preceding exercise bout is running or cycling and that a cycle-run transition training program of individually constant training volume but increased duration and intensity can improve running economy after cycling.M.S. Ed. (Master of Education

Age-related Effects on Word Recognition: Reliance on Cognitive Control Systems with Structural Declines in Speech-responsive Cortex

Speech recognition can be difficult and effortful for older adults, even for those with normal hearing. Declining frontal lobe cognitive control has been hypothesized to cause age-related speech recognition problems. This study examined age-related changes in frontal lobe function for 15 clinically normal hearing adults (21–75 years) when they performed a word recognition task that was made challenging by decreasing word intelligibility. Although there were no age-related changes in word recognition, there were age-related changes in the degree of activity within left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and anterior cingulate (ACC) regions during word recognition. Older adults engaged left MFG and ACC regions when words were most intelligible compared to younger adults who engaged these regions when words were least intelligible. Declining gray matter volume within temporal lobe regions responsive to word intelligibility significantly predicted left MFG activity, even after controlling for total gray matter volume, suggesting that declining structural integrity of brain regions responsive to speech leads to the recruitment of frontal regions when words are easily understood

A multinational Delphi consensus to end the COVID-19 public health threat

Abstract Despite notable scientific and medical advances, broader political, socioeconomic and behavioural factors continue to undercut the response to the COVID-19 pandemic . Here we convened, as part of this Delphi study, a diverse, multidisciplinary panel of 386 academic, health, non-governmental organization, government and other experts in COVID-19 response from 112 countries and territories to recommend specific actions to end this persistent global threat to public health. The panel developed a set of 41 consensus statements and 57 recommendations to governments, health systems, industry and other key stakeholders across six domains: communication; health systems; vaccination; prevention; treatment and care; and inequities. In the wake of nearly three years of fragmented global and national responses, it is instructive to note that three of the highest-ranked recommendations call for the adoption of whole-of-society and whole-of-government approaches , while maintaining proven prevention measures using a vaccines-plus approach that employs a range of public health and financial support measures to complement vaccination. Other recommendations with at least 99% combined agreement advise governments and other stakeholders to improve communication, rebuild public trust and engage communities in the management of pandemic responses. The findings of the study, which have been further endorsed by 184 organizations globally, include points of unanimous agreement, as well as six recommendations with >5% disagreement, that provide health and social policy actions to address inadequacies in the pandemic response and help to bring this public health threat to an end

A multinational Delphi consensus to end the COVID-19 public health threat

Abstract Despite notable scientific and medical advances, broader political, socioeconomic and behavioural factors continue to undercut the response to the COVID-19 pandemic 1,2 . Here we convened, as part of this Delphi study, a diverse, multidisciplinary panel of 386 academic, health, non-governmental organization, government and other experts in COVID-19 response from 112 countries and territories to recommend specific actions to end this persistent global threat to public health. The panel developed a set of 41 consensus statements and 57 recommendations to governments, health systems, industry and other key stakeholders across six domains: communication; health systems; vaccination; prevention; treatment and care; and inequities. In the wake of nearly three years of fragmented global and national responses, it is instructive to note that three of the highest-ranked recommendations call for the adoption of whole-of-society and whole-of-government approaches 1 , while maintaining proven prevention measures using a vaccines-plus approach 2 that employs a range of public health and financial support measures to complement vaccination. Other recommendations with at least 99% combined agreement advise governments and other stakeholders to improve communication, rebuild public trust and engage communities 3 in the management of pandemic responses. The findings of the study, which have been further endorsed by 184 organizations globally, include points of unanimous agreement, as well as six recommendations with >5% disagreement, that provide health and social policy actions to address inadequacies in the pandemic response and help to bring this public health threat to an end