The Costs of Obesity and Implications for Policymakers

Obesity, Direct Costs, Indirect Costs, Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, I10, I18,

The economics of obesity

10.3945/ajcn.2010.28701EAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition9151520S-1524SAJCN

Who, me? Optimism bias about US teenagers’ ability to quit vaping

Background and aims The vaping rate among US teenagers has doubled in the last 2 years, which may be explained in part by teenagers’ optimism that they would have relatively little trouble in quitting. The aim of this study was to estimate the extent to which teenagers exhibited optimism bias, what characteristics are associated with optimism bias and which factors are related to respondents’ perceptions of how hard it would be for them to quit. Design A national, on-line, cross-sectional survey in 2018 using quota sampling. Setting United States. Participants Respondents were 1610 teenagers aged 14–18 years who had ever tried or heard of JUULs or e-cigarettes generally. Measurements Optimism bias was defined as respondents’ perceptions of their own difficulty quitting vaping compared with that of an average US person of their own age. Linear regression was used to examine associations between respondents’ characteristics with both optimism bias and their own perceived difficulty quitting vaping. Findings More than 60% of teenagers were optimistically biased about their ability to quit vaping. Smoking (b = −0.69, P < 0.01) and JUULing (b = −0.62, P < 0.01) were negatively associated with optimism bias but reduced-price school lunch eligibility (0.27, P = 0.02) and school satisfaction were positively associated (b = 0.05, P = 0.02). Smoking (b = 0.85, P < 0.01) was associated with an increased perception of the difficulty of quitting. That association was negative for black respondents (b = −0.81, P = 0.01) and those eligible for reduced-priced lunches (b = −0.48, P = 0.01), and positive for Hispanic respondents (b = 0.47, P = 0.04). Conclusions On average, US teenagers appear to show optimism bias about their ability to quit vaping, which decreases with smoking and vaping and increases with eligibility for reduced-price school lunches

Do JUUL and e-cigarette flavours change risk perceptions of adolescents? Evidence from a national survey

Introduction: Use of JUULs and e-cigarettes is growing rapidly, particularly among adolescents. Research suggests that flavours may increase the appeal of these products, but little is known about how flavours influence perception. We examined whether youth perceptions about the health risks of JUULs and e-cigarettes vary with flavours. Methods: We conducted a national survey in 2018 of 1610 high-school students aged 14–18 who had ever heard of either JUULs or e-cigarettes. Respondents were asked to rate the lung cancer risk, the harm of second-hand vapour, potential for addiction and healthiness of differently flavoured JUUL and e-cigarette products. We investigated the relationship among flavour, risk perception and socio-demographic information. Results: We found that risk perceptions for both JUULs and e-cigarettes differ significantly by flavour type. Youths perceive fruit flavours to be less likely to lead to lung cancer (−0.909 (0.065)), have harmful second-hand vapour (−0.933 (0.060)) and be more addictive (1.104 (0.094)) relative to tobacco flavours. Candy, menthol/mint and alcohol flavours show similar patterns of risk association, although the magnitude is slightly smaller than for fruit flavours. Conclusions: Youths believe that flavours are related to the health risks of both JUULs and e-cigarettes despite the fact that these differences in risk by flavour have not been scientifically or systematically established. A policy concern is that misperceptions based on flavour may result in increased vaping by youths. The findings from this study support the assertion that banning fruit, menthol or mint and sweet flavours could reduce the appeal of JUULs and e-cigarettes to youth, with concomitant health protections.</p

Who, me? Optimism bias about US teenagers’ ability to quit vaping

Background and aims The vaping rate among US teenagers has doubled in the last 2 years, which may be explained in part by teenagers’ optimism that they would have relatively little trouble in quitting. The aim of this study was to estimate the extent to which teenagers exhibited optimism bias, what characteristics are associated with optimism bias and which factors are related to respondents’ perceptions of how hard it would be for them to quit. Design A national, on-line, cross-sectional survey in 2018 using quota sampling. Setting United States. Participants Respondents were 1610 teenagers aged 14–18 years who had ever tried or heard of JUULs or e-cigarettes generally. Measurements Optimism bias was defined as respondents’ perceptions of their own difficulty quitting vaping compared with that of an average US person of their own age. Linear regression was used to examine associations between respondents’ characteristics with both optimism bias and their own perceived difficulty quitting vaping. Findings More than 60% of teenagers were optimistically biased about their ability to quit vaping. Smoking (b = −0.69, P < 0.01) and JUULing (b = −0.62, P < 0.01) were negatively associated with optimism bias but reduced-price school lunch eligibility (0.27, P = 0.02) and school satisfaction were positively associated (b = 0.05, P = 0.02). Smoking (b = 0.85, P < 0.01) was associated with an increased perception of the difficulty of quitting. That association was negative for black respondents (b = −0.81, P = 0.01) and those eligible for reduced-priced lunches (b = −0.48, P = 0.01), and positive for Hispanic respondents (b = 0.47, P = 0.04). Conclusions On average, US teenagers appear to show optimism bias about their ability to quit vaping, which decreases with smoking and vaping and increases with eligibility for reduced-price school lunches

Investigating the Early Life Determinants of Type-II Diabetes Using a Project Talent-Medicare Linked Data-set

The increasing prevalence of Type II Diabetes (T2D) presents a serious health and financial public crisis. Our study examines the hypothesis that adolescents’ perceptions of economic insecurity, along with absolute and relative socioeconomic status (SES), can contribute to T2D prevalence later in life. Project Talent (PT) Survey data, collected on high school students in 1960, have been linked to Medicare records from 2012, presenting a unique opportunity to examine measures gathered in adolescence and T2D prevalence later-in-life among a large, national, and diverse sample (n=88,849). Our results provide compelling evidence that real, perceived, and relative SES in adolescence have persistent impacts on later-in-life diabetes risk, even when controlling for possible confounders such as cognitive ability, conscientiousness, and early-adulthood educational attainment. Keywords: diabetes, life-cycle, socioeconomic status, early-life predictors of disease, personality and cognitive abilit

Mandatory menu labeling in one fast-food chain in king county, Washington

10.1016/j.amepre.2010.10.019American Journal of Preventive Medicine402122-127AJPM