The impact of parents\u27 categorization of their own weight and their child\u27s weight on healthy lifestyle promoting beliefs and practices

Objective. To evaluate parents’ beliefs and practices related to childhood obesity and determine if these are influenced by parent’s perception of their own weight or their child’s weight. Methods. Parents of obese (n = 689) or normal weight (n = 1122) children 4–15 years in Georgia, USA, were randomly selected to complete a telephone survey. Frequency of child obesity-related perceptions, beliefs, and practices were assessed, stratified by parent-perceived self-weight and child weight status, and compared using Chi-squared tests and multivariate logistic regression. Results. Most parents, regardless of perceived child weight, agreed that child overweight/obesity can cause serious illness (95%) but only one-half believed it was a problem in Georgia. Many (42.4%) failed to recognize obesity in their own children. More parents who perceived their child as overweight versus normal weight reported concern about their child’s diet and activity and indicated readiness for lifestyle change. Parents’ perception of their own weight had little additional impact. Conclusions. While awareness of child overweight as a modifiable health risk is high, many parents fail to recognize it in their own families and communities, reducing the likelihood of positive lifestyle change. Additional efforts to help parents understand their role in facilitating behavior change and to assist them in identifying at-risk children are required

The Impact of Parents’ Categorization of Their Own Weight and Their Child’s Weight on Healthy Lifestyle Promoting Beliefs and Practices

Objective. To evaluate parents’ beliefs and practices related to childhood obesity and determine if these are influenced by parent’s perception of their own weight or their child’s weight. Methods. Parents of obese ( = 689) or normal weight ( = 1122) children 4–15 years in Georgia, USA, were randomly selected to complete a telephone survey. Frequency of child obesity-related perceptions, beliefs, and practices were assessed, stratified by parent-perceived self-weight and child weight status, and compared using Chisquared tests and multivariate logistic regression. Results. Most parents, regardless of perceived child weight, agreed that child overweight/obesity can cause serious illness (95%) but only one-half believed it was a problem in Georgia. Many (42.4%) failed to recognize obesity in their own children. More parents who perceived their child as overweight versus normal weight reported concern about their child’s diet and activity and indicated readiness for lifestyle change. Parents’ perception of their own weight had little additional impact. Conclusions. While awareness of child overweight as a modifiable health risk is high, many parents fail to recognize it in their own families and communities, reducing the likelihood of positive lifestyle change. Additional efforts to help parents understand their role in facilitating behavior change and to assist them in identifying at-risk children are required

Characterizing the Gut Microbiota in Healthy Young Adults

Objective/Background: Trillions of micro-organisms reside in the gastrointestinal tract, and play a critical role in the host’s physiology. Recent evidence has demonstrated that these micro-organisms, referred to collectively as the gut microbiota, are intricately involved in the development of obesity, diabetes and other metabolic diseases. Factors including route of delivery (i.e. vaginal birth vs Caesarean), infant feeding practices (i.e. breastfeeding vs formula feeding), diet (e.g. vegetarian vs. low-fat, high fiber diet vs. Western diet), physical activity, medication use, and smoking influence the gut microbiota and contribute marked variability in microbial composition between individuals, yet little is known about what constitutes a “healthy” gut microbiome. Given the emerging importance of the gut microbiota in human health and disease, the objective of this study is to evaluate the associations between lifestyle factors, metabolic biomarkers, and gut microbiome composition, in order to determine whether one or more patterns of “healthy microbiome composition” exists. In addition, we aim to evaluate the intra-individual reproducibility of gut microbiome composition. Methods: Young adults (18-35 years of age) participate in a study visit where they are instructed to collect a stool and urine sample, and complete a detailed diet history questionnaire, a validated physical activity questionnaire, a lifestyle habits questionnaire, a validated perceived stress questionnaire and validated sleep index. During the visit, participants also undergo anthropometric measurements including height, weight, and waist circumference, and provide a fasting blood sample to evaluate metabolic markers including blood glucose levels, lipid profiles, and inflammatory cytokines. Participants are then asked to record their diet, physical activity, and sleep patterns and are also asked to provide two additional stool samples, over a period of seven days following their study visit. Results: Data collection is currently in progress. To date, we have screened 65 volunteers and have enrolled 11 participants (9 male, 2 female, mean age 22.09). Conclusions: In investigating the reproducibility of repeated measures of microbial composition and in determining what constitutes a ‘healthy’ microbiome, our study will provide important data, which will advance the human microbiome field. Findings of this study will enable us to develop rigorously-designed future studies aimed at elucidating the role of the human gut-microbiota in the prevention and treatment of metabolic disease

The Impact of Parents' Categorization of Their Own Weight and Their Child's Weight on Healthy Lifestyle Promoting Beliefs and Practices

Objective. To evaluate parents' beliefs and practices related to childhood obesity and determine if these are influenced by parent's perception of their own weight or their child's weight. Methods. Parents of obese ( = 689) or normal weight ( = 1122) children 4-15 years in Georgia, USA, were randomly selected to complete a telephone survey. Frequency of child obesity-related perceptions, beliefs, and practices were assessed, stratified by parent-perceived self-weight and child weight status, and compared using Chisquared tests and multivariate logistic regression. Results. Most parents, regardless of perceived child weight, agreed that child overweight/obesity can cause serious illness (95%) but only one-half believed it was a problem in Georgia. Many (42.4%) failed to recognize obesity in their own children. More parents who perceived their child as overweight versus normal weight reported concern about their child's diet and activity and indicated readiness for lifestyle change. Parents' perception of their own weight had little additional impact. Conclusions. While awareness of child overweight as a modifiable health risk is high, many parents fail to recognize it in their own families and communities, reducing the likelihood of positive lifestyle change. Additional efforts to help parents understand their role in facilitating behavior change and to assist them in identifying at-risk children are required

Associations between Body Mass Index and Semen Parameters among men from the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area

Epidemiologic studies report associations between artificial sweetener (ASW) consumption and metabolic abnormalities, yet well-designed human intervention studies in humans are limited. Given that ASW contain no or few calories, one potential mechanism through which ASW may influence metabolic risk is through altering the gut microbiota. As alterations in the gut microbiota are known to be implicated in the development of metabolic disease, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of one week of three times daily diet soda (with ASW) consumption on the gut microbiota in healthy college students. We hypothesized that participants randomized to consume diet soda would have lower microbial diversity following consumption of diet soda, while microbial composition in the control group would be similar before and after the intervention. Healthy adults (n=22) were asked to provide a stool sample at three study visits, each one week apart. After the first visit, participants were instructed to avoid all ASW-containing substances for seven days (week 0). A second fecal sample was then collected (day 7), and a third was collected after one week of three times daily diet soda or carbonated water consumption (day 14) to evaluate changes in gut microbiota. DNA and RNA were extracted and samples were run on a single lane of an Illumina HiSeq. Metagenomics was performed using PathoScope™ and Censuscope™ and compared against a knowledgebase of normal gut microbiome data. Changes in read counts over the three time points were then compared between the two study groups. Twenty participants underwent randomization (n=11 diet soda, n=9 carbonated water), eighteen of whom completed the two-week study. While data analysis is ongoing, our preliminary data (n=2) suggest that ASW may in fact reduce microbial diversity. We observed a relative increase in species within the Bacteriodetes phylum and relative decreases in other phyla analyzed (Actinobacteria, Verrumicrobia, Proteobacteria, and Firmicutes) following diet soda exposure (n=1), but not following the carbonated water control (n=1). These preliminary data support our hypothesis that repeated ASW exposure may reduce the diversity of the gut microbiota and are consistent with findings of Suez et al., who also reported an increase in Bacteriodetes following saccharin exposure. However, a larger sample size and additional analyses are needed to confirm these findings. If ASW are found to adversely influence microbial diversity, this may have clinically relevant effects on metabolism, body weight, and health, which requires further study in humans

Effects of three-times daily diet soda consumption for one week on the composition of the gut microbiome in healthy young adults

Epidemiologic studies report associations between artificial sweetener (ASW) consumption and metabolic abnormalities, yet well-designed human intervention studies in humans are limited. Given that ASW contain no or few calories, one potential mechanism through which ASW may influence metabolic risk is through altering the gut microbiota. As alterations in the gut microbiota are known to be implicated in the development of metabolic disease, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of one week of three times daily diet soda (with ASW) consumption on the gut microbiota in healthy college students. We hypothesized that participants randomized to consume diet soda would have lower microbial diversity following consumption of diet soda, while microbial composition in the control group would be similar before and after the intervention. Healthy adults (n=22) were asked to provide a stool sample at three study visits, each one week apart. After the first visit, participants were instructed to avoid all ASW-containing substances for seven days (week 0). A second fecal sample was then collected (day 7), and a third was collected after one week of three times daily diet soda or carbonated water consumption (day 14) to evaluate changes in gut microbiota. DNA and RNA were extracted and samples were run on a single lane of an Illumina HiSeq. Metagenomics was performed using PathoScope™ and Censuscope™ and compared against a knowledgebase of normal gut microbiome data. Changes in read counts over the three time points were then compared between the two study groups. Twenty participants underwent randomization (n=11 diet soda, n=9 carbonated water), eighteen of whom completed the two-week study. While data analysis is ongoing, our preliminary data (n=2) suggest that ASW may in fact reduce microbial diversity. We observed a relative increase in species within the Bacteriodetes phylum and relative decreases in other phyla analyzed (Actinobacteria, Verrumicrobia, Proteobacteria, and Firmicutes) following diet soda exposure (n=1), but not following the carbonated water control (n=1). These preliminary data support our hypothesis that repeated ASW exposure may reduce the diversity of the gut microbiota and are consistent with findings of Suez et al., who also reported an increase in Bacteriodetes following saccharin exposure. However, a larger sample size and additional analyses are needed to confirm these findings. If ASW are found to adversely influence microbial diversity, this may have clinically relevant effects on metabolism, body weight, and health, which requires further study in humans