Young people’s attitudes and motivations toward social media and mobile apps for weight control: mixed methods study

Background: Effective prevention at a young enough age is critical to halt the obesity epidemic. Mobile health (mHealth) apps would potentially reach large numbers at low-cost. While there is already a profusion of lifestyle apps, they are mostly non-evidence-based and evidently ineffective against rising obesity prevalence. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore preferences and usage of lifestyle apps among young people in 6 countries. Methods: A mixed methods study was conducted among young people aged 13 to 24 years residing in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Singapore, and New Zealand. Participants were recruited from Web advertisements on Facebook, asking for volunteers interested in mobile apps in general, not specific to lifestyle or health, to complete a short survey comprising 18 questions on demographics, weight gain, and mobile app preferences and then to join English-language online focus groups, which were held during 2017, in password-protected Web rooms, moderated by an experienced researcher. Descriptive statistics were carried out for the survey, and thematic analysis was applied to transcripts. Results: A total of 2285 young people (610 adolescents aged 13-17 years and 1675 young adults aged 18-24 years) responded and completed the survey, with 72.0% (1645) reported being concerned about weight gain for themselves or friends. Later, 807 young people (376 adolescents and 431 young adults) were selected based on age and country to participate in 12 online focus groups, with 719 young people completing. Analysis revealed 4 main themes: (1) feelings toward personal weight; (2) perception of lifestyle apps and desired content for weight gain prevention; (3) social media apps, lifestyle apps, and motivation for downloading and retaining; and (4) data safety and data usage and confidentiality. Young people are interested in evidence-based advice in programs incorporating their preferences. Conclusions: Young people are commonly, and consistently across 6 countries, concerned about weight gain and obesity and would welcome evidence-based mHealth programs, provided the views of young people themselves are incorporated in the program content

‘You know what, I’m in the trend as well’: understanding the interplay between digital and real-life social influences on the food and activity choices of young adults

Abstract Objective: To understand young adults’ perceptions of online and real-life social influences on their food and activity choices. Design: A qualitative study involving 7 focus groups. Thematic analysis using both deductive and inductive techniques were performed. Setting: A polytechnic and a university in Singapore. Participants: A total of 46 full-time students, 19–24 years of age. Results: Participants revealed that social media meets multiple needs, contributing to its ubiquitous use and facilitating content spread between social networks. Food-related content shared on social media were mostly commercial posts, marketing foods and eateries showcasing price promotions, emphasising sensory properties of foods or creating narratives that activated trends. Subsequently, real-life social activities frequently revolve around marketed foods that were not necessarily healthy. In contrast, physical activity posts were rarely being followed up in real life. Portrayals describing a toxic gym culture could contribute to negative perceptions of peers’ physical activity posts and a disinclination towards sharing such posts. Participants expressed that close, supportive social networks in real life strongly influenced initiating and maintaining healthy lifestyles. However, in a society that highly values academic achievements, participants prioritised studying and socialising over healthy eating and physical activity. Conclusions: Overall, our findings reveal that virtual and real-life social influences have complex interactions affecting Asian young adults’ behavioural choices and should be considered when designing interventions for this group. Regulations related to the digital marketing of unhealthy food, and improving the availability, accessibility and affordability of healthier food options, particularly in the foodservice sector, would be of value to consider

Cellular Robustness Conferred by Genetic Crosstalk Underlies Resistance against Chemotherapeutic Drug Doxorubicin in Fission Yeast

10.1371/journal.pone.0055041PLoS ONE81

Impact of tax and subsidy framed messages on high- and lower-sugar beverages sold in vending machines: a randomized crossover trial

Abstract Objective Framing of fiscal incentives has been suggested to be important in influencing purchase decisions. We aimed to examine the effect of framing a modest price difference between high- and lower-sugar beverages as a tax or a subsidy respectively, using messages placed on vending machines to influence beverage purchases. Design/setting This is an 11-week randomized crossover trial conducted between August and November 2015, with a two-week run-in period before intervention, targeted at students, staff and faculty of a university campus in Singapore. Twenty-one beverage vending machines were used to implement the intervention involving ‘tax message’, ‘subsidy message’ and ‘no message (control)’. The former two messages suggest ‘a tax for high sugar beverages’ or ‘a subsidy for lower sugar beverages’ respectively. Prices of the beverages offered were fixed at baseline and remained the same in all three experimental conditions: lower-sugar beverage options were priced ~ 10% lower than the corresponding high-sugar option. The machines were randomized to one of the 6 sequences of intervention. Each message intervention period was 3 weeks. The effect of messages was assessed by comparing average weekly units of beverages sold between interventions using mixed effects model. Results The average weekly units of high and lower-sugar beverages sold per vending machine were 115 and 98 respectively in the control condition. The percentage of high-sugar beverages sold was 54% in the control, 53% in the tax, and 54% in the subsidy message condition. There was no difference in the weekly units of high-sugar beverages sold for the tax message (− 2, 95% CI -8 to 5, p = 0.61) or the subsidy message (0, 95% CI -10 to 10, p = 0.96) conditions as compared with the control condition. Similarly, there was no difference in the weekly units of lower-sugar beverages sold for the tax message (4, 95% CI -4 to 13, p = 0.32) or the subsidy message (7, 95% CI -4 to 18, p = 0.18) conditions as compared with the control condition. Conclusions The use of tax and subsidy messages to highlight modest price differences did not substantially reduce high-sugar beverage sales in vending machines on an Asian university campus

Relative Validity and Reproducibility of a Food Frequency Questionnaire for Assessing Dietary Intakes in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population Using 24-h Dietary Recalls and Biomarkers

The assessment of diets in multi-ethnic cosmopolitan settings is challenging. A semi-quantitative 163-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed for the adult Singapore population, and this study aimed to assess its reproducibility and relative validity against 24-h dietary recalls (24 h DR) and biomarkers. The FFQ was administered twice within a six-month interval in 161 adults (59 Chinese, 46 Malay, and 56 Indian). Fasting plasma, overnight urine, and 24 h DR were collected after one month and five months. Intra-class correlation coefficients between the two FFQ were above 0.70 for most foods and nutrients. The median correlation coefficient between energy-adjusted deattenuated FFQ and 24 h DR nutrient intakes was 0.40 for FFQ1 and 0.39 for FFQ2, highest for calcium and iron, and lowest for energy and carbohydrates. Significant associations were observed between urinary isoflavones and soy protein intake (r = 0.46), serum carotenoids and fruit and vegetable intake (r = 0.34), plasma eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (EPA + DHA) and fish/seafood intake (r = 0.36), and plasma odd chain saturated fatty acids (SFA) and dairy fat intake (r = 0.25). Associations between plasma EPA + DHA and fish/seafood intake were consistent across ethnic groups (r = 0.28–0.49), while differences were observed for other associations. FFQ assessment of dietary intakes in modern cosmopolitan populations remains feasible for the purpose of ranking individuals’ dietary exposures in epidemiological studies

Young People’s Attitudes and Motivations Toward Social Media and Mobile Apps for Weight Control: Mixed Methods Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Effective prevention at a young enough age is critical to halt the obesity epidemic. Mobile health (mHealth) apps would potentially reach large numbers at low-cost. While there is already a profusion of lifestyle apps, they are mostly non-evidence-based and evidently ineffective against rising obesity prevalence. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore preferences and usage of lifestyle apps among young people in 6 countries. METHODS A mixed methods study was conducted among young people aged 13 to 24 years residing in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Singapore, and New Zealand. Participants were recruited from Web advertisements on Facebook, asking for volunteers interested in mobile apps in general, not specific to lifestyle or health, to complete a short survey comprising 18 questions on demographics, weight gain, and mobile app preferences and then to join English-language online focus groups, which were held during 2017, in password-protected Web rooms, moderated by an experienced researcher. Descriptive statistics were carried out for the survey, and thematic analysis was applied to transcripts. RESULTS A total of 2285 young people (610 adolescents aged 13-17 years and 1675 young adults aged 18-24 years) responded and completed the survey, with 72.0% (1645) reported being concerned about weight gain for themselves or friends. Later, 807 young people (376 adolescents and 431 young adults) were selected based on age and country to participate in 12 online focus groups, with 719 young people completing. Analysis revealed 4 main themes: (1) feelings toward personal weight; (2) perception of lifestyle apps and desired content for weight gain prevention; (3) social media apps, lifestyle apps, and motivation for downloading and retaining; and (4) data safety and data usage and confidentiality. Young people are interested in evidence-based advice in programs incorporating their preferences. CONCLUSIONS Young people are commonly, and consistently across 6 countries, concerned about weight gain and obesity and would welcome evidence-based mHealth programs, provided the views of young people themselves are incorporated in the program content.</p

Cytotoxicity of wild-type and <i>Δrav1</i> cells to concentrations of DOXO ranging from 0 to 300

<p> <b>µg/ml.</b> Exponentially-growing cells were treated with the indicated level of DOXO for 4 hours. Cell viability was estimated by the number of colonies that was formed after seven day incubation from 200 cells plated on rich media without drug, and expressed as a proportion to the untreated sample. Wild-type cells did not show decrease in viability over the range tested, while <i>Δrav1</i> showed >50% loss in viability at 75 µg/ml.</p

Diagrammatic representation that depicts synergistic relationship between the nuclear, mitochondrial and endosomal membrane transporter genes.

<p>Lines with double arrow heads represent synthetic growth defect exhibited by the double mutants in different subcellular locations indicative of a synergistic relationship between components at these locations. Within the nucleus, chromatin modulating factors that act in similar epistatic group are joined by bold lines and these factors generally function in parallel to the DASH complex (dotted line). ‘?’ indicates undefined link between DASH and HR (Rhp55) factors. The composite crosstalk between the factors acting within and between each cellular compartment contributes to the resistance against DOXO in fission yeast.</p

Synergistic effect between the nuclear, mitochondrial and membrane transport pathways to counteract DOXO cytotoxicity.

<p>Genetic interaction between the genes encoding membrane transporters (<i>Δrav1</i> and <i>Δpmd1</i>) and (A) HR (<i>Δrhp55</i>), (B) Ino80 (<i>Δiec1</i>), and DASH subunits (<i>Δdad3</i> or <i>Δdad5</i>). Genetic interaction between mitochondrial coenzyme Q biosynthesis enzyme <i>(Δcoq2</i>) and (C) HR (<i>Δrhp55</i>), and (D) DASH subunit (<i>Δdad3</i>). All of the mutant pairs showed prominent synthetic growth defect, except <i>Δrhp55Δrav1</i> of which the synthetic growth defect was weak and masked by the strong drug-independent growth defect of the DM.</p

Functional crosstalk shown by the genetic interaction between nuclear DXR factors.

<p>(A) Genetic interaction between mutants of DASH complex (<i>Δdad2</i>, <i>Δdad3</i>, and <i>Δdad5</i>) and HR genes (<i>Δrhp54</i> and <i>Δrhp55</i>). (B) Mutant of Ino80 subunit <i>Δiec1</i> showed synthetic negative effect with that of DASH mutant <i>Δdad3</i>. (C) Ino80 mutant <i>Δiec1</i> showed no synthetic growth defect with the HR mutants <i>Δrhp54</i> and <i>Δrhp55</i> suggesting that Ino80 function in the same pathway with HR genes to modulate resistance to DOXO. (D) Lack of synthetic growth defect between Ino80 mutant <i>Δiec1</i> and that of the single-stranded DNA binding protein Ssb3.</p