Metabolic Syndrome Risk in Young Adults Attending West Virginia University

The prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is increasing throughout the United States across age groups. The purpose of this study was to collect descriptive baseline anthropometric and biochemical data to determine MetS prevalence in 18 to 24 year olds and to assess change in MetS risk after a 10 week web-based intervention. MetS was defined using the National Cholesterol Education Program\u27s Third Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP ATP III) definition. Blood pressure, anthropometric and biochemical measures were obtained at baseline, post-intervention and 15 months. The overall prevalence of MetS at baseline was 15.1% (n = 14). The prevalence of one or two components of MetS was 33.1% and 23.7%, respectively. Significant differences between male and females subjects were observed for elevated waist circumference (p = 0.0055), elevated blood pressure (p = 0.0075) and impaired fasting blood glucose measures (p = 0.0345). Of all MetS components, fasting blood glucose (p = 0.0318) measures exhibited the most notable decrease from baseline to post-intervention between the intervention and control group. Additional downward trends moving toward improvement were observed for several of the subjects in the intervention group exhibiting MetS risk from baseline to post-intervention, but this trend was not sustained at the 15 month follow-up. Due to the large percentage of individuals moving toward the onset of MetS, a more aggressive and specific behavior tailored intervention may have yielded better outcomes in this high risk population of subjects. Identification of MetS early in life is needed in order to reduce the onset of chronic disease. Therefore, implementing a screening process to identify at-risk young adults will help tailor more effective behavioral interventions

Metabolic Syndrome Prevalence in Students Attending West Virginia University

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Few studies have investigated the MetS risk of young adults (18–24 years old). This study aims to determine the prevalence of MetS in Appalachian and non-Appalachian students attending West Virginia University. The prevalence of MetS in this population was 15%. There was no difference in MetS prevalence between male students and female students (18.8% males and 11.1% females, p-value = 0.30), or between Appalachian students and non-Appalachian students (17.7% Appalachian and 10.0% non-Appalachian, p-value = 0.33). Identification of MetS early in life is needed in order to reduce the onset of chronic disease. Therefore, implementing a screening process to identify at-risk young adults will help tailor more effective behavioral interventions

The Digital Leisure Divide and the Forcibly Displaced

UNHCR has been pursuing an agenda of enhanced connectivity and digital inclusion for forcibly displaced people. In 2020, following an array of standalone efforts in pursuing these agendas – for example, through the 2016 Connectivity for Refugees Strategy – the organization began a journey to consolidate initiatives around digital transformation into a new organization-wide strategy. One priority outcome area is around digital inclusion that seeks to ensure forcibly displaced and stateless people “have equitable access to digital technology and channels and can use them to pursue opportunities for lifelong learning, inclusion in the digital economy, leisure, and solutions.” For a number of years, many digital inclusion interventions have been tied to specific developmental goals – enhanced education, use of digital financial services, greater access to information, among others. There is emerging evidence that challenges the notion that those targeted with such interventions prioritize connectivity for these purposes. Rather, the agenda highlights leisure as a key driver for adoption of digital technologies, and a critical use case for such technologies that bring indirect benefits beyond the ‘virtuous’ aims of humanitarian aid and development programmes globally. In this report, UNHCR and Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) scholars document the evidence on digital leisure in the forced displacement context, highlighting issues unique to that context. This report constitutes a continuation of the desk review,1 and provides evidence from fieldwork carried out in two refugee shelters in the city of Boa Vista, Brazil – Rondon III and September 13 – at the end of 2021. The report focuses on the main uses and potential benefits of digital leisure in refugee contexts. It brings together evidence from Venezuelan forcibly displaced people with an emphasis on Brazil due to that country’s relevance in the human mobility context within the Latin American region. The report aims to inform actors in the government, private, non-profit, and aid agency sectors who are interested in digital inclusion and rights-based solutions for forcibly displaced people. It provides insights about issues of access, privacy, and trust experienced by forcibly displaced persons while using devices and navigating connectivity in their everyday lives. It also explores the opportunities for community-building and local citizenship through content creation and connection with family, friends, and society at large. We reveal how digital leisure fosters unique opportunities for self-realization and shapes specific worldviews through their information practices in digital spaces. The possible livelihoods enabled by digital leisure and the aspirational digital lives of participating Venezuelan refugees and migrants are also explored