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The article offers information on health promotion, and a non-diet program for adults with low income known as Whole Body Approach (WBA). Topics include mission of the WBA program is to help clients develop healthy relationship with food and fitness through a non-diet curriculum; and focus on foundation of the WBA curriculum as derived from the HAES curriculum and adapted to low-income audience through field testing since 2015.

Objective: We examined the effectiveness of an innovative childhood obesity prevention model for professional development of preschool staff to meet agency health promotion goals. Methods: Targeted training based on teachers' individual learning needs was implemented through a nonequivalent group design. Convergent mixed-methods analysis included statistical comparison of teacher and classroom pre- and post-intervention observations and qualitative analysis of a process evaluation. Results: In 3 cohorts of Head Start teachers (N = 35), teacher content knowledge, self-efficacy, and in-class activities improved, baseline to follow-up. Process evaluation of teacher feedback and discussions with agency administrators highlighted content areas meeting goals of teachers, supervisors, and agency administrators. Conclusions: Collaborative efforts and individualized programming can support professional development and increase teacher confidence with efforts to form healthy habits for preschoolers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inflammation in the body may be exacerbated by food intolerances, which often go undiagnosed due to delayed symptoms and improper testing. The antigen leukocyte cellular activation test (Alcat), a food intolerance test, determines leucocytic response to specific foods. Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of an Alcat-guided elimination diet on pro-inflammatory markers, body composition, and self-reported medical symptoms. Methods: In this pre-test/post-test double-blind experiment, subjects were randomly assigned to either the treatment group (TX; n = 87) or the placebo group (PL; n = 46). Subjects followed a four-week Alcat-guided elimination diet. The TX group eliminated foods to which they tested "sensitive," and the PL eliminated foods to which they tested "not sensitive." Blood samples, body composition measurements, and Medical Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ) were completed on days 1 and 30. Results: Repeated-measures analysis of variance found an interaction effect for serum amyloid A (SAA), with values decreased for the TX and increased for the PL over time (P < 0.035). Body mass index (BMI) and MSQ scores decreased over time for both groups (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively), but decreases were significantly greater for the TX for both BMI (P = 0.003) and MSQ scores (P < 0.001). There were main effects for time for myeloperoxidase (P < 0.001), interleukin-6 (P < 0.03), and percent body fat (P < 0.001), but no interaction effects or main effects for elimination diet. Conclusion: Elimination of Alcat-identified inflammatory foods had a positive impact on SAA, BMI, and MSQ scores, suggesting that Alcat-guided dietary changes reduced body inflammation, body weight, and negative medical symptoms associated with food intolerances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To examine the longitudinal patterns of family mealtimes across racial/ethnic groups and to investigate whether the associations between longitudinal patterns of family mealtimes, baseline family and demographic characteristics, and healthy food consumption in adolescence differ by race/ethnicity. Methods Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study spanning from kindergarten to eighth grade were used for this study. Longitudinal patterns of family mealtimes and their link to baseline characteristics and healthy food consumption in adolescence, as defined by fruit and vegetable intakes, were determined using latent growth curves. Results From childhood to adolescence, family mealtimes were stable among Asian families. Although Hispanic families displayed a downward pattern, mealtimes declined more steeply in non-Hispanic white and black families. The links among family mealtimes, baseline characteristics, and healthy food consumption were not observed equally across racial/ethnic groups. Conclusions and Implications Differences in longitudinal patterns of family mealtimes and in the association between family mealtimes and adolescent healthy food consumption across racial/ethnic groups call for targeted intervention in this nutritionally vulnerable period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adults over the age of 65 years are more prone to gastroesophageal reflux and, as such, are commonly prescribed proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). PPIs inhibit gastric acid secretion which can have adverse effects on vitamin B12 absorption. This quasi-experimental study was conducted to determine whether chronic use (≥1 year) of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) results in decreased vitamin B12 in adults aged 68-94 years, as indicated by increased urinary methylmalonic acid (uM-MA). Methods: Fifteen men and women who had been using PPIs daily for a minimum of one year were recruited. Fifteen subjects not using PPIs were age (±3 years) and gender matched to the subjects taking PPIs. Tissue stores of vitamin B12 were determined using uM-MA. Results: The majority of subjects in this study resided in assisted care living facilities (55.66%) and the remaining subjects (43.33%) were free living. There were no significant differences in uM-MA levels between those using PPIs (Mdn = 1.1 μg uM-MA/mg creatinine), and those not using PPIs (Mdn = 1.1 μg uM-MA/mg creatinine) (p = 0.75). Conclusion: Chronic use of PPIs did not alter vitamin B12 in healthy individuals aged 68-94 years. Larger studies are indicated to validate these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]