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Objective: Childhood obesity remains a major public health issue. This study assessed the association between school-sourced lunches and cardiometabolic risk factors in middle-school students., Methods: Data from health behavior surveys and physiologic screenings in a Michigan middle-school wellness program between 2005 and 2019 were used to analyze the association of school lunch consumption with cardiometabolic risk factors (overweight/obesity, non-fasting lipids/glucose, blood pressure) and dietary behaviors (fruit/vegetable consumption, intake of sugar-sweetened beverages/foods). Students were divided into three groups based on their responses to the survey item if they 1) always, 2) sometimes, or 3) never consumed school-sourced lunches. Groups were compared using descriptive statistics and chi-squared tests., Results: Students consuming school-sourced lunches were more likely to have overweight or obesity, without significant differences in total, HDL, or LDL cholesterol. There was no difference in non-fasting glucose levels, blood pressure, or resting heart rate. Students consuming school sourced lunch were more likely to have increased sugary and fatty food or beverage consumption. Students consuming school sourced lunch were more likely to attend school in a low or middle socioeconomic status region., Conclusions: In this large cohort of middle-school children, consuming school-sourced lunches was associated with a greater prevalence of overweight and obesity and consumption of fatty foods and sugary beverages. School-based interventions should target methods to reduce consumption of sugary beverages and unhealthy snacks and promote consumption of fruits and vegetables, particularly among high-risk individuals., (Copyright © 2023 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To enumerate pregnancy outcomes for a representative sample of women in Australia surveyed in 2012-2013 (primary aim) and compare these with women surveyed in 2001-2002 (secondary aim)., Methods: Computer-assisted telephone interviews with over 10,000 women aged 16-69 years (participation rate 68.4%). Results are weighted for chance of selection and to reflect the population as a whole., Results: Of women with experience of vaginal intercourse, 75.1% had ever been pregnant, 18.4% reported difficulties getting pregnant and 10.0% had had fertility treatment. Of those who had been pregnant, 91.3% had ever had a live birth, 34.3% a miscarriage, 22.8% an abortion and 2.3% a stillbirth; 0.9% had relinquished a child for adoption. The proportion first pregnant in their 30s was 11% among women aged 60-69 and 26% among those aged 40-49. Fewer older women reported difficulties getting pregnant. Of the 21,882 pregnancies reported, 70% led to live births and 10% were terminated. Compared with our 2001-2002 survey, fewer women reported ever having been pregnant. Giving up newborns for adoption has become very rare., Conclusions: Falling fertility since the 1960s reflects greater access to contraception and abortion and higher opportunity costs of childbearing. Implications for public health: These findings on women's lifetime reproductive experiences complement routine annual data collections., (© 2021 The Authors.)

Objectives: Women are relatively more susceptible to smoking-related diseases and find it more difficult to quit; however, little research exists on factors associated with smoking cessation and relapse in women. We examined attitudes towards and perceptions of factors associated with smoking cessation and relapse in women from deprived communities., Study Design: Qualitative interview study., Methods: Participants included eleven women, smokers and ex-smokers, from disadvantaged communities in East Sussex, England, who had used the National Health Service (NHS) stop smoking service. Data were collected through a focus group and semi-structured interviews, and subjected to thematic analysis., Results: Participants opined that it is more difficult for women to quit smoking than men. Women felt that postcessation weight gain was inevitable and acted as a barrier to quitting. Hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle and greater levels of stress were perceived as obstacles to quitting and reasons for relapse. Conversely, the women cited effects of smoking on physical appearance, oral hygiene and guilt about exposing children to passive smoke as powerful motivators to quit; and highlighted the impact of public health campaigns that focused on these factors. Views diverged on whether quitting with someone close to you is a help or hindrance. Other themes including alcohol intake, daily routine and being in the presence of smokers emerged as situational triggers of relapse., Conclusions: Interventions that address women's concerns related to postcessation weight gain, hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle and stress may aid with smoking cessation and reduce relapse. Public health campaigns should consider the impact of smoking on physical appearance and the effect of passive smoke on children., (Copyright © 2016 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: This project investigates patients' and practitioners' experiences and understandings of the consent process, as it is governed by the Mental Health Act in Great Britain., Aims: We aim to illuminate our respondents' experiences of the consent process, and to explore their attempts to make sense of that process., Method: Semi-structured interviews with 5 Responsible Medical Officers, and 7 of their consenting adult patients, were conducted at a medium-secure psychiatric hospital. We approached the analysis from the perspective of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis., Results: Our analysis begins with an account of some of the common phenomenological consequences of the consent process as our participants understand them, but then moves on to discuss some of the contextual constraints which are evident from their negotiation of these understandings., Conclusions: We conclude by outlining a number of emergent issues relevant to the current development of new Mental Health legislation. These include: mechanisms to allow collaboration with user groups; a more consultative role for users in their own treatment decisions; formal training and support for those conducting competency assessments; and more flexible and transparent legislative frameworks.

Objective: Many studies of sexual behaviour and condom use are based on data collected from university students. The aim of this paper is to determine whether first-year university students and their same-age peers have different patterns of sexual behaviour., Methods: Computer-assisted telephone interviews were completed by a representative sample of 19,307 Australian men and women aged 16-59 years (response rate 73.1%), 920 of whom were aged 17-19 years. Comparisons were made between reports of sexual risk behaviours from first-year university students and reports of the same behaviours from their same-age peers., Results: For female respondents, there were few differences in the sexual behaviour of first-year university students and their same-aged peers. For male respondents, there were some significant differences in the sexual behaviour of first-year university students and their same-aged peers and also different patterns of correlation between measures of sexual behaviour. Socio-demographic characteristics were related to whether 17-19 year-old respondents were first-year university students or engaged in other activities., Conclusions: The findings of studies of the sexual behaviour of university undergraduates should only be generalised to other groups with caution. The socio-demographic characteristics of the student population of a particular institution must be taken into account before generalisation to the broader population can safely be made from studies of single universities.