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ObjectiveTo describe availability and frequency of use of local snack-food outlets and determine whether reported use of these outlets was associated with dietary intakes.DesignData were cross-sectional. Availability and frequency of use of three types of local snack-food outlets were reported. Daily dietary intakes were based on the average of up to four 24 h dietary recalls. Multivariable linear regression models estimated average daily intakes of energy, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and snack foods/sweets associated with use of outlets.SettingMulti-site, observational cohort study in the USA, 2004-2006.SubjectsGirls aged 6-8 years (n 1010).ResultsWeekly frequency of use of local snack-food outlets increased with number of available types of outlets. Girls with access to only one type of outlet reported consuming food/beverage items less frequently than girls with access to two or three types of outlets (P 1 to 3 times/week consumed 0·27 (95 % CI 0·13, 0·40) servings of SSB more daily than girls who reported no use. Girls who reported using outlets>3 times/week consumed 449·61 (95 % CI 134·93, 764·29) kJ, 0·43 (95 % CI 0·29, 0·58) servings of SSB and 0·38 (95 % CI 0·12, 0·65) servings of snack foods/sweets more daily than those who reported no use.ConclusionsGirls' frequency of use of local snack-food outlets increases with the number of available types of outlets and is associated with greater daily intakes of energy and servings of SSB and snack foods/sweets.

BACKGROUND: Phthalate exposure is ubiquitous and may affect biological pathways related to regulators of blood pressure. Given the profound changes in vasculature during pregnancy, pregnant women may be particularly susceptible to the potential effects of phthalates on blood pressure. OBJECTIVES: We examined associations of phthalate exposure during pregnancy with maternal blood pressure trajectories from mid-pregnancy through 72 months postpartum. METHODS: Women with singleton pregnancies delivering a live birth in Mexico City were enrolled during the second trimester (푛 = 892). Spot urine samples from the second and third trimesters were analyzed for 15 phthalate metabolites. Blood pressure and covariate data were collected over nine visits through 72 months postpartum. We used linear, logistic, and linear mixed models; latent class growth models (LCGMs); and Bayesian kernel machine regression to estimate the relationship of urinary phthalate biomarkers with maternal blood pressure. RESULTS: As a joint mixture, phthalate biomarker concentrations during pregnancy were associated with higher blood pressure rise during mid-to-late gestation. With respect to individual biomarkers, second trimester concentrations of monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate biomarkers (ΣDEHP) were associated with higher third trimester blood pressure. Two trajectory classes were identified by LCGM, characterized by increasing blood pressure through 72 months postpartum ("increase-increase") or decreased blood pressure through 18 months postpartum with a gradual increase thereafter ("decrease-increase"). Increasing exposure to phthalate mixtures during pregnancy was associated with higher odds of being in the increase-increase class. Similar associations were observed for mono-2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl terephthalate (MECPTP) and dibutyl phthalate (ΣDBP) biomarkers. When specific time periods were examined, we observed specific temporal relationships were observed for RDEHP, MECPTP, MBzP, and ΣDBP. DISCUSSION: In our cohort of pregnant women from Mexico City, exposure to phthalates and phthalate biomarkers was associated with higher blood pressure during late pregnancy, as well as with long-term changes in blood pressure trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Current validated neonatal body composition methods are limited/impractical for use outside of a clinical setting because they are labor intensive, time consuming, and require expensive equipment. The purpose of this study was to develop an anthropometric model to estimate neonatal fat mass (kg) using an air displacement plethysmography (PEA POD® Infant Body Composition System) as the criterion. Methods A total of 128 healthy term infants, 60 females and 68 males, from a multiethnic cohort were included in the analyses. Gender, race/ethnicity, gestational age, age (in days), anthropometric measurements of weight, length, abdominal circumference, skin-fold thicknesses (triceps, biceps, sub scapular, and thigh), and body composition by PEA POD® were collected within 1-3 days of birth. Backward stepwise linear regression was used to determine the model that best predicted neonatal fat mass. Results The statistical model that best predicted neonatal fat mass (kg) was: -0.012 -0.064*gender + 0.024*day of measurement post-delivery -0.150*weight (kg) + 0.055*weight (kg)2 + 0.046*ethnicity + 0.020*sum of three skin-fold thicknesses (triceps, sub scapular, and thigh); R2 = 0.81, MSE = 0.08 kg. Conclusions Our anthropometric model explained 81% of the variance in neonatal fat mass. Future studies with a greater variety of neonatal anthropometric measurements may provide equations that explain more of the variance.

Nutrition is fundamental to maintaining health, managing chronic diseases, and preventing illness, but unlike physical activity there is not yet a way to unobtrusively and automatically measure nutrition. While recent work has shown that body-worn sensors can be used to identify meal times, to have an impact on health and fully replace manual food logs, we need to identify not only when someone is eating, but what they are consuming. However, it is challenging to collect labeled data in daily life, while lab data does not always generalize to reality. To address this, we develop new algorithms for semi-supervised hierarchical classification that enable higher accuracy when training on data with weak labels. Using this approach, we present the first results on automated classification of foods consumed in data collected from body-worn audio and motion sensors in free-living environments. We show that by exploiting a mix of lab and free-living data, we can achieve a classification accuracy of 88% on unrestricted meals (e.g. stir fry, pizza, salad) in unrestricted environments such as home and restaurants. Ultimately, this lays the foundation for body-worn devices that can calculate calories and macronutrients by identifying food type and quantity.

Background: To examine associations of adolescents' weight status perception and weight control intentions with dietary intakes., Methods: Cross-sectional data from adolescents aged 10⁻15 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 2005⁻2014 (n = 4940). Adolescents responded to questions regarding weight perception and if they were trying to change their weight. Intakes of calories, protein, carbohydrate, fat, saturated fat, sugar, and fiber were assessed using 24-h dietary recalls. Multivariable linear regression estimated associations of intakes with weight perception and weight control intentions., Results: The majority of adolescents perceived their weight as "about right"; however, 45% and 46% of boys and girls, respectively, reported trying to change their weight. Weight perception was not associated with intakes, with the exception of lower sugar (-13.65 g, 95% CI: -23.06, -4.23) and higher percent calories from protein (1.01%, 95% CI: 0.16, 1.87) in boys with overweight/obesity who perceived themselves as overweight, as well as lower percent calories from saturated fat (-1.04%, 95% CI: -2.24, -0.17) among girls with normal weight who perceived themselves as overweight. Weight control intentions were associated with intakes in boys only. Compared to boys who never tried to lose weight, boys who tried to lose weight consumed fewer calories (-188.34 kcal, 95% CI: -357.67, -19.01), a lower percent of calories from fat (-1.41%, 95% CI: -2.80, -0.02), and a greater percent of calories from protein (1.48%, 95% CI: 0.41, 2.55)., Conclusions: Despite perceiving weight as "about right", many adolescents reported trying to change their weight, which was associated with some dietary intakes. Efforts may be necessary to educate adolescents on healthy nutrition and weight management behaviors.