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Background: Research suggests significant health differences between rural dwelling youth and their urban counterparts with relation to cardiovascular risk factors. This study was conducted to (1) determine relationships between physical activity and markers of metabolic syndrome, and (2) to explore factors relating to physical activity in a diverse sample of rural youth. Methods: Data were collected from 4th, 6th, 8th, and 11th grade public school students in the rural Southeastern United States in the spring of 2002. Physiological data included anthropometrics, fasting glucose, lipids, hemodynamics, and skinfold measurements. Psychosocial data included parental support for physical activity, accessibility of physical activity facilities, and safety concerns for physical activity. Behavioral data included self-reported physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Results: After adjusting for sex, race, and age, subjects with low level of physical activity were 3 times more likely to be positive for metabolic syndrome compared to those reporting a high level of physical activity. Subjects reporting a low level of physical activity were 2.4 times more likely to be overweight compared to subjects reporting a high level of physical activity. Students with high levels of physical activity were more likely to have parents who provided money for physical activity lessons and sports teams. Conclusions: Rural youth with low levels of physical activity participation were at increased risks for metabolic syndrome and overweight. Effective physical activity promotions addressing supports for physical activity are urgently needed in rural America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: This article describes the methods used to recruit fourth-grade children for a school-based stud), concerning the accuracy of their school breakfast and lunch recalls, and it reports the impact of school, class, ethnicity, and gender on agreement to participate. A total of 522 children (27% White Males [WM], 30% White Females [WF], 21% Black Males [BM], 22% Black Females [BF]) was available to recruit from 22 classes at six public schools in one district in a southeastern state during the 1999-2000 school year. Across classes, 45% to 95% of children agreed to participate (n = 376, 25% WM, 30% WF, 22% BM, 23% BF) with 72% overall. Logistic regression indicated class as a marginally significant predictor of participation (p < 0.04), but failed to indicate school, ethnicity, or gender as significant predictors. Other specific factors that may influence children's participation need to be investigated and results shared to help improve recruitment efforts for future school-based studies. (J Sch Health. 2002;72(3): 115-120) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Due to changing recommendations for fruit and vegetable (F/V) intake, public health and private organizations recognized the need to revise communications and programs that promote F/V consumption. This article describes formative research conducted in 2005 to develop a new identity for the 5 A Day Program, updated to the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters program. The objective was to re-brand the 5 A Day Program''s campaign message to be adaptable, sustainable, and compelling, while leveraging the program''s existing message dissemination infrastructure. Formative research included interviews with representatives from government, nonprofit organizations, and industry, and consumer perspectives from interviews, focus groups, and an online survey. Public health and private organizations agreed that a compelling emotional benefit was needed to motivate consumers to eat more F/V and that messaging needed to be used consistently among national, state, and local programs. Interviews and focus groups targeted mothers who believed they and their families were getting enough F/V, knew they could eat more, but needed to be convinced why they should do so. The most effective messages appealed to mothers'' emotional needs to be responsible, leveraged functional intrinsic values of F/V, did not try to quantify “enough,” and focused on small steps. When the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters slogan and graphic were viewed together, the majority (62%) said it increased their interest in eating more F/V. The Fruits & Veggies—More Matters brand offers numerous opportunities for promoting F/V consumption through this public health initiative. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Overweight and obesity affect most adults living in the United States and are causally linked to several adverse health outcomes. Registered dietitian nutritionists or international equivalents (dietitians) collaborate with each client and other health care professionals to meet client-centered goals, informed by the best available evidence, and translated through a lens of clinical expertise and client circumstances and preferences. Since the last iteration of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics guideline on adult weight management in 2014, considerable research has been conducted and circumstances confronting dietitians have evolved. Thus, updated guidance is needed. The objective of this evidence-based practice guideline is to provide recommendations for dietitians who deliver medical nutrition therapy behavioral interventions for adults (18 years and older) with overweight and obesity to improve cardiometabolic outcomes, quality of life, and weight outcomes, when appropriate for and desired by the client. Recommendations in this guideline highlight the importance of considering complex contributors to overweight and obesity and individualizing interventions to client-centered goals based on specific needs and preferences and shared decision making. The described recommendations have the potential to increase access to care and decrease costs through utilization of telehealth and group counseling as effective delivery methods, and to address other barriers to overweight and obesity management interventions. It is essential for dietitians to collaborate with clients and interprofessional health care teams to provide high-quality medical nutrition therapy interventions using the nutrition care process to promote attainment of client-centered outcomes for adults with overweight or obesity., (Copyright © 2023 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A validation study of children's dietary reporting provided an opportunity to investigate whether cognitive ability is a source of systematic error in dietary recalls. From the fall of 2004 through the spring of 2007, fourth-grade children (n = 374) in Columbia, South Carolina, were observed eating school meals and interviewed to obtain 24-hour dietary recalls; subsequently, measures of dietary reporting error were calculated. The common factor extracted from 4 subject-area achievement tests (scores on which were provided by the school district for 362 children) was used as a measure of cognitive ability. For the 325 children who reported school meals that met the criteria to be reports about school meals, as cognitive ability increased, dietary reporting error decreased; the relation between cognitive ability and dietary reporting performance was stronger among girls than among boys. The mean cognitive ability for 37 children who reported no meals that satisfied the criteria for being reports about school meals was significantly lower than that for the 325 children who reported meals that satisfied these criteria. These findings indicate that cognitive ability is a source of systematic error in children's dietary recalls. More generally, the quality of epidemiologic survey data may depend systematically on the cognitive ability of respondents.