Library Bulletin – Journal Articles – February 2010
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OBESITY
APHRAMOR, Lucy. Disability and the anti-obesity offensive. Disability and Society Vol 24, No 7 - December 2009: 897-909
Abstract: This paper expands a discussion begun by a fat activist in the UK disability literature to argue that fatness is a disability issue. Some ways in which fat people are oppressed by the same ideological practices and values that oppress (other) disabled people are explored. Fatness has typically been excluded from consideration by disability scholars and in this lacuna an equivalence is drawn between attitudes to fatness and psychological distress within disability studies. In conclusion, it urges discussion on theoretical perspectives of disability that embrace fatness and sees this as a prerequisite to developing strategies that enhance both disability and fat rights.
COOK, Debbie. Adult obesity 2 : treatment and management options for weight loss and maintenance. Nursing Times Vol 105, No 46 - 24 November 2009: 24-26
Abstract: Nurses need to know about the main management options for treating this common condition, and how best to help patients maintain weight loss. This second in a two part unit discusses the various management options available to treat people who are overweight or obese. Part 1 examined the multifaceted causes of obesity, the rising prevalence, consequences and patient assessment. This part outlines management options, including dietary change, physical activity, pharmacotherapy and surgery. The issue of how to maintain weight once lost is also examined.
DE LA HUNTLY, A. The EU Childhood Obesity Project. Nutrition Bulletin Vol 34, No 4 - December 2009: 403-406
Abstract: The European Union Childhood Obesity Project was set up in 2001 to test the hypothesis that the higher risk of obesity seen in formula-fed infants - as compared with breastfed babies - is a result of the higher protein content in infant formulas than in breast milk. The infants participating in the study were recruited between 2002 and 2004 and followed up for 2 years. The first results of the study were published earlier this year. After 2 years, the weight-for-length and body mass index of the infants fed the lower-protein formula were significantly lower than those fed the higher-protein formulas. Extrapolating from previous studies suggests that the children in the higher-protein group have a 13% increased risk of being obese in adolescence compared with those in the lower-protein group. An analysis of the timing of weaning has also been published: this showed that formula-fed infants were given solid foods on average 2 weeks earlier than breastfed infants (19 weeks compared with 21 weeks) and were twice as likely to be introduced to solid foods before the age of 4 months as breastfed infants.
HAAPALA, Irja and BARENGO, Noel C and others. Weight loss by mobile phone : a 1-year effectiveness study. Public Health Nutrition Vol 12, No 12 - December 2009: 2382-2391
Abstract: Objective: To investigate the short- and long-term effectiveness and the predictors of weight loss in a mobile phone weight-loss programme among healthy overweight adults. Design: One hundred and twenty-five healthy, overweight (BMI = 26-36 kg/m2), 25-44-year-old, screened volunteers were randomized to an experimental group (n62) to use a mobile phone-operated weight-loss programme or to a control group (n63) with no intervention. Via text messaging, the programme instructed a staggered reduction of food intake and daily weight reporting with immediate tailored feedback. Assessments were at 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months for the experimental group; at 0 and 12 months for the control group. Main outcome variables were changes in body weight and waist circumference. Results: By 12 months the experimental group had lost significantly more weight than the control group (4.5 (sd5.0) v. 1.1 (sd5.8) kg; F(1,80) = 8.0, P= 0.006) and had a greater reduction in waist circumference (6.3 (sd5.3) v. 2.4 (sd5.4) cm; F(1,80) = 55.2, P= 0.0001). Early weight loss, self-efficacy, contact frequency, attitudes towards the medium, changes in work and family life and changes made in dietary habits were the strongest predictors of weight loss. Conclusions: This mobile phone weight-loss programme was effective in short- and long-term weight loss. As a minimum-advice, maximal-contact programme, it offers ideas for future weight-loss programmes.
JUST, David R and PAYNE, Collin R. Obesity : can behavioral economics help? Annals of Behavioral Medicine Vol 38, Supplement 1 - 2009: S47-S55
Abstract: Consumers regularly and predictably behave in ways that contradict standard assumptions of economic analysis such that they make decisions that prevent them from reaching rationally intended goals. These contradictions play a significant role with respect to consumers’ food decisions and the effect these decisions have on their health. Food decisions that are rationally derived include those that trade short-term gains of sensory pleasure (hedonic) for longer term gains of health and wellness (utilitarian). However, extra-rational food decisions are much more common. They can occur because of the contexts in which they are made-such as being distracted or pressed for time. In these contexts, heuristics (or rules of thumb) are used. Because food decisions are made with little cognitive involvement, food policies designed to appeal to highly cognitive thought (e.g., fat taxes, detailed information labels) are likely to have little impact. Furthermore, food marketing environments influence not only what foods consumers buy but also how much. As a general principle, when individuals do not behave in their own interest, markets will feed perverse and sub-optimal behaviors. Given the limited ability of individuals to retain and use accurate health information coupled with varying levels of self control, profit motivations of marketers can become predatory-though not necessarily malicious. Alternative policy options that do not restrict choice are outlined, which enable consumers to make better decisions. These options allow for profit motivations of marketers to align with the long-term well being of the consumer.
LUSZCZYNSKA, Aleksandra and HAYNES, Catherine. Changing nutrition, physical activity and body weight among student nurses and midwives : effects of a planning intervention and self-efficacy beliefs. Journal of Health Psychology Vol 14, No 8 - November 2009: 1075-1084
Abstract: The study tested if effects of a planning intervention on fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity and body weight may be moderated by self-efficacy. Student nurses and midwives (N = 182) were randomly assigned to the planning or the control condition. The intervention included action and coping plans and was followed by two booster sessions. Follow-up took place at two months after last booster session. The intervention affected fruit and vegetable intake. Additionally, body mass index of overweight participants was reduced. Baseline self-efficacy moderated the effects of the intervention: only respondents reporting strong efficacy beliefs improved their diet and exercise.
MORLEY, Belinda and WAKEFIELD, Melanie and others. Impact of a mass media campaign linking abdominal obesity and cancer: a natural exposure evaluation. Health Education Research Vol 24, No 6 - December 2009: 1069-1079
Abstract: A mass media campaign aired in the Australian state of Victoria aimed to increase awareness and encourage identification of the abdominal circumference for men and women that placed them at increased risk of cancer. The evaluation assessed the extent to which ad exposure was associated with improvement in awareness, intentions and behaviours with respect to weight and cancer. Respondents were overweight or obese adults aged 30-69 years and exposure to the advertisement occurred via commercial television programmes in a natural setting. Questionnaire assessment occurred before, immediately after and 2 weeks following exposure to the advertising, and a comparison group who did not recall the ad completed the same interviews. For the main analyses, the exposure group was those who recalled the advertisement at post-exposure and follow-up (n?=?101). Those who did not recall it at either stage comprised the unexposed group (n?=?81). The campaign achieved its primary objective of increased awareness of the link between obesity and cancer and the specific waist sizes indicative of risk, as well as increased behavioural intentions with respect to weight and cancer. However, it did not have an effect on self-awareness of weight status, perceived personal risk of cancer or weight loss behaviour.
ROBINSON, Sally and PAGE, Kirsty. Pre-school overweight and obesity in England. Health Education Vol 109, No 6 - 2009: 507-521
Abstract: Purpose: This paper aims to provide a summary of current policy and research related to pre-school overweight and obesity, and to provide a rationale for why early years settings are being placed at the forefront of strategies to address the problem. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a narrative review of current research, policy and practice. Findings: Today 22.9 per cent of four and five year olds are overweight or obese. The Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives strategy is a cross-government initiative, which aims to make England the first major country to reverse the obesity epidemic. The pre-school period represents a critical time for interventions, which could prevent excess weight gain and its associated physical and psychological damage to health. Practical implications: Practitioners in early years settings have a significant contribution to make to promoting the healthy weight of children. Originality/value: Concerns about overweight in childhood have received much attention. This paper seeks to raise awareness of the importance of the pre-school period, and to provide a useful review of current research, policy and sources of support for those who are best placed to address the issue.
ZICK, Cathleen D and SMITH, Ken R and others. Running to the Store? The relationship between neighborhood environments and the risk of obesity. Social Science and Medicine Vol 69, No 10 - November 2009: 1493-1500
Abstract: We expand the search for modifiable features of neighborhood environments that alter obesity risk in two ways. First, we examine residents' access to neighborhood retail food options in combination with neighborhood features that facilitate physical activity. Second, we evaluate neighborhood features for both low income and non-low income neighborhoods (bottom quartile of median neighborhood income versus the top three quartiles). Our analyses use data from the Utah Population Database merged with U.S. Census data and Dun & Bradstreet business data for Salt Lake County, Utah. Linear regressions for BMI and logistic regressions for the likelihood of being obese are estimated using various measures of the individual's neighborhood food options and walkability features. As expected, walkability indicators of older neighborhoods and neighborhoods where a higher fraction of the population walks to work is related to a lower BMI/obesity risk, although the strength of the effects varies by neighborhood income. Surprisingly, the walkability indicator of neighborhoods with higher intersection density was linked to higher BMI/obesity risk. The expected inverse relationship between the walkability indicator of population density and BMI/obesity risk is found only in low income neighborhoods. We find a strong association between neighborhood retail food options and BMI/obesity risk with the magnitude of the effects again varying by neighborhood income. For individuals living in non-low income neighborhoods, having one or more convenience stores, full-service restaurants, or fast food restaurants is associated with reduced BMI/obesity risk, compared to having no neighborhood food outlets. The presence of at least one healthy grocery option in low income neighborhoods is also associated with a reduction in BMI/obesity risk relative to no food outlets. Finally, multiple food options within a neighborhood reduce BMI/obesity risk, relative to no food options, for individuals living in either low-income or non-low neighborhoods.