Adolescent Television Viewing and Unhealthy Snack Food Consumption: The Mediating Role of Home Availability of Unhealthy Snack Foods.

Adolescent television viewing and unhealthy snack food consumption: the mediating role of home availability of unhealthy snack foods.

Filed under: Eating Disorders

Public Health Nutr. 2012 Nov 30; 1-7
Pearson N, Biddle SJ, Williams L, Worsley A, Crawford D, Ball K

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether home availability of energy-dense snack foods mediates the association between television (TV) viewing and energy-dense snack consumption among adolescents. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Secondary schools in Victoria, Australia. SUBJECTS: Adolescents (n 2984) from Years 7 and 9 of secondary school completed a web-based survey, between September 2004 and July 2005, assessing their energy-dense snack food consumption, school-day and weekend-day TV viewing and home availability of energy-dense snack foods. RESULTS: School-day and weekend-day TV viewing were positively associated with energy-dense snack consumption among adolescent boys (? = 0·003, P < 0·001) and girls (? = 0·03, P < 0·001). Furthermore, TV viewing (school day and weekend day) were positively associated with home availability of energy-dense snack foods among adolescent boys and girls and home availability of energy-dense snack foods was positively associated with energy-dense snack food consumption among boys (? = 0·26, P < 0·001) and girls (? = 0·28, P < 0·001). Home availability partly mediated the association between TV viewing and energy-dense snack consumption. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study suggest that TV viewing has a significant role to play in adolescent unhealthy eating behaviours. Future research should assess the efficacy of methods to reduce adolescent energy-dense snack food consumption by targeting parents to reduce home availability of energy-dense foods and by reducing TV viewing behaviours of adolescents. HubMed – eating

Effect of the planet health intervention on eating disorder symptoms in massachusetts middle schools, 2005-2008.

Filed under: Eating Disorders

Prev Chronic Dis. 2012 Nov; 9: E171
Austin SB, Spadano-Gasbarro JL, Greaney ML, Blood EA, Hunt AT, Richmond TK, Wang ML, Mezgebu S, Osganian SK, Peterson KE

The Planet Health obesity prevention curriculum has prevented purging and abuse of diet pills (disordered weight control behavior [DWCB]) in middle-school girls in randomized trials, but the effects of Planet Health on DWCB when implemented by schools under dissemination conditions are not known.Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts disseminated Planet Health as part of the 3-year, Healthy Choices obesity prevention program in middle schools. We conducted an evaluation in 45 schools from fall 2005 to spring 2008. We gathered data from school staff to quantify intervention activities, and we gathered anonymous cross-sectional survey data from students on DWCB at baseline and Year 3 follow-up (n = 16,369). Multivariate logistic analyses with generalized estimating equations examined the effect of intervention activities on odds of students reporting DWCB at follow-up.Students in schools reaching a high number of youth with Planet Health lessons on reducing television viewing had lower odds of DWCB at follow-up (odds ratio [OR], 0.80 per 100 lesson-exposures; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74-0.85). In addition, reduced odds of DWCB at follow-up were found in schools with active staff teamwork (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66-0.86) and the presence of programs addressing television viewing goals with staff (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.28-0.53).Combined evidence from efficacy and effectiveness trials and now from dissemination research indicates that appropriately designed obesity prevention programs can achieve DWCB prevention on a large scale.
HubMed – eating

Arcuate nucleus homeostatic systems are not altered immediately prior to the scheduled consumption of large, binge-type meals of palatable solid or liquid diet in rats and mice.

Filed under: Eating Disorders

J Neuroendocrinol. 2012 Nov 29;
Bake T, Duncan JS, Morgan DG, Mercer JG

Meal feeding is a critical issue in over-consumption of calories leading to human obesity. To investigate the mechanisms involved in the regulation of meal feeding in rodents, we studied a scheduled feeding regime that induces substantial food intake over short periods of time. Male Sprague-Dawley rats and C57BL6 mice were fed one of four palatable diets (45% fat pellet, 60% fat pellet or standard pellet supplemented with Ensure (EN) or 12.5% sucrose) either ad libitum or with daily 2h-scheduled access and standard pellet available for 22h. Energy balance gene expression in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC) and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) reward gene expression were assessed by in-situ hybridisation. Rats fed ad libitum on 45% or 60% fat diet were heavier and fatter than controls, and had reduced neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene expression in the ARC. Mice fed ad libitum on any of the palatable diets were heavier, fatter and had higher blood leptin than controls, and had reduced NPY and increased cocaine-and-amphetamine-regulated transcript mRNA in the ARC. Schedule-fed rats and mice quickly adapted their feeding behaviour to 2h-access on palatable food. Three schedule-fed groups binged: the percentage of daily calories consumed in 2h on 45% fat diet, 60% fat diet or EN, respectively, was 55%, 63% and 49% in rats, and 86%, 86% and 45% in mice. However, changed feeding behaviour was not reflected in an induction of orexigenic neuropeptide or suppression of anorexigenic neuropeptide gene expression in the ARC, in the 2h-period prior to scheduled feeding. Mechanisms underlying large meal/binge-type eating may be regulated by non-homeostatic processes involving other genes in the hypothalamus or other brain areas. However, assessment of opioid and dopamine receptor gene expression in the NAcc did not reveal evidence of involvement of these genes in driving large meals, at least at the investigated time point. © 2012 British Society for Neuroendocrinology.
HubMed – eating

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