Reducing High Calorie Snack Food in Young Adults: A Role for Social Norms and Health Based Messages.

Reducing high calorie snack food in young adults: a role for social norms and health based messages.

Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2013 Jun 5; 10(1): 73
Robinson E, Harris E, Thomas J, Aveyard P, Higgs S

BACKGROUND: Consumption of high calorie junk foods has increased recently, especially among young adults and higher intake may cause weight gain. There is a need to develop public health approaches to motivate people to reduce their intake of junk food. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of health and social norm messages on high calorie snack food intake (a type of junk food) as a function of usual intake of junk food. DESIGN: In a between-subjects design, 129 young adults (45 men and 84 women, mean age = 22.4 years, SD = 4.5) were assigned to one of three conditions: 1) a social norm condition, in which participants saw a message about the junk food eating habits of others; 2) a health condition, in which participants saw a message outlining the health benefits of reducing junk food consumption and; 3) a control condition, in which participants saw a non-food related message. After exposure to the poster messages, participants consumed a snack and the choice and amount of snack food consumed was examined covertly. We also examined whether usual intake of junk food moderated the effect of message type on high calorie snack food intake. RESULTS: The amount of high calorie snack food consumed was significantly lower in both the health and the social norm message condition compared with the control message condition (36% and 28%, both p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in snack food or energy intake between the health and social norm message conditions. There was no evidence that the effect of the messages depended upon usual consumption of junk food. CONCLUSIONS: Messages about the health effects of junk food and social normative messages about intake of junk food can motivate people to reduce their consumption of high calorie snack food. HubMed – eating

Snapshot of the AAOHN Membership-Health Risk Appraisal Priority Areas.

Workplace Health Saf. 2013 Jun; 61(6): 237-42
Deangelis MP, Burgel BJ

A 2012 American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc. (AAOHN) web-based membership survey of 5,138 members was designed to identify occupational health and safety issues facing members. A total of 2,123 members responded to the survey (41% response rate). Of the AAOHN members who responded to this survey, 61% reported health risk appraisal (HRA) priorities for 2012. HRA priority areas are identified among various subgroups of the AAOHN responders in this article. The top three HRA priority areas identified were weight management/nutrition/healthy eating, physical activity, and mental health/stress management. These priority areas were consistent across three industry sectors, three occupational health nurse job titles, and the smallest and largest employers. These results suggest that occupational health nurses should consider prioritizing their employee wellness efforts in these areas. [Workplace Health Saf 2013;61(6):237-242.]. HubMed – eating

Targeting premeal anxiety in eating disordered clients and normal controls: A preliminary investigation into the use of mindful eating vs. distraction during food exposure.

Int J Eat Disord. 2013 Jun 5;
Marek RJ, Ben-Porath DD, Federici A, Wisniewski L, Warren M

OBJECTIVE: Studies have demonstrated that negative affect increases prior to food intake in individuals diagnosed with an eating disorder. Mindfulness has been supported empirically to treat experiential avoidance stemming from anxiety. Thus, the current objective in this study is to empirically compare mindfulness vs. thought suppression invention during a food exposure in both clinical and nonclinical samples. METHOD: In a 2 (Group: clinical vs. nonclinical) × 2 (Intervention: mindfulness vs. distraction) counterbalanced within treatment design, the current investigation sought to determine the differential effectiveness of a brief mindfulness intervention vs. a brief distraction intervention in women diagnosed with AN and BN in a clinical and nonclinical sample during a food exposure. RESULTS: Results indicated that the eating disorder group reported a significant increase in negative affect after the mindfulness intervention as compared to the distraction intervention, whereas the nonclinical group reported a significant decrease in negative affect after the mindfulness intervention as compared to the distraction intervention. DISCUSSION: Preliminary findings suggest that clinicians may want to proceed cautiously when using mindful eating in those with severe eating disorders during the early stages of food exposure. Limitations and future directions are discussed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2013). HubMed – eating

Neuronal Autophagy: Self-eating or Self-cannibalism in Alzheimer’s Disease.

Neurochem Res. 2013 Jun 5;
U?amek-Kozio? M, Furmaga-Jab?o?ska W, Januszewski S, Brzozowska J, Sci?lewska M, Jab?o?ski M, Pluta R

Autophagy is a major intracellular degeneration pathway involved in the elimination and recycling of damaged organelles and long-lived proteins by lysosomes. Many of the pathological factors, which trigger neurodegenerative diseases, can perturb the autophagy activity, which is associated with misfolded protein aggregates accumulation in these disorders. Alzheimer’s disease, the first neurodegenerative disorder between dementias, is characterized by two aggregating proteins, ?-amyloid peptide (plaques) and ?-protein (tangles). In Alzheimer’s disease autophagosomes dynamically form along neurites within neuronal cells and in synapses but effective clearance of these structures needs retrograde transportation towards the neuronal soma where there is a major concentration of lysosomes. Maturation of autophago-lysosomes and their retrograde trafficking are perturbed in Alzheimer’s disease, which causes a massive concentration of autophagy elements along degenerating neurites. Transportation system is disturbed along defected microtubules in Alzheimer’s disease brains. ?-protein has been found to control the stability of microtubules, however, phosphorylation of ?-protein or an increase in the total level of ?-protein can cause dysfunction of neuronal cells microtubules. Current evidence has shown that autophagy is developing in Alzheimer’s disease brains because of ineffective degradation of autophagosomes, which hold amyloid precursor protein-rich organelles and secretases important for ?-amyloid peptides generation from amyloid precursor. The combination of raised autophagy induction and abnormal clearance of ?-amyloid peptide-generating autophagic vacuoles creates circumstances helpful for ?-amyloid peptide aggregation and accumulation in Alzheimer’s disease. However, the key role of autophagy in Alzheimer’s disease development is still under consideration today. One point of view suggests that abnormal autophagy induction causes a concentration of autophagic vacuoles rich in amyloid precursor protein, ?-amyloid peptide and the elements crucial for its formation, whereas other hypothesis points to marred autophagic clearance or even decrease in autophagic effectiveness playing a role in maturation of Alzheimer’s disease. In this review we present the recent evidence linking autophagy to Alzheimer’s disease and the role of autophagic regulation in the development of full-blown Alzheimer’s disease. HubMed – eating