Objective: Obesity prevention in childhood is important. However, changing children's lifestyle behaviors to reduce overweight is a substantial challenge. Accurately perceiving oneself as ...overweight/obese has been linked to greater motivation to change lifestyle behaviors. Children and adolescents may be less likely to perceive themselves as overweight/obese if they are exposed to overweight/obese people in their immediate environments. This study examined whether youth who are exposed to overweight parents and schoolmates were more likely to misperceive their own weight status. Design: The Quebec Child and Adolescent Health and Social Survey was a provincially representative, school-based survey of children and adolescents conducted between January and May 1999. Subjects: 3665 children and adolescents (age 9, n=1267; age 13, n=1186; age 16, n=1212) from 178 schools. Mean body mass index (BMI) was 17.5, 20.6 and 22.2 kg/m2, respectively. Measurements: The misperception score was calculated as the standardized difference between self-perception of weight status (Stunkard Body Rating Scale) and actual BMI (from measured height and weight). Exposure to obesity was based on parent and schoolmate BMI. Results: Overweight and obese youth were significantly more likely to misperceive their weight compared with non-overweight youth (P<0.001). Multilevel modeling indicated that greater parent and schoolmate BMI were significantly associated with greater misperception (underestimation) of weight status among children and adolescents. Conclusion: Children and adolescents who live in environments in which people they see on a daily basis, such as parents and schoolmates, are overweight/obese may develop inaccurate perceptions of what constitutes appropriate weight status. Targeting misperception may facilitate the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors and improve the effectiveness of obesity prevention interventions.
BackgroundThe tradition of physicians working while sleep deprived is increasingly criticised. Medical regulatory bodies have restricted resident physician duty-hours, not addressing the greater ...population of physicians. We aimed to assess factors such as sleep duration prior to a 24-hour observation period on physicians' attention.MethodsWe studied 70 physicians (mean age 38 years old (SD 10.8 years)): 36 residents and 34 faculty from call rosters at the University of Alberta. Among 70 physicians, 52 (74%) performed overnight call; 18 did not perform overnight call and were recruited to control for the learning effect of repetitive neuropsychological testing. Attentional Network Test (ANT) measured physicians' attention at the beginning and end of the 24-hour observation period. Participants self-reported ideal sleep needs, sleep duration in the 24 hours prior to (ie, baseline) and during the 24-hour observation period (ie, follow-up). Median regression models examined effects on ANT parameters.ResultsSleep deprivation at follow-up was associated with reduced attentional accuracy following the 24-hour observation period, but only for physicians more sleep deprived at baseline. Other components of attention were not associated with sleep deprivation after adjusting for repetitive testing. Age, years since medical school and caffeine use did not impact changes in ANT parameters.ConclusionsOur study suggests that baseline sleep before 24 hours of observation impacts the accuracy of physicians' attentional testing at 24 hours. Further study is required to determine if optimising physician sleep prior to overnight call shifts is a sustainable strategy to mitigate the effects of sleep deprivation.
To examine the longitudinal associations between different physical activity (PA) intensities and cardiometabolic risk factors among a sample of Canadian youth.
The findings are based on a 2-year ...prospective cohort study in a convenience sample of 315 youth aged 9-15 years at baseline from rural and urban schools in Alberta, Canada. Different intensities (light, moderate and vigorous) of PA were objectively assessed with Actical accelerometers. The main outcome measures were body mass index (BMI) z-score, waist circumference, cardiorespiratory fitness and systolic blood pressure at 2-year-follow-up and conditional BMI z-score velocity. A series of linear regression models were conducted to investigate the associations after adjusting for potential confounders.
At follow-up, cardiorespiratory fitness increased (quartile 1 vs quartile 4=43.3 vs 50.2; P(trend)<0.01) and waist circumference decreased (quartile 1 vs quartile 4=79.0 vs 72.6; P(trend)=0.04; boys only) in a dose-response manner across quartiles of baseline vigorous-intensity PA. A similar trend was observed for systolic blood pressure (quartile 1 vs quartile 4=121.8 vs 115.3; P(trend)=0.07; boys only). Compared with quartile 1 of vigorous-intensity PA, BMI z-score at follow-up and conditional BMI z-score velocity were significantly lower in the quartile 2 and 3 (P<0.05). Waist circumference at follow-up also decreased (quartile 1 vs quartile 4=75.3 vs 73.8; P(trend)=0.04) across quartiles of baseline moderate-intensity PA.
Time spent in vigorous-intensity PA was associated with several positive health outcomes 2 years later. These findings suggest that high-intensity activities in youth help to reduce the risk for several chronic diseases.
Abstract Patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) frequently use acute health care resources including emergency departments (EDs), resulting in redundant efforts. We asked whether ...establishing the diagnosis of PNES via video/EEG telemetry reduces subsequent ED use. Twenty-three patients with PNES were studied over a 48-month period surrounding the diagnosis using a provincewide database. There was a 39% reduction in total ED visits and a 51% reduction in ED visits for neurological causes during the 24 months following the diagnosis, and decreased ED use persisted throughout the follow-up period. There was no significant change in ED utilization for psychiatric causes. The proportion of patients with PNES who used ED services once or not at all per year increased from 26% in the 2 years prior to the diagnosis to 57% following the diagnosis. These findings suggest that a definitive, telemetry-based diagnosis relieves diagnostic uncertainties for the patient and physician, but also has quantifiable economic benefits.
Nanoparticles synthesized by laser ablation of bulk target materials in liquids have ligand-free surfaces since no chemical precursors are used for their synthesis, and thus, they are ideally suited ...for applications in the fabrication of organic solar cells in which the properties of the interface between the nanoparticles and the polymer blend matrix largerly determine the exciton splitting and transport of carriers to the external electrodes, properties crucial for the device operation and performance. Narrow band gap semiconducting quantum dots can act as sensitizers, increasing the absorption of the device active layer in the infrared part of the solar spectrum. In this work, a bulk PbS target was laser ablated (450 fs, 1,064 nm, 1 kHz) in ethanol for the synthesis of nanoparticle colloidal solutions. The solutions exhibit a broad absorption which extends at the longest wavelength measured of ~1,700 nm and beyond. The nanoparticles were directly mixed with the blend P3HT:PCBM for the formation of nanocomposites. The nanocomposites with the nanoparticles exhibit lower transmission in the whole spectral range as compared to the blend without the nanoparticles.
Summary
Objectives
To determine the feasibility and preliminary impact of an electronic health (eHealth) screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) delivered in primary care to ...help parents prevent childhood obesity.
Methods
Parents of children (5–17 years) were recruited from a primary care clinic. Children's measured height and weight were entered into the SBIRT on a study‐designated tablet. The SBIRT screened for children's weight status, block randomized parents to one of four brief interventions or an eHealth control and provided parents with a menu of optional obesity prevention resources. Feasibility was determined by parents' interest in, and uptake of, the SBIRT. Preliminary impact was based on parents' concern about children's weight status and intention to change lifestyle behaviours post‐SBIRT.
Results
Parents (n = 226) of children (9.9 ± 3.4 years) were primarily biological mothers (87.6%) and Caucasian (70.4%). The proportion of participants recruited (84.3%) along with parents who selected optional resources within the SBIRT (85.8%) supported feasibility. Secondary outcomes did not vary across groups, but non‐Caucasian parents classified as inaccurate estimators of children's weight status reported higher levels of concern and intention to change post‐SBIRT.
Conclusions
Our innovative, eHealth SBIRT was feasible in primary care and has the potential to encourage parents of unhealthy weight children towards preventative action.
Summary
Background
Parents play a fundamental role in helping children with obesity to make and maintain healthy lifestyle changes.
Objective
This study aimed to characterize stages of engagement to ...change nutrition and physical activity habits among parents whose children with obesity were enrolled in obesity management and examine differences in parents’ own nutrition and physical activity habits according to their stage of engagement.
Methods
Medical records of 113 children (body mass index BMI ≥95th percentile) enrolled in an outpatient weight management clinic were reviewed for baseline (cross‐sectional) data. Parents completed the Weight Loss Behavior–Stage of Change Scale to assess the degree of engagement in making healthy changes to their lifestyle behaviours. Latent class analysis was used to classify parents into distinct clusters by grouping individuals with similar ratings of stages of engagement regarding nutrition‐ and physical activity‐related behaviours.
Results
Parents’ engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviours varied (more engaged n = 43; less engaged n = 70). A greater proportion of parents in the more engaged group was in action and/or maintenance stages of changing their lifestyle habits. The more engaged group was less overweight than the less engaged group (BMI = 28.5 vs. 33.3 kg m−2; P < 0.05). Further, the more engaged group consumed fewer total calories, calories from fat, trans fat and carbohydrates vs. their less engaged peers (P < 0.05). Compared with the less engaged group, the more engaged group consumed more daily servings of vegetables and fruits (4.9 vs. 3.9, P < 0.05) and accumulated more steps per day (9130 vs. 7225; P < 0.05). The more engaged group was also more likely to meet daily recommendations for vegetable and fruit intake (48.8 vs. 24.3%; P < 0.05) and physical activity (42.9 vs. 22.9%, P < 0.05).
Conclusions
Parents of children with obesity varied in their degree of engagement in making healthy changes to their lifestyle behaviours, and those categorized as more engaged already demonstrated positive lifestyle behaviours. Information regarding parents’ degree of engagement in healthy behaviours can inform clinical recommendations, especially when parents represent the primary agents of change in families trying to manage paediatric obesity.
•Au nanostructures were prepared by nanosecond laser ablation of solid in water.•Nanowire networks formation using 355 and 532nm laser wavelengths was studied.•The crucial influence of the laser ...fluence in forming the nanostructures was shown.•The structure and composition of the nanowire networks were investigated.•Three basic requirements to create nanowire networks were experimentally derived.
The experimental conditions were investigated enabling one to fabricate Au nanowire networks by pulsed laser ablation in water. The study revealed that it is possible to produce alternatively nanoparticles (or aggregates) or nanowire networks at certain wavelengths depending on the laser fluence. An Au disc immersed in double-distilled water was used as a target. The second (λSHG=532nm) and the third (λTHG=355nm) harmonics of a Nd:YAG laser system were utilized to produce different Au colloids. The values of the laser fluence for both wavelengths under the experimental conditions chosen were varied from several J/cm2 to tens of J/cm2. The optical extinction spectra of the colloids in the UV/vis region were obtained to evaluate the structure of the dispersed Au phase. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was applied to visualize the size and morphology of the colloidal particles. Their structure and phase composition were studied by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and used to make an assumption on how they had been formed.
Objective: Psychosocial factors, including pressure to be thin and body dissatisfaction, have been hypothesized to mediate the relationship between obesity and depression, especially during ...adolescence when vulnerability to social pressures around body shape and image is heightened. The objective was to test a model of the relationships among adiposity, psychosocial factors and depression in adolescents. Method: In a population-based sample of 1127 boys and 1167 girls aged 13 and 16 years, a model of the relationships between adiposity, pressure to be thin, body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms was tested using structural equation modeling. Results: Among girls, adiposity accounted for 62% of the total effect of depressive symptoms through its association with pressure to be thin and body dissatisfaction. Pressure to be thin was also uniquely related to depressive symptoms. Among boys, only body dissatisfaction was associated with depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Results support a relationship between adiposity, body satisfaction, pressure to be thin and depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms should be assessed in obese adolescents, and interventions to prevent and treat obesity should incorporate elements targeting body dissatisfaction.
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