Public health nutrition occupies a paramount position in the overarching domains of health promotion and disease prevention, setting itself apart from nutritional investigations concentrated at the ...individual level ....
•We systematically reviewed evidence regarding the impact of built environment on physical activity and obesity among children and adolescents in China.•Twenty studies, including 16 cross-sectional, ...3 longitudinal, and 1 descriptive studies, met the predetermined selection criteria and were included in the review.•Availability and accessibility in proximity to greenspace, park, recreational facility, and sidewalks were found to be associated with increased physical activity level, reduced sedentary behavior, and/or active commuting among Chinese children and adolescents.•In contrast, lacking bike lanes and living in higher residential density area were associated with an increased likelihood of childhood overweight and obesity.
Neighborhood built environment may profoundly influence children's physical activity (PA) and body weight. This study systematically reviewed scientific evidence regarding the impact of built environment on PA and obesity among children and adolescents in China.
A keyword and reference search was conducted in Active Living Research, Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Web of Science. Studies that met all of the following criteria were included in the review: (1) study designs—experimental studies, observational studies, and qualitative studies; (2) study subjects—Chinese children and/or adolescents aged ≤17 years; (3) exposures—neighborhood built environment; (4) outcomes—PA and/or body weight status; (5) article type—peer-reviewed publications; (6) time window of search—from the inception of an electronicbibliographic database to May 31, 2018; (7) country—China; and (8) language—articles written in English.
A total of 20 studies, including 16 cross-sectional studies, 3 longitudinal studies, and 1 descriptive study, met the predetermined selection criteria and were included in the review. A total of 13 studies adopted subjective built environment measures reported by parents and/or children,2 adopted objective measures (e.g., geographical information system, field observations), and 5 adopted both objective and subjective measures. PA behaviors included PA, physical inactivity, sedentary behavior, active/passive commuting from/to school, and park visits. Among the 16 studies that provided some quantitative estimates of the influence of built environment on PA and body weight status, all reported a statistically significant relationship in the expected direction. Availability and accessibility in proximity to greenspaces, parks, recreational facilities, and sidewalks were found to be associated with increased PA levels, reduced sedentary behaviors, and/or active commuting among Chinese childrenand adolescents. In contrast, the absence of bike lanes and living in higher density residential areas were associated with increased likelihood of childhood overweight and obesity.
Neighborhood built environment plays an important role in Chinese children's PA engagement and weight outcomes. Building new exercise facilities and enhancing the accessibility of existing facilities hold the potential to enhance PA engagement among Chinese children and adolescents. In addition, urban designs that incorporate sidewalks, bike lanes, walking paths, less motorized traffic, and lower residential density are likely to promote PA and prevent childhood obesity in China.
The Special Issue entitled "The Impact of Policy and Food Environment on Food Purchase and Dietary Behavior" comprises 13 articles that collectively provide valuable insights into the complex ...interplay between policy, food environment, and individual food purchase and consumption ....
Obesity is a leading cause of preventable death worldwide. Artificial intelligence (AI), characterized by machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), has become an indispensable tool in obesity ...research.
This scoping review aimed to provide researchers and practitioners with an overview of the AI applications to obesity research, familiarize them with popular ML and DL models, and facilitate the adoption of AI applications.
We conducted a scoping review in PubMed and Web of Science on the applications of AI to measure, predict, and treat obesity. We summarized and categorized the AI methodologies used in the hope of identifying synergies, patterns, and trends to inform future investigations. We also provided a high-level, beginner-friendly introduction to the core methodologies to facilitate the dissemination and adoption of various AI techniques.
We identified 46 studies that used diverse ML and DL models to assess obesity-related outcomes. The studies found AI models helpful in detecting clinically meaningful patterns of obesity or relationships between specific covariates and weight outcomes. The majority (18/22, 82%) of the studies comparing AI models with conventional statistical approaches found that the AI models achieved higher prediction accuracy on test data. Some (5/46, 11%) of the studies comparing the performances of different AI models revealed mixed results, indicating the high contingency of model performance on the data set and task it was applied to. An accelerating trend of adopting state-of-the-art DL models over standard ML models was observed to address challenging computer vision and natural language processing tasks. We concisely introduced the popular ML and DL models and summarized their specific applications in the studies included in the review.
This study reviewed AI-related methodologies adopted in the obesity literature, particularly ML and DL models applied to tabular, image, and text data. The review also discussed emerging trends such as multimodal or multitask AI models, synthetic data generation, and human-in-the-loop that may witness increasing applications in obesity research.
Food pantries play a critical role in combating food insecurity. The objective of the present work was to systematically review and synthesize scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of food ...pantry-based interventions in the USA.
Keyword/reference search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library and CINAHL for peer-reviewed articles published until May 2018 that met the following criteria.
food pantry and/or food bank in the USA; study design: randomized controlled trial (RCT) or pre-post study; outcomes: diet-related outcomes (e.g. nutrition knowledge, food choice, food security, diet quality); study subjects: food pantry/bank clients.
Fourteen articles evaluating twelve distinct interventions identified from the keyword/reference search met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Five were RCT and the remaining seven were pre-post studies. All studies found that food pantry-based interventions were effective in improving participants' diet-related outcomes. In particular, the nutrition education interventions and the client-choice intervention enhanced participants' nutrition knowledge, cooking skills, food security status and fresh produce intake. The food display intervention helped pantry clients select healthier food items. The diabetes management intervention reduced participants' glycaemic level.
Food pantry-based interventions were found to be effective in improving participants' diet-related outcomes. Interventions were modest in scale and usually short in follow-up duration. Future studies are warranted to address the challenges of conducting interventions in food pantries, such as shortage in personnel and resources, to ensure intervention sustainability and long-term effectiveness.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a highly prevalent and underdiagnosed comorbidity of many chronic diseases that is associated with altered intestinal bacterial communities. This ...association has prompted research into alternative treatments aimed at modulating intestinal microbiota. Given the novelty of these treatments, scarce evidence regarding their effectiveness in clinical populations exists.
This meta-analysis sought to systemically review and quantitatively synthesize evidence on prebiotic, probiotic, and synbiotic therapies for patients with NAFLD in randomized controlled trials.
PRISMA guidelines ensured transparent reporting of evidence. PICOS criteria defined the research question for the systematic review. A systematic keyword search in PubMed and EMBASE identified 25 studies: 9 assessed prebiotic, 11 assessed probiotic, and 7 assessed symbiotic therapies for a total of 1309 patients.
Basic population characteristics, the primary variables of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (utilized for NAFLD diagnosis), and the secondary variables of body mass index (BMI), gamma-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), C-reactive protein (CRP), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), and triglyceridges (TAG) were extracted. Pooled effect sizes of these variables were calculated by meta-analysis. No publication bias was identified using Begg's and Egger's tests or Cochrane bias assessment tool.
Meta-analysis indicated that microbial therapies significantly reduced BMI (-0.37 kg/m2; 95% confidence interval CI, -0.46 to -0.28; P < 0.001), hepatic enzymes (ALT, -6.9 U/L 95%CI, -9.4 to -4.3; AST, -4.6 U/L 95%CI, -6.6 to -2.7; γ-GT, -7.9 U/L 95%CI, -11.4 to -4.4; P < 0.001), serum cholesterol (-10.1 mg/dL 95%CI, -13.6 to -6.6; P < 0.001), LDL-c (-4.5 mg/dL; 95%CI, -8.9 to -0.17; P < 0.001), and TAG (-10.1 mg/dL; 95%CI, -18.0 to -2.3; P < 0.001), but not inflammation (TNF-α, -2.0 ng/mL; 95%CI, -4.7 to 0.61; CRP, -0.74 mg/L 95%CI, -1.9 to 0.37). Subgroup analysis by treatment category indicated similar effects of prebiotics and probiotics on BMI and liver enzymes but not total cholesterol, HDL-c, and LDL-c.
This meta-analysis supports the potential use of microbial therapies in the treatment of NAFLD and sheds light on their potential mode of action. Further research into these treatments should consider the limitations of biomarkers currently used for the diagnosis and progression of NAFLD, in addition to the inherent challenges of personalized microbial-based therapies.
Nonnutritive sweeteners (NNSs) are zero- or low-calorie alternatives to nutritive sweeteners, such as table sugars. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was conducted ...to quantitatively synthesize existing scientific evidence on the glycemic impact of NNSs.
PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched. Two authors screened the titles and abstracts of candidate publications. The third author was consulted to resolve discrepancies. Twenty-nine randomized controlled trials, with a total of 741 participants, were included and their quality assessed. NNSs under examination included aspartame, saccharin, steviosides, and sucralose. The review followed the PRISMA guidelines.
Meta-analysis was performed to estimate and track the trajectory of blood glucose concentrations over time after NNS consumption, and to test differential effects by type of NNS and participants' age, weight, and disease status. In comparison with the baseline, NNS consumption was not found to increase blood glucose level, and its concentration gradually declined over the course of observation following NNS consumption. The glycemic impact of NNS consumption did not differ by type of NNS but to some extent varied by participants' age, body weight, and diabetic status.
NNS consumption was not found to elevate blood glucose level. Future studies are warranted to assess the health implications of frequent and chronic NNS consumption and elucidate the underlying biological mechanisms.
Pokémon GO, an augmented reality game with widespread popularity, can potentially influence players' physical activity (PA) levels and psychosocial well-being.
This review aims to systematically ...examine the scientific evidence regarding the impact of Pokémon GO on PA and psychosocial well-being in children and adolescents.
Using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations) framework, we conducted keyword and reference searches in the PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. We performed title and abstract screening, full-text review, evidence synthesis, and identified research gaps.
Our review included 10 studies that explored the effect of Pokémon GO on PA or psychosocial well-being among children and adolescents. These studies used diverse designs across multiple countries and regions. Pokémon GO use measures encompassed frequency, experience, adherence, and motivation. PA assessment methods ranged from self-reported questionnaires to technology-based evaluations and qualitative approaches. Psychosocial well-being measures included emotional intelligence, personal well-being, self-control, emotionality, and sociability. In general, the estimated impact of Pokémon GO on PA was positive, with gaming elements and engagement correlating with increased PA levels. However, the effect on psychosocial well-being presented mixed results, with positive associations for sociability but a complex relationship involving well-being and internet gaming disorder. The limitations of these studies comprised the absence of randomized controlled trials, heterogeneity in study designs and outcome measures, and potential confounding bias.
Overall, Pokémon GO tends to positively affect PA levels, while the impact on psychosocial well-being remains complex and requires further investigation. Future research should investigate the mechanisms connecting Pokémon GO use with PA and psychosocial well-being and the potential risks of excessive gameplay. These findings can help inform public health interventions to harness gaming technologies for promoting PA and enhancing well-being among the younger generation.
PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42023412032; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=412032.
Physical inactivity is a leading cause of morbidity, disability and premature mortality in the U.S. and worldwide. This study aimed to map the prevalence of physical inactivity across U.S. states ...over the past three decades, and estimate the over-time adjusted changes in the prevalence of physical inactivity in each state.
Individual-level data (N = 6,701,954) were taken from the 1984-2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), an annually repeated cross-sectional survey of state-representative adult population. Prevalence of self-reported leisure-time physical inactivity was estimated by state and survey year, accounting for the BRFSS sampling design. Logistic regressions were performed to estimate the changes in the prevalence of physical inactivity over the study period for each state, adjusting for individual characteristics including sex, age, race/ethnicity, education, marital status, and employment status.
The prevalence of leisure-time physical inactivity varied substantially across states and survey years. In general, the adjusted prevalence of physical inactivity gradually declined over the past three decades in a majority of states. However, a substantial proportion of American adults remain physically inactive. Among the 50 states and District of Columbia, 45 had over a fifth of their adult population without any leisure-time physical activity, and 8 had over 30% without physical activity in 2015. Moreover, the adjusted prevalence of physical inactivity in several states (Arizona, North Carolina, North Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming) remained largely unchanged or even increased (Minnesota and Ohio) over the study period.
Although the prevalence of physical inactivity declined over the past three decades in a majority of states, the rates remain substantially high and vary considerably across states. Closely monitoring and tracking physical activity level using the state physical activity maps can help guide policy and program development to promote physical activity and reduce the burden of chronic disease.
Abstract
Objectives
This study examined the longitudinal relationship between dietary habits and cognitive impairment among the oldest-old Chinese.
Method
Cognitively intact adults aged 80 or older ...(N = 4,749) came from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. Cognitive impairment was assessed by Mini-mental State Examination. Cox regressions were performed to examine the relationship between dietary habits and cognitive impairment onset during follow-up period of 1998–2012, adjusting for various time-variant and time-invariant individual characteristics.
Results
Compared with those who rarely/never consumed fruit, vegetables, meat, and soybean-derived products, participants consuming such products almost every day were 21%, 25%, 17%, and 20% less likely to develop cognitive impairment during follow-up, respectively. Compared with those who rarely/never consumed sugar, participants consuming sugar almost every day were 17% more likely to develop cognitive impairment during follow-up. Consumption of fish, egg, salt-preserved vegetable, tea, and garlic was not found to be associated with cognitive impairment.
Discussion
Dietary habits might profoundly impact cognitive functioning among the oldest-old Chinese. This work has limitations pertaining to study design and measure. Future work adopting experimental design and refined dietary measures is warranted to confirm these findings and inform public nutrition practices aiming at preventing cognitive decline among the oldest-old Chinese population.
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