The report makes recommendations to address and reduce childhood obesity. These aim to change behaviours and norms, building on existing commitments, and range from extending the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to sweetened milk-based drinks to improving air quality and safety in our built environment in order to create opportunities for children to be active and healthy.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 49, Iss. 13, (Oct 2019): 2256-2266. DOI:10.1017/S0033291718003197
Background
Jumping to conclusions (JTC), which is the proneness to require less information before forming beliefs or making a decision, has been related to formation and maintenance of delusions. Using data from the National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre Genetics and Psychosis (GAP) case–control study of first-episode psychosis (FEP), we set out to test whether the presence of JTC would predict poor clinical outcome at 4 years.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychological Medicine; Cambridge Vol. 49, Iss. 13, (Oct 2019): 2279-2286. DOI:10.1017/S0033291718003239
Background
High body mass index (BMI) has been associated with lower risks of suicidal behaviour and being underweight with increased risks. However, evidence is inconsistent and sparse, particularly for women. We aim to study this relationship in a large cohort of UK women.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
Intermittent fasting has been a popular diet plan since the 5:2 diet, where you eat normally for 5 days and fast for 2, hit the headlines.
But intermittent fasting is not safe or suitable for all people, such as those with long-term health conditions or a history of eating disorders.
And the researchers involved in this study made the point of warning that alternate day fasting should not be tried without medical advice. Speak to a GP for advice before starting.
Due to the nature of the study the researchers were unable to prove that soft drinks are directly to blame for the small increased risk of death. However, the researchers say their findings add support to public health campaigns urging people to drink water instead of soft drinks. After all, tap water in the UK is safe to drink and free of calories.
Overall, the study does not provide any evidence that people should switch to or from a vegetarian diet. It's possible to have a balanced, healthy diet whether you eat meat or not. And of course, many people chose to eat a vegetarian diet for primarily ethical rather than health reasons.
Regardless of the diet you eat, the study also emphasises the importance of identifying and managing high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
It's difficult to know how much confidence the conclusions of this review warrants. All of the evidence was assessed to be "low" or "very low certainty" by the researchers themselves, meaning the results could be unreliable.
Also, even a small reduction in risk of common health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease and cancer could make a big difference at a population level.
Arguably it would be prudent to stick to World Cancer Research Fund recommendations, at least until higher-quality evidence becomes available.
Policymakers must do more than tell people to show greater willpower if government is to crack the obesity problem, says a new report from the British Psychological Society.
This document has been co-produced with a number of professional organisations for the public health workforce.
It describes the intent of professional organisations to work together, support and enable the public health workforce to have healthier weight conversations and maximise population behaviour change, helping individuals and communities significantly reduce their risk of obesity, in order to support the national ambition to halve childhood obesity rates by 2030.
We have responded to the publication by Public Health England (PHE) of its second year report on progress by the food industry to reduce sugar in ‘everyday’ foods.
Using the action mapping tool in phase 2 of the whole-systems approach to obesity, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council found that there were many small-scale interventions addressing obesity locally. However, partnerships tended to involve solely public health or NHS colleagues and there was a lack of connection between the partnerships and the community.
Phase 3 of the whole systems approach to obesity is based around a workshop where stakeholders are invited to develop a local system map of the causes of obesity.
In East Herts, the primary learning was this facilitated stakeholder engagement and increased understanding of the range of different factors that impact obesity locally, and how these factors relate and can be linked together.
Lewisham Council’s obesity strategy focused on increasing access to healthier food and the use of parks and open spaces.
In phases 5 and 6 of a whole systems approach to obesity, the local authority worked to create a dynamic local system where stakeholders were brought together to critically reflect on undertaking a whole systems approach, while considering opportunities to strengthen the process.
The prevalence of obesity in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) far exceeds that in the general population. Cortisol, an adrenal hormone, can be obesogenic when dysregulated. However, the diurnal patterns of this hormone have not been examined among individuals with DS. Variations in adiposity may also mediate cortisol regulation. This study sought to examine diurnal cortisol patterns in adolescents with DS as well as associations between cortisol function and obesity.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.
To describe the associations between dysphagia and malnutrition risk and to identify predictors for dysphagia in a group of persons at risk of malnutrition in hospitals and nursing homes.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.
A report published by Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition on the role of saturated fats and health concludes there's no need to change current advice.
Dementia affects a person’s ability and desire to eat and drink to meet their nutritional requirements. This article identifies problems associated with nutritional status in people living with dementia and outlines the effectiveness of interventions to counteract the negative effects on nutritional status. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
In recent years, the regulation of carbohydrate intake has become regarded as essential to achieve a balanced diet, with a range of health benefits attributed to low-carbohydrate diets. ...This article outlines the constituents of dietary carbohydrate, considers the health benefits of carbohydrates, and explains their importance as part of a healthy and balanced diet. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
This article critically evaluates medical and social constructionist approaches to obesity, within the context of a multidisciplinary life course paradigm, illuminating the importance of being cognisant of the strengths and weaknesses associated with both approaches. It therefore helps social workers to engage more critically and holistically with obesity, particularly understanding the limitations of the medical model, the influence of social divisions and inequalities, cultural issues, stigmatisation and value judgements and consequentially the importance of defending human rights and upholding social justice. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
After realising how much money they were spending on renting suitable venues for their ‘Save waste, save food, save money’ course, they decided to take the session down to their team allotment in Dewsbury.
The team are now in the second year of tending to their allotment and have seen it go from strength to strength. Every Monday a small group of service users and staff get their hands dirty sprouting a variety of fruit and vegetables, including cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach and onions.
To examine associations of diet quality indicators with 4‐year incidence of frailty in community‐dwelling older adults.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.
Most healthy diets include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and less sugar, salt and saturated fats.
We know that much processed food, such as sweets, crisps and many ready meals or desserts, are high in sugar, salt and fat.
But we need to remember that cohort studies like these cannot prove that ultra-processed foods directly caused the slightly higher rates of cardiovascular disease and death seen in the studies.
Tomato juice may have health benefits, but we cannot tell that from this study. Meanwhile, if you enjoy tomatoes and tomato juice as part of a balanced, healthy diet, there's no reason not to continue to do so.
The researchers found the association only for those women who had very disrupted sleep patterns, having an actual light or TV left on in the room for most of the night. It is probably more likely to be the multitude of other health and lifestyle factors associated with this that are behind the weight gain – most likely poor diet and physical activity patterns.
Then if there is a direct link it may be more likely that it's disturbed sleep that could affect metabolic processes and so predispose to weight gain, rather than the light itself.
The results are broadly in line with what we already know about eating well. Current advice is to limit consumption of red meat and processed meat, and to eat plenty of vegetables, fruit, pulses, beans and wholegrains.
If you eat more than 90g of meat a day, you are advised to cut down. This study suggests that replacing one portion of meat with other, healthier food might help you live a little longer.
Health Psychology (May 23, 2019). DOI:10.1037/hea0000764
Objective: To investigate the separate and combined associations of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) with depression and the role of inflammation. . To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Developing a theory explaining how public health nurses accomplish and adapt counselling in lifestyle habits to decrease obesity in people with mobility disability.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.
To investigate the nutritional quality of foods marketed to children in the UK and to explore the use of health and nutrition claims.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Open access. The prevalence of asthma and obesity have increased over the last decades. A possible association between these two chronic illnesses has been suggested, since the prevalence of asthmatic symptoms rises with increasing Body Mass Index (BMI). However, asthma is only one of several possible causes of shortness of breath in obese children. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of overtreatment with asthma medication in a cohort overweight/obese children with respiratory symptoms visiting a pediatric outpatient clinic.
Obesity is common in adults with intellectual disabilities, yet little is known about how weight management interventions are provided for this population.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens details. To access full-text: click “Log in/Register” (top right hand side). Click ‘Institutional Login’ then select 'OpenAthens Federation', then ‘NHS England’. Enter your Athens details to view the article.
Open access. Obesity and caries in young people are issues of public health concern. Even though research into the relationship between the two conditions has been conducted for many years, to date the results remain equivocal. The aim of this paper was to determine the nature of the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and caries in children and adolescents, by conducting a systematic review of the published literature.
This statistical report presents information on obesity, physical activity and diet, drawn together from a variety of sources.
The topics covered include: •Obesity related hospital admissions. •Prescription items for the treatment of obesity. •Adult obesity prevalence. •Childhood obesity prevalence. •Physical activity levels among adults and children. •Diet among adults and children, including trends in purchases, and consumption of food and drink and energy intake.
Guidelines recommend the use of nutritional support during hospital stays for medical patients (patients not critically ill and not undergoing surgical procedures) at risk of malnutrition. However, the supporting evidence for this recommendation is insufficient, and there is growing concern about the possible negative effects of nutritional therapy during acute illness on recovery and clinical outcomes. Our aim was thus to test the hypothesis that protocol-guided individualised nutritional support to reach protein and caloric goals reduces the risk of adverse clinical outcomes in medical inpatients at nutritional risk.. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
While metformin may have potential as an aid for people needing to maintain weight loss in future, the study reminds us that in the original 1-year trial, the most successful weight-loss treatment was the diet and exercise plan.
New research has found it is not just what you eat, but when you eat that is important, knowledge which could improve the health of shift workers and people suffering from jet lag.
The MRC-funded study, published today in the journal Cell, is the first to identify insulin as a primary signal that helps communicate the timing of meals to the cellular clocks located across our body, commonly known as the body clock.
The team behind the research believe this improved understanding may lead to new ways to alleviate the ill-health associated with disruption to the body clock. These could include eating at specific times or taking drugs that target insulin signalling.
Severe mental illness (SMI) is thought to be associated with lower diet quality and adverse eating behaviours contributing towards physical health disparities. A rigorous review of the studies looking at dietary intake in psychotic disorders and bipolar disorder is lacking.. To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
it's not possible to prove not eating breakfast directly increased risk of cardiovascular death. Other lifestyle habits, like unhealthy diet and being inactive, which are also associated with not eating breakfast, could be clouding the link.
Overall the study supports general understanding that it's good to eat a breakfast as part of a healthy lifestyle, but the quality of what you're eating for breakfast is important too.
Benjamin Janaway on a recent mendelian randomisation study that evaluates of the causal effects between subjective wellbeing and cardiometabolic health.