In the United States, low-income, ethnic/racial minorities and rural populations are at increased risk for poorer health outcomes compared to higher income, non-minorities, and urban populations. Two key determinants that influence rural health disparities are health literacy and social capital. Health literacy can be described as an individual-level factor and defined as, "the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand the basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions." Social capital is a concept that accounts for the role of collective social functioning and has been defined as, "the features of social structures, such as levels of interpersonal trust and norms of reciprocity and mutual aid" which act as resources for individuals to facilitate collective action." The overarching goal of this research is to explore factors influencing health disparities, including health literacy, social capital in two rural regions of Virginia. The first study is embedded in Talking Health, a larger 2-arm RCT targeting adults in rural Southwest Virginia and examined participants' perceptions of and satisfaction with components of a behavioral intervention designed using health literacy concepts to decrease sugary beverage intake in rural, low-health literacy participants. The second study is also embedded in the Talking Health trial, yet focused on the maintenance of behavior 12-months after the intervention concluded. Guided by RE-AIM, this study examined the reach, effectiveness and implementation of a 12-month randomized extended care intervention aimed at enhancing long-term maintenance of behavior change and study retention when compared to a control condition. The last study is part of a larger telephone surveillance survey conducted in the Dan River Region located in south central Virginia. This study described current levels of social capital in the Dan River Region and examined the influence of social capital on FV consumption, physical activity, sugary beverage intake and BMI on a sample of rural and urban adults. / Ph. D.

Introdução: Doenças cardiometabólicas são problemas de saúde pública mundial com repercussões sociais e econômicas. Dieta inadequada é apontada como um dos principais fatores de risco modificáveis, de importância central na prevenção destas doenças. Apesar da constatação de que certos nutrientes se associam a doenças, ainda existem dúvidas quanto às relações causais. Objetivos: 1) Revisar a participação dos alimentos e nutrientes na gênese e controle de doenças crônicas não-transmissíveis integrantes da síndrome metabólica (manuscrito 1); 2) Descrever de forma detalhada a estrutura do programa de intervenção interdisciplinar em hábitos de vida, desenvolvido para usuários da rede pública de saúde do município de São Paulo (manuscrito 2); 3) Investigar o efeito de mudanças em fatores dietéticos sobre o metabolismo glicídico, decorrentes de intervenção em hábitos de vida em indivíduos de risco cardiometabólico da rede pública de saúde (manuscrito 3). Métodos: Foram incluídos adultos com diagnóstico de pré-diabetes ou síndrome metabólica sem diabetes em ensaio clínico aleatorizado envolvendo dois tipos de intervenções de 18 meses: tradicional e intensiva. A intervenção tradicional consistiu de consultas trimestrais com endocrinologista; na intensiva, além dos atendimentos médicos, os indivíduos participaram de sessões psicoeducativas em grupo com equipe multiprofissional. As orientações dietéticas visaram à adequação do consumo de gorduras totais (redução de saturadas e trans e elevação de insaturadas) e aumento na ingestão de fibras. As variáveis coletadas nos momentos pré- e pós-intervenção incluíram dados sócio-demográficos, antropométricos, dietéticos e bioquímicos (glicemia de jejum e póssobrecarga, perfil lipídico, insulina, adiponectina, proteína C reativa, IL-6, TNF-, apolipoproteína A1 e B). A dieta foi avaliada por recordatórios de 24 horas, processados pelo Nutrition Data System software. Foram empregados os testes: t de Student, coeficientes de correlações, ANOVA com p de tendência e análises de regressão múltipla para identificar fatores dietéticos associados à melhora do metabolismo glicídico. Resultados: O manuscrito 1 consiste de um capítulo de livro (Nutrição em Saúde Coletiva) abordando aspectos epidemiológicos de doenças do espectro da síndrome metabólica com ênfase em fatores alimentares e estado nutricional. O manuscrito 2 detalha a estrutura, a equipe integrante, as orientações preconizadas e as principais estratégias psicoeducativas utilizadas no programa de intervenção em hábitos de vida desenvolvido (artigo metodológico submetido e website). Análises do manuscrito 3 mostraram que, ao final da intervenção, o aumento na ingestão de ácidos graxos monoinsaturados e fibras solúveis associaramse de forma independente à redução da glicemia de jejum e os primeiros também à melhora da glicemia pós-sobrecarga. Ajustes por medidas antropométricas não alteraram os resultados, o que ocorreu, porém, após inclusão da variável mudança na insulina nos modelos (artigo original). Conclusão: Justifica-se divulgar programas de intervenção como o aqui desenvolvido considerando-se o atual cenário das doenças cardiometabólicas na atualidade. No presente estudo, o aumento na ingestão de ácidos graxos monoinsaturados e de fibras solúveis promoveu benefícios no metabolismo glicídico, independente da adiposidade, ao final da intervenção no estilo de vida. Possíveis mecanismos mediadores destes processos podem incluir principalmente a melhora da sensibilidade à insulina. Dessa forma, nossos achados sugerem fortemente que um aumento factível no consumo destes nutrientes deva ser estimulado como estratégia para a proteção do metabolismo glicídico em indivíduos de risco cardiometabólico / Introduction: Cardiometabolic diseases are global public health problems with social and economic repercussions. Unhealthy diet is seen as one of the main modifiable risk factors, being of central importance for the prevention of these diseases. Despite the evidence that certain nutrients are associated with diseases, causal relationships are still under discussion. Objectives: 1) To review the involvement of foods and nutrients in the genesis and control of non-communicable chronic diseases, that comprise the metabolic syndrome (manuscript 1); 2) To describe in detail the structure of the interdisciplinary intervention program on lifestyle, developed for costumers of public health system of Sao Paulo city (manuscript 2); 3) To investigate the impact of changes in dietary factors on glucose metabolism, induced by a lifestyle intervention in individuals at cardiometabolic risk attended by the public health system (manuscript 3). Methods: Adults with prediabetes or metabolic syndrome without diabetes were included in a randomized clinical trial involving two types of 18-month interventions: a traditional or an intensive one. The traditional intervention consisted of quarterly consultations with an endocrinologist, while in the intensive participants also attended psychoeducational group sessions with a multidisciplinary team, in addition to the medical visits. The dietary recommendations aimed at the adequate intake of fat (reduction of saturated and trans and increase of unsaturated fatty acids) and increase in fiber intake. Socio-demographic, anthropometric, dietary and biochemical (fasting and post-load plasma glucose, lipid profile, insulin, adiponectin, C-reactive protein, IL-6, TNF-, apolipoprotein A1 and B) data were collected at baseline and after 18-month of follow-up. Diet was assessed by 24-h dietary recalls, processed by Nutrition Data System software. Student t test, correlation coefficients, ANOVA with p for trend and multiple linear regressions analyses were employed to identify dietary factors associated with glucose metabolism improvement. Results: Manuscript 1 consists of a book chapter (Nutrition in Public Health) about epidemiological aspects of diseases of the spectrum of metabolic syndrome with emphasis on dietary factors and nutritional status. Manuscript 2 details the structure, professional team, recommendations and the main psychoeducative strategies used in the lifestyle intervention program developed (methodological article submitted and website). Analyses of manuscript 3 showed that the intervention-induced increase in monounsaturated fatty acids and soluble fiber intake were independently associated with reduction on fasting plasma glucose and the former also with 2h-plasma glucose improvement. Adjustment for anthropometric measurements did not change these results but did after including change in insulin in the models (original article). Conclusion: Intervention programs such as the developed herein should be reported taking into consideration the current scenario of cardiometabolic diseases. In the present study, increases in monounsaturated fatty acids and soluble fiber intake promoted benefits in glucose metabolism, independent of adiposity, at the end of the lifestyle intervention. Possible mechanisms mediating these processes may mainly include improvement in insulin sensitivity. Therefore, our findings strongly suggest that a feasible increase in consumption of these nutrients should be encouraged as a strategy for the protection of glucose metabolism in individuals at cardiometabolic risk

Background: A sedentary lifestyle diminishes quality of life (QOL) and contributes to increasing prevalence of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and thus increases the economic burden on health care and society. Expensive and tightly controlled lifestyle interventions reduce cardiovascular risk and onset of diabetes. Transferring these findings to the primary care setting is of clinical importance. The primary aim of this thesis was to apply a lifestyle intervention program in the primary care setting among individuals with moderate-to-high risk for CVD, and evaluate the effects on physical activity, cardiovascular risk factor levels and QOL. A secondary aim was to investigate the cost-effectiveness. Methods: A randomized controlled trial with one intervention group (n=75) and one control group (n=76) with follow-up at 3, 12, 24 and 36 months was used. Patients with the diagnosis obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes or any combination thereof (mean age 54 yr, 57% female) were recruited from a primary health centre in northern Sweden. The three-month intervention period consisted of group-based supervised exercise sessions and diet counselling, followed by regular, but sparse, group meetings with a behavioural approach during three years. Clinical measurements included anthropometrics, aerobic fitness, blood pressure and metabolic traits. Questionnaires on self-reported physical activity, stages of change for physical activity, and QOL were used. In a cost-utility analysis the costs, gained quality-adjusted life years (QALY), and savings in health care were considered. Probability of cost-effectiveness was described using Net Monetary Benefit Method. Results: Overall, the lifestyle intervention generated beneficial improvements in anthropometrics, blood pressure, aerobic fitness and activity level, and QOL, compared to the control group which only received one information meeting.  At 36 months, intention-to-treat analyses showed that lifestyle modification reduced waist circumference (–2.2 cm), waist-hip ratio (–0.02), systolic blood pressure (–5.1 mmHg), and diastolic blood pressure (–1.6 mmHg) and significantly improved aerobic fitness (5%).  BMI, lipid or glucose values did not differ between groups. Progression to active stages of change for physical activity and increases in time spent exercising and total physical activity were reported. Both physical and mental dimensions of QOL were improved during the study period, but after 3 years differences persisted mainly in physical dimensions. Cost per gained QALY was low, 1668-4813 USD (savings not counted). Visits to family physicians significantly decreased and there was a net saving of 47 USD per participant. Probabilities of cost-effectiveness were 89-100% when 50 000 USD was used as threshold of willingness to pay for a gained QALY. Conclusions: A group-based lifestyle intervention program in a primary health care setting favourably influences cardiovascular risk-factor profiles, increases physical activity level, and improves several dimensions of QOL in high-risk individuals, at least up to 3 years. The intervention method was highly cost-effective in relation to standard care. The results emphasize the advantage of an intervention that combines supervised exercise with regular follow-ups for reaching long term effects.  The study high-lights the feasibility of lifestyle interventions in the primary care setting and the importance of health care professionals supporting change in lifestyle.

Bakgrunn: I senere år har det blitt en økende oppmerksomhet på forebygging av sykdom gjennom helsefremmende tiltak i forhold til livsstilsendring. Allmennprakitiserende leger er viktige samarbeidspartnere. Studier viser at en relativt liten del av befolkningen mottar slik rådgivning. Mål: Studiet hadde til hensikt å beskrive de ulike erfaringene allmennpraktiserende leger med å arbeide som folkehelsearbeidere med et helsefremmende perspektiv med fokus på livsstilsintervensjon. Metode: Studiet benyttet en kvalitativ og fenomenografisk tilnærming for innsamling og analyse av data. 26 allmennpraktikere ble strategisk valgt (kjønn, alder, arbeidserfaring, kommunestørrelse). Data innsamlet i 2007 fra seks fokusgrupper med utgangspunkt temaene livsstilsendring, motivasjon, pasienterfaringer og legenes egne erfaringer på området. Resultat: Tre deskreptive kategorier framkom; (A) Dramatisk inngripen, (B) En travel hverdag og (C) Det gylne øyeblikk med to respektive fire underkategorier. I kategorien A fremkom det at allmennlegene oppfattet livsstilsintervensjon som et vanskelig område å diskutere med pasienten, og var opptatt av maktrelasjonen i forhold til pasienten. Mange av dem oppga usikkerhet i forhold til en slik oppgave. I kategori B beskrev legene utenforliggende årsaker som de oppfattet begrenset intervensjon i forhold til levevaner. I kategori C beskrev legene hvordan de griper fatt i de gode situasjonene for intervensjon. Gjennom en syntese av resultatene foreslås en modell for praksisendring. Konklusjon: Den norske fastlegeordningen skaper et ”kjøper/selger forhold” mellom lege og pasient, noe som uheldigvis kan bidra til uklare maktrelasjoner. Mange av legene i studiet manglet kunnskap om folkehelse og helsefremmende perspektiv i sitt daglige arbeid. Modellen som beskrives, fokuserer på synergieffekten mellom behovet for å avgjøre hvilken prosess som reelt resulterer i helsefremmende arbeidet og en identifisering av de prosesser som legene annerkjenner som ”gylne øyeblikk”. Modellen kan benyttes som en diskusjon i nye fokusgruppediskusjoner med mål, å endre praksis mot et mer helsefremmende perspektiv. / Background: In recent years attention have increased on disease prevention and health promotion through lifestyle intervention. General practitioners (GPs) are important partners in this effort. Different studies indicate that relatively few GP-patient-populations receive this type of advice. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe GPs various experiences of working within the field of public health and especially from a health promotion perspective with focus on life style interventions Methods: The study used a qualitative and phenomenographic approach to collecting and analyzing data. Twenty six GPs were strategically selected (gender, age, work experience, sizes of communities). Data was collected in 2007 from six focus group developed on the basis of lifestyle changes, motivation, patient experiences, and GPs’ own experience with these subjects. Findings: Three categories emerged: (A) Dramatic intervention, (B) Busy workday, and (C) The golden moment. In category A, the GPs describe how they experience lifestyle intervention as a difficult theme to discuss with their patients. They were concerned about the risk of disrupting the balance imbalance of power, thereby depreciating the patients. In category B, the GPs describe ulterior causes for limitations in intervention-strategy towards lifestyle changes. Category C describes how GPs seize the opportunity provided by optimal moments for intervention. Synthesizing the focus group results yielded a model for modifying current health promotion practice. Conclusion: The Norwegian medical system uses a listing system to assign patients to a specific physician, a practice that gives the doctor/patient relationship an element of “purchase and sale” that unfortunately may influence the balance of power between GP and patient. Most GPs lacked sufficient knowledge of public health and health promotion in their daily work. The model described in this thesis focuses on the synergistic effects between the need to determine which processes actually result in health promotion and further identifying those processes GP recognizes as “Golden moment.” The model described here can be used as a point of departure for new focus group discussions aiming to modify medical practice towards health promotion perspectives. / <p>ISBN 978-91-85721-81-8</p>

Coronary heart disease is the single greatest contributor to mortality within developed countries in our time. Type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity, both of which are potent risk factors for coronary heart disease, are common conditions with rapidly rising rates of prevalence both globally and in Australia. Within Australia, Indigenous Australians suffer from disproportionately high rates of diabetes, obesity and coronary heart disease, the reason for which lies, in part, with changes in dietary intake and decreased levels of physical activity over the past 200 years. These disease trends have led to a substantially reduced life expectancy from an increase in excess cardiovascular deaths in Indigenous Australians. Assessment of cardiovascular risk in Indigenous Australians is complicated by ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk factors and their prevalence. There is also evidence that Indigenous Australians are genetically predisposed to diabetes. Current cardiovascular risk stratification algorithms are suboptimal, significantly underestimating risk in Indigenous Australians. This thesis aimed to address these issues. Firstly, to evaluate the efficacy of a lifestyle intervention programme to sustainably improve markers of health outcome in a cohort of Indigenous Australians who were overweight or had type 2 diabetes mellitus by improving diet and physical activity levels. Secondly, to evaluate the utility of anthropometric markers of obesity, ultrasound markers of atherosclerotic burden and serum C-reactive protein as additional cardiovascular risk stratification tools. The Healthy Lifestyle Programme (HELP) was a two year prospective intervention study designed and implemented with substantial input from the Indigenous community. The primary intervention consisted of a series of educational workshops delivered predominantly by Indigenous health workers advocating improving diet and increasing physical activity. To complement these workshops, facilities were established within the community to support dietary improvement and increased physical activity. Sustainable changes to markers of cardiovascular outcome, including significant reductions in central obesity and blood pressure were demonstrated over time. A slowing in the deterioration of renal function as marked by albuminuria was also detected. These beneficial changes were accompanied by increased physical activity and improved dietary intake. In a substudy, individuals with the apolipoprotein E4 genotype, who were dyslipidaemic at baseline, benefited from lipid profiles that improved significantly during the course of the study. Changes in blood pressure and central obesity detected during the course of the project are likely to have significant clinical impact on health outcomes considering their sustained nature. Evaluating ultrasound imaging based markers of cardiovascular risk, carotid artery intimal medial thickness was a more reliable measure of risk based on its firm correlation with established cardiovascular risk factors compared to brachial artery flow mediated vasodilatation. Carotid artery intimal medial thickness may be the better surrogate marker to improve cardiovascular risk stratification in the Indigenous population. Examining anthropometric markers of obesity, body mass index and waist circumference but not waist hip ratio correlated well with traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Furthermore, both body mass index and waist circumference predicted insulin resistance fairly well using threshold values derived from receiver operating characteristics curve analyses. Both body mass index and waist circumference were simple to perform with a high degree of reproducibility between observers and will likely be valuable additional cardiovascular risk stratification tools. Raised inflammatory stress, as marked by elevated serum C-reactive protein levels, was found in individuals with diabetes or obesity. C-reactive protein levels did not correlate with carotid artery intimal medial thickness, suggesting that C-reactive protein raises cardiovascular risk by means other than increasing atherosclerotic burden. Genotyping a small random sample of our the C-reactive protein gene promoter region. This SNP was found to independently increase serum C-reactive protein in the Framingham cohort. A genetic basis for increased inflammatory stress may contribute to coronary heart disease in Indigenous Australians. In summary, a community centred lifestyle intervention programme was efficacious in producing sustainable improvement in markers of health outcome. Examination of additional cardiovascular risk markers in the Indigenous community have provided evidence for using carotid artery intimal medial thickness, waist circumference, body mass index and serum C-reactive protein levels to improve cardiovascular risk stratification. These additional tools would allow for more specific resource allocation to target individuals at highest cardiovascular risk for preventative management. C-reactive protein gene polymorphisms, their contribution to circulating C-reactive protein levels and cardiovascular outcomes warrants further investigation in the Indigenous population. A more proactive risk management plan, which includes a lifestyle intervention component, may yield the greatest improvement in long term health outcomes if targeted at younger members of the Indigenous community.

Coronary heart disease is the single greatest contributor to mortality within developed countries in our time. Type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity, both of which are potent risk factors for coronary heart disease, are common conditions with rapidly rising rates of prevalence both globally and in Australia. Within Australia, Indigenous Australians suffer from disproportionately high rates of diabetes, obesity and coronary heart disease, the reason for which lies, in part, with changes in dietary intake and decreased levels of physical activity over the past 200 years. These disease trends have led to a substantially reduced life expectancy from an increase in excess cardiovascular deaths in Indigenous Australians. Assessment of cardiovascular risk in Indigenous Australians is complicated by ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk factors and their prevalence. There is also evidence that Indigenous Australians are genetically predisposed to diabetes. Current cardiovascular risk stratification algorithms are suboptimal, significantly underestimating risk in Indigenous Australians. This thesis aimed to address these issues. Firstly, to evaluate the efficacy of a lifestyle intervention programme to sustainably improve markers of health outcome in a cohort of Indigenous Australians who were overweight or had type 2 diabetes mellitus by improving diet and physical activity levels. Secondly, to evaluate the utility of anthropometric markers of obesity, ultrasound markers of atherosclerotic burden and serum C-reactive protein as additional cardiovascular risk stratification tools. The Healthy Lifestyle Programme (HELP) was a two year prospective intervention study designed and implemented with substantial input from the Indigenous community. The primary intervention consisted of a series of educational workshops delivered predominantly by Indigenous health workers advocating improving diet and increasing physical activity. To complement these workshops, facilities were established within the community to support dietary improvement and increased physical activity. Sustainable changes to markers of cardiovascular outcome, including significant reductions in central obesity and blood pressure were demonstrated over time. A slowing in the deterioration of renal function as marked by albuminuria was also detected. These beneficial changes were accompanied by increased physical activity and improved dietary intake. In a substudy, individuals with the apolipoprotein E4 genotype, who were dyslipidaemic at baseline, benefited from lipid profiles that improved significantly during the course of the study. Changes in blood pressure and central obesity detected during the course of the project are likely to have significant clinical impact on health outcomes considering their sustained nature. Evaluating ultrasound imaging based markers of cardiovascular risk, carotid artery intimal medial thickness was a more reliable measure of risk based on its firm correlation with established cardiovascular risk factors compared to brachial artery flow mediated vasodilatation. Carotid artery intimal medial thickness may be the better surrogate marker to improve cardiovascular risk stratification in the Indigenous population. Examining anthropometric markers of obesity, body mass index and waist circumference but not waist hip ratio correlated well with traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Furthermore, both body mass index and waist circumference predicted insulin resistance fairly well using threshold values derived from receiver operating characteristics curve analyses. Both body mass index and waist circumference were simple to perform with a high degree of reproducibility between observers and will likely be valuable additional cardiovascular risk stratification tools. Raised inflammatory stress, as marked by elevated serum C-reactive protein levels, was found in individuals with diabetes or obesity. C-reactive protein levels did not correlate with carotid artery intimal medial thickness, suggesting that C-reactive protein raises cardiovascular risk by means other than increasing atherosclerotic burden. Genotyping a small random sample of our the C-reactive protein gene promoter region. This SNP was found to independently increase serum C-reactive protein in the Framingham cohort. A genetic basis for increased inflammatory stress may contribute to coronary heart disease in Indigenous Australians. In summary, a community centred lifestyle intervention programme was efficacious in producing sustainable improvement in markers of health outcome. Examination of additional cardiovascular risk markers in the Indigenous community have provided evidence for using carotid artery intimal medial thickness, waist circumference, body mass index and serum C-reactive protein levels to improve cardiovascular risk stratification. These additional tools would allow for more specific resource allocation to target individuals at highest cardiovascular risk for preventative management. C-reactive protein gene polymorphisms, their contribution to circulating C-reactive protein levels and cardiovascular outcomes warrants further investigation in the Indigenous population. A more proactive risk management plan, which includes a lifestyle intervention component, may yield the greatest improvement in long term health outcomes if targeted at younger members of the Indigenous community.

Introdução: Doenças cardiometabólicas são problemas de saúde pública mundial com repercussões sociais e econômicas. Dieta inadequada é apontada como um dos principais fatores de risco modificáveis, de importância central na prevenção destas doenças. Apesar da constatação de que certos nutrientes se associam a doenças, ainda existem dúvidas quanto às relações causais. Objetivos: 1) Revisar a participação dos alimentos e nutrientes na gênese e controle de doenças crônicas não-transmissíveis integrantes da síndrome metabólica (manuscrito 1); 2) Descrever de forma detalhada a estrutura do programa de intervenção interdisciplinar em hábitos de vida, desenvolvido para usuários da rede pública de saúde do município de São Paulo (manuscrito 2); 3) Investigar o efeito de mudanças em fatores dietéticos sobre o metabolismo glicídico, decorrentes de intervenção em hábitos de vida em indivíduos de risco cardiometabólico da rede pública de saúde (manuscrito 3). Métodos: Foram incluídos adultos com diagnóstico de pré-diabetes ou síndrome metabólica sem diabetes em ensaio clínico aleatorizado envolvendo dois tipos de intervenções de 18 meses: tradicional e intensiva. A intervenção tradicional consistiu de consultas trimestrais com endocrinologista; na intensiva, além dos atendimentos médicos, os indivíduos participaram de sessões psicoeducativas em grupo com equipe multiprofissional. As orientações dietéticas visaram à adequação do consumo de gorduras totais (redução de saturadas e trans e elevação de insaturadas) e aumento na ingestão de fibras. As variáveis coletadas nos momentos pré- e pós-intervenção incluíram dados sócio-demográficos, antropométricos, dietéticos e bioquímicos (glicemia de jejum e póssobrecarga, perfil lipídico, insulina, adiponectina, proteína C reativa, IL-6, TNF-, apolipoproteína A1 e B). A dieta foi avaliada por recordatórios de 24 horas, processados pelo Nutrition Data System software. Foram empregados os testes: t de Student, coeficientes de correlações, ANOVA com p de tendência e análises de regressão múltipla para identificar fatores dietéticos associados à melhora do metabolismo glicídico. Resultados: O manuscrito 1 consiste de um capítulo de livro (Nutrição em Saúde Coletiva) abordando aspectos epidemiológicos de doenças do espectro da síndrome metabólica com ênfase em fatores alimentares e estado nutricional. O manuscrito 2 detalha a estrutura, a equipe integrante, as orientações preconizadas e as principais estratégias psicoeducativas utilizadas no programa de intervenção em hábitos de vida desenvolvido (artigo metodológico submetido e website). Análises do manuscrito 3 mostraram que, ao final da intervenção, o aumento na ingestão de ácidos graxos monoinsaturados e fibras solúveis associaramse de forma independente à redução da glicemia de jejum e os primeiros também à melhora da glicemia pós-sobrecarga. Ajustes por medidas antropométricas não alteraram os resultados, o que ocorreu, porém, após inclusão da variável mudança na insulina nos modelos (artigo original). Conclusão: Justifica-se divulgar programas de intervenção como o aqui desenvolvido considerando-se o atual cenário das doenças cardiometabólicas na atualidade. No presente estudo, o aumento na ingestão de ácidos graxos monoinsaturados e de fibras solúveis promoveu benefícios no metabolismo glicídico, independente da adiposidade, ao final da intervenção no estilo de vida. Possíveis mecanismos mediadores destes processos podem incluir principalmente a melhora da sensibilidade à insulina. Dessa forma, nossos achados sugerem fortemente que um aumento factível no consumo destes nutrientes deva ser estimulado como estratégia para a proteção do metabolismo glicídico em indivíduos de risco cardiometabólico / Introduction: Cardiometabolic diseases are global public health problems with social and economic repercussions. Unhealthy diet is seen as one of the main modifiable risk factors, being of central importance for the prevention of these diseases. Despite the evidence that certain nutrients are associated with diseases, causal relationships are still under discussion. Objectives: 1) To review the involvement of foods and nutrients in the genesis and control of non-communicable chronic diseases, that comprise the metabolic syndrome (manuscript 1); 2) To describe in detail the structure of the interdisciplinary intervention program on lifestyle, developed for costumers of public health system of Sao Paulo city (manuscript 2); 3) To investigate the impact of changes in dietary factors on glucose metabolism, induced by a lifestyle intervention in individuals at cardiometabolic risk attended by the public health system (manuscript 3). Methods: Adults with prediabetes or metabolic syndrome without diabetes were included in a randomized clinical trial involving two types of 18-month interventions: a traditional or an intensive one. The traditional intervention consisted of quarterly consultations with an endocrinologist, while in the intensive participants also attended psychoeducational group sessions with a multidisciplinary team, in addition to the medical visits. The dietary recommendations aimed at the adequate intake of fat (reduction of saturated and trans and increase of unsaturated fatty acids) and increase in fiber intake. Socio-demographic, anthropometric, dietary and biochemical (fasting and post-load plasma glucose, lipid profile, insulin, adiponectin, C-reactive protein, IL-6, TNF-, apolipoprotein A1 and B) data were collected at baseline and after 18-month of follow-up. Diet was assessed by 24-h dietary recalls, processed by Nutrition Data System software. Student t test, correlation coefficients, ANOVA with p for trend and multiple linear regressions analyses were employed to identify dietary factors associated with glucose metabolism improvement. Results: Manuscript 1 consists of a book chapter (Nutrition in Public Health) about epidemiological aspects of diseases of the spectrum of metabolic syndrome with emphasis on dietary factors and nutritional status. Manuscript 2 details the structure, professional team, recommendations and the main psychoeducative strategies used in the lifestyle intervention program developed (methodological article submitted and website). Analyses of manuscript 3 showed that the intervention-induced increase in monounsaturated fatty acids and soluble fiber intake were independently associated with reduction on fasting plasma glucose and the former also with 2h-plasma glucose improvement. Adjustment for anthropometric measurements did not change these results but did after including change in insulin in the models (original article). Conclusion: Intervention programs such as the developed herein should be reported taking into consideration the current scenario of cardiometabolic diseases. In the present study, increases in monounsaturated fatty acids and soluble fiber intake promoted benefits in glucose metabolism, independent of adiposity, at the end of the lifestyle intervention. Possible mechanisms mediating these processes may mainly include improvement in insulin sensitivity. Therefore, our findings strongly suggest that a feasible increase in consumption of these nutrients should be encouraged as a strategy for the protection of glucose metabolism in individuals at cardiometabolic risk

Background: The management of obesity requires lifestyle-based interventions covering nutrition, physical activity, and behavior. As part of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), body image therapy approaches can be used not only by psychotherapists. One tool to conduct behavioral therapy is virtual reality (VR). It is unknown, whether nutrition experts conduct behavioral therapy, and whether they would like to use VR technology as a tool to conduct body image therapy as part of obesity management. Objective: This survey aimed to collect data from nutrition experts treating people with obesity about the status quo regarding behavioral and body image therapy as part of obesity management, and regarding their attitude toward VR in obesity therapy. Methods: The survey was conducted online in autumn 2020. Participants were recruited digitally through expert and professional associations. The standardized questionnaire included items concerning sociodemographic, professional status, behavioral therapy, body image, and VR. The descriptive analysis was performed with Excel, the subgroup analyses with R. Results: Data from 158 nutrition experts was analyzed. Participants were mostly female (98/102, 96.1%) and had a mean age of 45.6 ± 11.3 years (n = 101). Most of the survey participants (93/124, 75.0%) stated to use behavioral treatment methods in case of weight reduction as the primary target. More than half of the participants stated to address body image (99/150, 66.0%). Almost all (111/112, 99.1%) nutrition experts have never used VR-glasses. The suitability and importance of VR technology as part of obesity therapy was estimated as neutral by around 50%. Overall, no statistically significant difference could be shown between age groups regarding attitudes toward VR in obesity treatment. Conclusion: The results of this non-representative survey indicate that nutrition experts do not use VR technology in nutrition counseling sessions to treat obesity. In addition, survey participants have a positive attitude to VR technology, whereas they are not familiar Gemesi et al. Virtual Reality and Behavioral Therapy with this technology. In future, VR technology might support nutrition experts of every age using elements of body image therapy

Background: The primary objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of the Healthy Lifestyles Program (HLP), a novel 12-month complex intervention based in cognitive behavioural therapy and theories of behavioural change, delivered in a community-based setting in Hamilton, Canada. The secondary objective was to explore implementation factors. Methods/ design: A pragmatic pilot randomised controlled trial using quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods. Participants were randomly allocated to either intervention group (n=15) or comparator group (n=15). The intervention group attended weekly group education sessions and met in-person with a healthcare team monthly to create personalized health goals and action plans. The comparator group met with a research assistant every three months to develop health goals and action plans. We assessed feasibility of the program by measuring recruitment, participation and retention rates, missing data, and attendance. All participant-directed and clinical outcome measures were analyzed for between and within group changes using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE). Content analysis was conducted for qualitative data. Results: We recruited and randomized 30 participants to each group (n=15) within 3 months. Retention rate was 60% (9/15) for the intervention group and 47% (7/15) for the comparator group. Less than 1% of participant-directed and clinical outcomes were missing. Participants attended an average of 29 of 43 educational sessions and 100% of one-to-one sessions. The healthcare team valued the program’s holistic approach to care, increased time and interaction with participants, professional collaboration, and the ability to provide counselling and health supports. Location accessibility was an important factor facilitating implementation. Reducing the number of psycho-social education sessions and having access to a gym could improve retention and delivery of the program. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated the feasibility of the HLP with minor modifications recommended for a larger trial and for the intervention. / Thesis / Master of Public Health (MPH) / Rates of chronic physical and mental health illness are rising in Canada. Lifestyle or behavioural changes can prevent or manage chronic diseases. The aim of this pilot study is to test the feasibility of delivering a 12-month Healthy Lifestyles Program to participants in Hamilton, Canada. The Healthy Lifestyles Program is a complex intervention designed to help participants identify health goals and action plans to achieve those goals with the guidance of healthcare professionals. We observed that the program was successfully delivered, accepted by participants and staff and required minor changes to the study design for a scaled-up study. The program showed positive trends for improving goal attainment, depression, and loneliness scores. The results of this study will help inform the design and scale-up of a larger study.

DE CAMARGO, M. A. G. Fatores preditores do alcance das metas do programa de intervenção no estilo de vida em nipo-brasileiros de Bauru - SP. 2008. 99 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Saúde na Comunidade). Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto-USP. Objetivos: Identificar fatores associados ao alcance das metas de um programa de intervenção no estilo de vida em Nipo-Brasileiros de Bauru, SP. Metodologia: Os fatores associados ao alcance das metas (perda de peso de 5%, prática de 150 minutos de atividades físicas semanal, consumo alimentar com teor de gordura saturada inferior a 10% das calorias totais, consumo diário de 400g de frutas, verduras e legumes), após 12 meses de intervenção foram investigados em modelos de regressão logística ajustados, As avaliações do estilo de vida e perfil de saúde foram conduzidas no início do estudo e após 12 meses de seguimento. Resultados: No total, 458 nipo-brasileiros, 56% do sexo feminino, 84% de 2ª geração, idade média (DP) de 60 (11) anos foram analisados. Foram incluídos nos modelos múltiplos para cada desfecho investigado os indivíduos com excesso de peso (n=329), que reportaram não terem o hábito da prática de 150 minutos de atividades físicas semanal (n=278), consumo alimentar com teor de gordura saturada superior a 10% das calorias totais (n=107) e consumo diário inferior a 400g de frutas, verduras e legumes (n=265). Após 12 meses, 11% dos indivíduos com excesso de peso alcançaram a meta de perda de peso, 24, 55 e 16% dos participantes alcançaram as metas de prática de atividades físicas, teor da dieta de gordura saturada e consumo de frutas, verduras e legumes, respectivamente. Após ajuste por variáveis de confusão, maior razão de chance [OR (95%)] para o alcance da meta de perda de peso foi verificada entre mulheres [2,4 (1,3; 4,5)], e menor razão de chance entre portadores de diabetes, hipertensão e dislipidemia [0,4 (0,1; 0,8)] e indivíduos classificados em estágio de mudança de pré-contemplação / contemplação para redução do consumo de carnes vermelhas [0,4 (0,2; 0,9)]. Os participantes de 2ª geração apresentam menor razão de chance para o alcance da meta do consumo de frutas, verduras e legumes [0,3 (0,1; 0,9)]. Nenhuma associação foi verificada para as metas da prática de atividades físicas e de gordura saturada. Conclusões: Entre os Nipo-Brasileiros, as estratégias do programa de intervenção no estilo de vida foram mais eficientes no alcance das metas entre as mulheres, indivíduos de 1ª geração, não portadores de morbidades e participantes classificados nos estágios de mudança de ação / manutenção para a redução do consumo de carnes vermelhas. Palavras-chave: intervenção no estilo de vida, Nipo-Brasileiros; metas / Objectives: To verify factors associated with reaching goals in a lifestyle intervention program in Japanese-Brazilians living in Bauru, SP. Methodology: The factors associated with reaching the goals (5% of weight loss, practice of 150 minutes of physical activity/ week, less than 10% of energy from saturated fat and the intake of 400g of fruits and vegetables daily), after 12 months of intervention were investigated by adjusted logistic regression models. The assessments of lifestyle and health profile were conducted at baseline and after 12 months of intervention. Results: In total, 458 Japanese-Brazilians, 56% females, 84% of 2nd generation, mean (SD) age of 60 (11) were investigated. At baseline, 329 individuals were overweight, 278 reported less than 150 minutes/ week of physical activity, 107 reported food intakes with more than 10% of calories from saturated fat and 265 reported less than 400g of fruits and vegetables/day, and were included in the models. After 12 months, 11% of the overweight individuals reached the goal of weight loss, and 24, 55, and 16% of the participants reached the goals of the practice of physical activity, and intakes of saturated fat and fruits and vegetables, respectively. After adjustments for potential confounding variables, higher odds ratios [OR (95%)] for achieving weight loss were verified among women [2.4 (1.3; 4.5)], and lower chances among individuals with diabetes, hypertension or dyslipidemia [0.4 (0.1; 0.8)], and on precontemplation / contemplation stages of change for reducing red meat intakes [0.4 (0.2; 0.9)]. Individuals of 2nd generation had lower chances of achieving the goal of fruits and vegetables intake [0.3 (0.1; 0.9)]. No associations were verified for achieving the goals of practice of physical activity and saturated fat intakes. Conclusion: Among Japanese-Brazilians, the lifestyle intervention strategies were more efficient on reaching the goals among women, individuals of 1st generation, those without diseases and participants on stages of change of action/maintenance for reducing red meat intakes. Key-words: Lifestyle intervention, Japanese-Brazilians, lifestyle goals, prevention of chronic diseases, nutrition epidemiology.