Despite a worsening obesity epidemic and despite the American Medical Association (AMA) declaring Obesity a disease (2013), few assessment tools exist that assist practitioners who are charged with identifying risk for development of OW/OB in children. The Center for Health Statistics (2017) reported a 40% rate in obesity in the adult population and 18.5% in children in the U.S. Successful weight loss maintenance after 1 to 2 years of non-invasive treatment is less than 1%, indicating obesity is nearly incurable, making prevention imperative. Assessing risk for OW/OB in children has proven difficult given the lack of validated tools. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the predictive validity and estimate the reliability of the Electronic Kids Dietary Index (E-KINDEX) to measure risk for development of overweight and obesity OW/OB in children aged 10 to 18. In addition, the relationship between quality of life perceptions and OW/OB in children was assessed. Methods. E-KINDEX, a 30-item questionnaire encompassing three dietary domains of food quality, dietary behaviors (attitudes), and dietary habits (Lazarou et al., 2011), was administered to 50 child participants who, with their parents’ consent, agreed to participate. The children also completed the quality of life questionnaire. The range for E-KINDEX scores was 1 (worst) to 87 (best) for assessment of the obesogenic environment that encompasses the immediate environment of the individual, factors that influence food quality, choices, and behaviors. Predictive validity was evaluated using multiple regression, factor analysis, and receiver operating curve statistics in SPSS; reliability was analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha. Pearson product-moment correlations were used to measure strength of relationships among OW/OB, E-KINDEX scores, and quality of life perceptions in the sample. Results. E-KINDEX overall score was significantly correlated with OW/OB (r = -340, n = 50, p = .008), as was Dietary Behaviors (r = -.593, n = 50, p = Discussion. Predictive validity of E-KINDEX subscales and overall were supported through achievement of aims of the study. Correlations between both E-KINDEX scores and child weights were significant and reliability supported by Cronbach’s alpha. Limitations included small sample size of 50 and accuracy of children self-report data in the presence of parents. Parental weight did not correlate with E-KINDEX, but should be studied further relative to the Obesogenic Environment. Physical activity was high in both OW/OB and lean groups. Validated Physical Activity tools are needed. Implications. Although refinement and further study are needed, E-KINDEX is a useful tool for clinicians to identify children at risk for the chronic disease of OW/OB before it develops, perhaps before risk factors become difficult to modify.

Background: Adolescent obesity has tripled over the last three decades and is associated with an 80 percent risk of adult obesity, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and decreased life expectancy. Current adolescent obesity medical recommendations include bariatric surgery and appetite suppressants which lower BMI, but present serious health risks. Nutrition and exercise interventions promote health, however, meta-analysis reveal do not lower BMI. Mindful eating, a behavioral skill, reconnecting eating to satiety cues, and has potential as an anti-obesity intervention which lowers BMI, while promoting health. Study Aims: Aim 1: To determine the effect of a mindful eating intervention compared to usual diet and exercise information on BMI of obese female adolescents. Aim 2: To determine if the effect of a mindful eating intervention on BMI of obese female adolescents is sustained over time. Aim 3: To determine the feasibility of conducting a group mindful eating intervention over six weeks for obese adolescent girls in their school setting. Methods: Obesity was measured by Body Mass Index (BMI) = Weight in Pounds / Height in inches x Height in inches x 703. The sample included adolescent females aged 14-17 years with BMI>90th%. Participants were randomized to an intervention group receiving a 6 week mindful eating intervention and a comparison group receiving the usual care of nutrition and physical activity handouts. Participants' BMI was measured at baseline, immediately post intervention and at 4 week follow up assessing intervention effectiveness. Results: ANOVA results demonstrate a statistically significant difference in BMI between the experimental and comparison groups F(1,2)=22.24, p<.001. On average, the experimental group's BMI decreased 0.71, whereas the comparison group's BMI increased by 1.1 over the 6 week intervention. The experimental group's BMI continued to decline at the 4 week follow up. Attrition from the study was 38%, below the 45% set feasibility threshold. A group mindful eating intervention over six weeks for obese adolescent girls was effective in lowering BMI sustained over time is feasible. Teaching the behavioral skill of mindful eating holds great promise for combatting obesity in adolescents. Future study should include a school based intervention with a larger more diverse sample.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the obesity pandemic in Latin America and identify the factors of development contributing to the pandemic. The paper uses the framework of the nutrition transition as presented by Barry Popkin to trace consumption patterns and changes in dietary habits in the region. The paper looks at three case studies: Mexico and Chile, two countries with high obesity rates, and Peru, the country with the lowest obesity rate in South America. This comparative framework is intended to determine which conditions are necessary for obesity, which conditions are sufficient for obesity, and any conditions that might limit high levels of obesity. The analysis includes ten distinct factors, but concludes that economic growth and urbanization were the most important determinants of a region developing obesity.

A obesidade decorre de um processo multifatorial que envolve aspectos biológicos, comportamentais e ambientais. Atualmente, o tema, por sua dimensão e universalidade, tem despertado o interesse coletivo, sobretudo da ciência, dos governos e da mídia. Um visível esforço está sendo empreendido com vistas ao controle dessa pandemia, com chamamento à responsabilidade de todos os stakeholders, entre eles os atores do Agronegócio mundial. Com o propósito de evidenciar os fundamentos científicos dessas iniciativas e as interrelações entre os agentes envolvidos, buscou-se identificar as dimensões disciplinares presentes nas publicações da FAO/WHO, do governo e da mídia dos Estados Unidos sobre obesogenicidade. Para tanto, foi realizada a análise documental das publicações divulgadas em meio eletrônico por cada um dos agentes, utilizando a mineração de texto. Para a construção dos argumentos que norteiam a pesquisa foram utilizadas as Teorias do Agendamento, do Enquadramento e Priming. Para a construção da estrutura analítica utilizada na mineração de texto foram utilizados 4.648 artigos científicos disponíveis no Portal Web of Science que abordam o tema. Além disso, para caracterizar a dimensão Agronegócio foram coletados todos os artigos publicados no Agribusiness International Journal e no International Food and Agribusiness Management Review no período de 2003-2013. Após a coleta, foram construídos os dicionários de palavras representativos de cada dimensão disciplinar e do Agronegócio, utilizados no escaneamento dos documentos. A base de dados foi composta por 3.342 políticas introduzidas ou promulgadas pelos estados norte-americanos, 1.168 artigos jornalísticos publicados no The New York Times e no The Washington Post e 67 publicações da FAO/WHO publicados no período de 2003-2013. Os resultados indicaram que a mídia tem enquadrado frequentemente a temática sob a perspectiva das Ciências da Saúde, seguida da Multidisciplinar e Agronegócio. Já para o governo, as dimensões disciplinares mais frequentes são Multidisciplinar, Agronegócio e as Ciências da Saúde. Na FAO/WHO as Ciências da Saúde, Multidisciplinar e Agronegócio são as mais frequentes. Mesmo considerando as diferenças quanto ao enquadramento do tema pelos stakeholders, nota-se a existência de alguma semelhança entre esses enquadramentos, evidenciada pela similaridade entre as Ciências da Saúde, Multidisciplinar e as Ciências da Vida. Destaca-se ainda que a participação do Agronegócio é expressiva nos instrumentos políticos dos Estados Unidos, sugerindo o seu papel no crescimento da obesidade coletiva e na sua responsabilidade frente à desejada reversão dessa tendência mundial. / Obesity results from a multifactorial process involving biological, behavioral, and environmental aspects. Today, the scale and universality of obesity has attracted widespread interest, especially among the scientific community, the government, and the media. A visible effort is being made to control this pandemic, with a call for responsibility by all stakeholders, including the leaders of the global agribusiness industry. Aiming to highlight the scientific foundations of these initiatives, and the interrelationships between those involved, we sought to identify the disciplinary dimensions regarding an obesogenic environment in the publications by the FAO/WHO, government, and media in the United States. Therefore, a documentary analysis of publications disseminated electronically by individual agents was conducted, using text mining. Agenda-setting theory, framing, and priming were used to construct the arguments that guide this research. To build the analytical framework used in text mining, 4.648 scientific articles available on the Web of Science portal addressing the issue were used. Furthermore, to characterize the scale of the situation, agribusiness articles published in the International Agribusiness Journal and the International Food and Agribusiness Management Review from 2003-2013 were also used. Subsequently, dictionaries of words representative of each disciplinary dimension and agribusiness were constructed and used while scanning the documents. The database comprised 3.342 introduced or promulgated policies by the North American states, 1.168 media articles published in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and 67 publications by the FAO/WHO, published during this period. The results indicated that the media has often framed the issue from the perspective of health sciences, followed by multidisciplinary and agribusiness. As for the government, the most frequent disciplinary dimensions are multidisciplinary area, agribusiness and health sciences. In the FAO/WHO, health sciences, multidisciplinary area and agribusiness are the most frequent. Even considering the differences in the framing of the issue by stakeholders, it is to be noted that there is some similarity between these frameworks, with a joint occurrence of the health sciences, life sciences, and multidisciplinary area. Note also that the participation of the agribusiness industry is significant in political instruments of the United States, suggesting its role in the growth of obesity and collective responsibility to be taken for the desired reversal of this global trend.

A obesidade decorre de um processo multifatorial que envolve aspectos biológicos, comportamentais e ambientais. Atualmente, o tema, por sua dimensão e universalidade, tem despertado o interesse coletivo, sobretudo da ciência, dos governos e da mídia. Um visível esforço está sendo empreendido com vistas ao controle dessa pandemia, com chamamento à responsabilidade de todos os stakeholders, entre eles os atores do Agronegócio mundial. Com o propósito de evidenciar os fundamentos científicos dessas iniciativas e as interrelações entre os agentes envolvidos, buscou-se identificar as dimensões disciplinares presentes nas publicações da FAO/WHO, do governo e da mídia dos Estados Unidos sobre obesogenicidade. Para tanto, foi realizada a análise documental das publicações divulgadas em meio eletrônico por cada um dos agentes, utilizando a mineração de texto. Para a construção dos argumentos que norteiam a pesquisa foram utilizadas as Teorias do Agendamento, do Enquadramento e Priming. Para a construção da estrutura analítica utilizada na mineração de texto foram utilizados 4.648 artigos científicos disponíveis no Portal Web of Science que abordam o tema. Além disso, para caracterizar a dimensão Agronegócio foram coletados todos os artigos publicados no Agribusiness International Journal e no International Food and Agribusiness Management Review no período de 2003-2013. Após a coleta, foram construídos os dicionários de palavras representativos de cada dimensão disciplinar e do Agronegócio, utilizados no escaneamento dos documentos. A base de dados foi composta por 3.342 políticas introduzidas ou promulgadas pelos estados norte-americanos, 1.168 artigos jornalísticos publicados no The New York Times e no The Washington Post e 67 publicações da FAO/WHO publicados no período de 2003-2013. Os resultados indicaram que a mídia tem enquadrado frequentemente a temática sob a perspectiva das Ciências da Saúde, seguida da Multidisciplinar e Agronegócio. Já para o governo, as dimensões disciplinares mais frequentes são Multidisciplinar, Agronegócio e as Ciências da Saúde. Na FAO/WHO as Ciências da Saúde, Multidisciplinar e Agronegócio são as mais frequentes. Mesmo considerando as diferenças quanto ao enquadramento do tema pelos stakeholders, nota-se a existência de alguma semelhança entre esses enquadramentos, evidenciada pela similaridade entre as Ciências da Saúde, Multidisciplinar e as Ciências da Vida. Destaca-se ainda que a participação do Agronegócio é expressiva nos instrumentos políticos dos Estados Unidos, sugerindo o seu papel no crescimento da obesidade coletiva e na sua responsabilidade frente à desejada reversão dessa tendência mundial. / Obesity results from a multifactorial process involving biological, behavioral, and environmental aspects. Today, the scale and universality of obesity has attracted widespread interest, especially among the scientific community, the government, and the media. A visible effort is being made to control this pandemic, with a call for responsibility by all stakeholders, including the leaders of the global agribusiness industry. Aiming to highlight the scientific foundations of these initiatives, and the interrelationships between those involved, we sought to identify the disciplinary dimensions regarding an obesogenic environment in the publications by the FAO/WHO, government, and media in the United States. Therefore, a documentary analysis of publications disseminated electronically by individual agents was conducted, using text mining. Agenda-setting theory, framing, and priming were used to construct the arguments that guide this research. To build the analytical framework used in text mining, 4.648 scientific articles available on the Web of Science portal addressing the issue were used. Furthermore, to characterize the scale of the situation, agribusiness articles published in the International Agribusiness Journal and the International Food and Agribusiness Management Review from 2003-2013 were also used. Subsequently, dictionaries of words representative of each disciplinary dimension and agribusiness were constructed and used while scanning the documents. The database comprised 3.342 introduced or promulgated policies by the North American states, 1.168 media articles published in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and 67 publications by the FAO/WHO, published during this period. The results indicated that the media has often framed the issue from the perspective of health sciences, followed by multidisciplinary and agribusiness. As for the government, the most frequent disciplinary dimensions are multidisciplinary area, agribusiness and health sciences. In the FAO/WHO, health sciences, multidisciplinary area and agribusiness are the most frequent. Even considering the differences in the framing of the issue by stakeholders, it is to be noted that there is some similarity between these frameworks, with a joint occurrence of the health sciences, life sciences, and multidisciplinary area. Note also that the participation of the agribusiness industry is significant in political instruments of the United States, suggesting its role in the growth of obesity and collective responsibility to be taken for the desired reversal of this global trend.

A obesidade decorre de um processo multifatorial que envolve aspectos biológicos, comportamentais e ambientais. Atualmente, o tema, por sua dimensão e universalidade, tem despertado o interesse coletivo, sobretudo da ciência, dos governos e da mídia. Um visível esforço está sendo empreendido com vistas ao controle dessa pandemia, com chamamento à responsabilidade de todos os stakeholders, entre eles os atores do Agronegócio mundial. Com o propósito de evidenciar os fundamentos científicos dessas iniciativas e as interrelações entre os agentes envolvidos, buscou-se identificar as dimensões disciplinares presentes nas publicações da FAO/WHO, do governo e da mídia dos Estados Unidos sobre obesogenicidade. Para tanto, foi realizada a análise documental das publicações divulgadas em meio eletrônico por cada um dos agentes, utilizando a mineração de texto. Para a construção dos argumentos que norteiam a pesquisa foram utilizadas as Teorias do Agendamento, do Enquadramento e Priming. Para a construção da estrutura analítica utilizada na mineração de texto foram utilizados 4.648 artigos científicos disponíveis no Portal Web of Science que abordam o tema. Além disso, para caracterizar a dimensão Agronegócio foram coletados todos os artigos publicados no Agribusiness International Journal e no International Food and Agribusiness Management Review no período de 2003-2013. Após a coleta, foram construídos os dicionários de palavras representativos de cada dimensão disciplinar e do Agronegócio, utilizados no escaneamento dos documentos. A base de dados foi composta por 3.342 políticas introduzidas ou promulgadas pelos estados norte-americanos, 1.168 artigos jornalísticos publicados no The New York Times e no The Washington Post e 67 publicações da FAO/WHO publicados no período de 2003-2013. Os resultados indicaram que a mídia tem enquadrado frequentemente a temática sob a perspectiva das Ciências da Saúde, seguida da Multidisciplinar e Agronegócio. Já para o governo, as dimensões disciplinares mais frequentes são Multidisciplinar, Agronegócio e as Ciências da Saúde. Na FAO/WHO as Ciências da Saúde, Multidisciplinar e Agronegócio são as mais frequentes. Mesmo considerando as diferenças quanto ao enquadramento do tema pelos stakeholders, nota-se a existência de alguma semelhança entre esses enquadramentos, evidenciada pela similaridade entre as Ciências da Saúde, Multidisciplinar e as Ciências da Vida. Destaca-se ainda que a participação do Agronegócio é expressiva nos instrumentos políticos dos Estados Unidos, sugerindo o seu papel no crescimento da obesidade coletiva e na sua responsabilidade frente à desejada reversão dessa tendência mundial. / Obesity results from a multifactorial process involving biological, behavioral, and environmental aspects. Today, the scale and universality of obesity has attracted widespread interest, especially among the scientific community, the government, and the media. A visible effort is being made to control this pandemic, with a call for responsibility by all stakeholders, including the leaders of the global agribusiness industry. Aiming to highlight the scientific foundations of these initiatives, and the interrelationships between those involved, we sought to identify the disciplinary dimensions regarding an obesogenic environment in the publications by the FAO/WHO, government, and media in the United States. Therefore, a documentary analysis of publications disseminated electronically by individual agents was conducted, using text mining. Agenda-setting theory, framing, and priming were used to construct the arguments that guide this research. To build the analytical framework used in text mining, 4.648 scientific articles available on the Web of Science portal addressing the issue were used. Furthermore, to characterize the scale of the situation, agribusiness articles published in the International Agribusiness Journal and the International Food and Agribusiness Management Review from 2003-2013 were also used. Subsequently, dictionaries of words representative of each disciplinary dimension and agribusiness were constructed and used while scanning the documents. The database comprised 3.342 introduced or promulgated policies by the North American states, 1.168 media articles published in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and 67 publications by the FAO/WHO, published during this period. The results indicated that the media has often framed the issue from the perspective of health sciences, followed by multidisciplinary and agribusiness. As for the government, the most frequent disciplinary dimensions are multidisciplinary area, agribusiness and health sciences. In the FAO/WHO, health sciences, multidisciplinary area and agribusiness are the most frequent. Even considering the differences in the framing of the issue by stakeholders, it is to be noted that there is some similarity between these frameworks, with a joint occurrence of the health sciences, life sciences, and multidisciplinary area. Note also that the participation of the agribusiness industry is significant in political instruments of the United States, suggesting its role in the growth of obesity and collective responsibility to be taken for the desired reversal of this global trend.

The steady raise in childhood obesity is a major public health problem nationally and globally. Childhood obesity is primarily caused by an imbalance between caloric intake and caloric expenditure. The increase in childhood obesity rates over the past 3 decades suggested involvement of environmental and behavioral factors in the obesity epidemic. While childhood obesity is considered a public health crisis in the United States, only limited research is available about the potential impact of neighborhood-level factors such as access to healthy food, neighborhood safety, and risk-free outdoor playgrounds. The purpose of this study was to examine if any relationships existed between childhood obesity and type of diet, level of physical activity, and neighborhood-level risk factors and childhood obesity. This study accessed the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) 2009-2014 data sets. Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression were used to evaluate the associations between independent and dependent variables. The Wald test was used to assess the effects of each individual predictor, while adjusting for other predictors. The findings of this study showed no significant associations between childhood obesity and neighborhood safety; parental educational level; presence of parks, playgrounds, or open spaces; neighborhood walkability; neighborhood safety and support; and gender. Low physical activity levels, however were a significant risk factor for increase obesity. This study may lead to positive social change, enhancing individual lives and whole communities, by drawing the awareness of public health officials and policy makers to the importance of neighborhood factors associated with high body mass index.

Childhood obesity affects roughly 1 in 5 children in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Childhood obesity is related to health concerns including physical illness, mental illness, and occupational imbalance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016; Cantal, 2019; Pizzi, 2016). An in-depth literature review revealed that there are very few childhood obesity programs that support children at the familial or individual level. Rather, current programs are standardized, manualized, and do not allow for customization (Chomitz et al., 2010; Salmon et al., 2008). Program benefits vary based on the participants’ personal and familial factors and supports (Chomitz et al., 2010; Salmon et al., 2008). Therefore, many children do not receive the optimal benefits that these programs suggest. The author developed a 12-week, evidence-based, intervention program designed to guide occupational therapists in treating children with obesity. Behavior change theories guided both the understanding of the problem and the development of the program. Fit 4 You utilizes a flexible intervention approach that allows for customization of the program for each participant, therefore accounting for their personal and familial factors. The Fit 4 You intervention is guided by four evidence-based concepts: (1) planning, (2) self-efficacy, (3) practice and (4) fun. The short and long-term outcomes of this program provide necessary services to an in-need population and contribute to evidence-based practice for occupational therapists. Findings from the program evaluation research will used to improve the program design and will be disseminated to families and occupational therapists to promote program expansion.

Editorial on the Research Topic. Obesogenic Environmental Conditions Affect Neurodevelopment and Neurodegeneration

Un régime alimentaire déséquilibré et/ou la présence de composés contaminantsexogènes peuvent modifier la signalisation endocrine et l’homéostasie des lipides et induirel’obésité. Les travaux réalisés dans le cadre de cette thèse ont permis, dans un premier temps,de développer une méthode simple et rapide, dénommée "zebrafish obesogenic (ZO) test",pour identifier in vivo, par utilisation de la larve de poisson zèbre, des facteurs qui peuventaugmenter ou diminuer la taille de l’adipocyte blanc et ainsi moduler le niveau de l’adiposité(Tingaud-Sequeira, Ouadah, Babin, J. Lipid Res. 52, 1765-1772, 2011). Ce test permetd’identifier des composés et des mélanges de molécules obésogènes et anti-obésogènes etfournit des informations pertinentes pour l'évaluation des risques liés leur présence maiségalement pour élucider les mécanismes impliqués. Les travaux ont, dans un second temps,permis d’apporter des réponses quant aux modalités d’action d’un obésogène puissant, lechlorure de tributylétain, contaminant retrouvé très largement dans notre environnement.Cette molécule agit sur l’adipocyte blanc à une concentration de l’ordre du nano molaire viales récepteurs nucléaires RXR et LXR, et non pas via les isoformes PPARgamma/delta(Ouadah et Babin, manuscrit en préparation). / An unbalanced diet and / or the presence of exogenous compounds contaminants mayalter endocrine signaling and lipid homeostasis and induce obesity. The work done in thisthesis have, at first, developed a simple and rapid method, called "zebrafish obesogenic (ZO)test" to identify in vivo by using the zebrafish larva, the factors that may increase or decreasethe size of the white adipocyte and therefore modulate the level of adiposity (Tingaud-Sequeira, Ouadah, Babin, J. Lipid Res. 52, 1765-1772, 2011). This test helps to identifycompounds and mixtures of obesogenic and anti-obesogenic molecules and providesinformation relevant to the risk assessment of their presence but also to elucidate themechanisms involved. Work in a second time allowed to answer as to how the action oftributyltin chloride, a powerful obesogenic contaminant found widely in the environment.This molecule acts in vivo on white adipocytes in a concentration of the order of nano molarvia nuclear receptors LXR and RXR, and not via the PPARgamma isoforms / delta (Ouadahand Babin, manuscript in preparation).