Fluid Intake and Cognitive Performance: Should Schoolchildren Drink During Lessons?

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that an insufficient fluid intake impairs cognitive performance. Drinking policies at schools-especially drinking during lessons-is a point of controversy. To provide a scientific base for this debate, more empirical evidence is needed on which aspects of fluid intake are crucial for cognitive performance. This study makes a contribution by investigating associations between quantitative and temporal aspects of fluid intake and cognitive performance in everyday school life. METHODS: The study comprised 125 children (age: mean = 10.98 years, SD = 0.38). Amount of fluid intake and time span between fluid intake and completion of cognitive tests were determined on basis of self-reports. Cognitive performance was assessed by standardized tests. RESULTS: Quantitative and temporal aspects were associated with cognitive performance: The more fluid the children consumed and the shorter the time span between their last fluid intake and test completion, the better they performed. CONCLUSIONS: The amount of fluid intake should be adequate and moreover the time span between intake and cognitive efforts should be as short as possible. Schoolchildren are thus recommended to drink at regular intervals and also during lessons.

Adolescent Turkish migrants' eating behavior in Germany: A comparison to nonmigrants in the home and host countries based on the prototype-willingness model.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present research was to examine the regulation of eating behavior among adolescents with a Turkish migration background living in Germany in comparison with adolescent nonmigrants from the host (Germany) and home country (Turkey). The prototype-willingness model (PWM) was chosen and analyzed with respect to differences in mean levels and predictions of its social-cognitive factors. METHOD: Two studies were conducted. Study 1 was longitudinal with 131 adolescent Turkish migrants and 303 Germans, whereas Study 2 was cross-sectional with 102 adolescent Turkish migrants and 270 Turks. Sociodemographic information, PWM variables, and eating behavior were enquired via questionnaire. Group differences in means and prediction patterns were analyzed using multiple-group structural equation modeling. Analyses were conducted separately introducing PWM variables to eat either unhealthy (unhealthy model) or healthy foods (healthy model). RESULTS: The studies show consistent differences in means and predictions between Turkish migrants and Germans as well as Turks. The regulation of Turkish migrants' eating behavior was found to be intentional, whereas Germans and Turks showed both an impulsive and intentional regulation. CONCLUSIONS: Effective interventions on healthy eating for Turkish migrants need to be tailored according to their specific regulation of eating behavior.

Adolescents' eating behaviour in general and in the peer context: testing the prototype-willingness model.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prototype-willingness model (PWM) for eating behaviour in general and in the peer context in order to gain further evidence on the PWM and social-reactive processes in adolescents' eating behaviour. DESIGN: A longitudinal study was conducted. PWM variables for unhealthy and healthy eating were assessed at baseline in 356 adolescents (mean age 12.61 years). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Eating behaviour was measured four weeks after baseline by two indicators: general eating pattern index (self-report) and consumption of unhealthy and healthy snacks in the peer context (behavioural observation). For both, structural equation models were conducted introducing PWM variables for either unhealthy or healthy eating. RESULTS: The PWM was mainly confirmed for the eating pattern index; intention, willingness and prototype perception had direct effects. Differences between unhealthy and healthy eating were found. Moreover, the PWM contributed to the prediction of healthy, but not unhealthy, snack consumption over and above current hunger; willingness had a direct effect. CONCLUSIONS: The PWM can be applied to predict and understand adolescents' eating behaviour. Social-reactive processes, namely willingness and prototype perception, are behavioural determinants that should be considered in theory and as novel targets in health promotion interventions.

Social influences on the motivation to quit smoking: main and moderating effects of social norms.

The present study extends the previous research on the social influences on quitting by investigating inconsistencies between different types of social norms and their main and moderating effects on quitting intentions. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) served as the theoretical framework. Social influences were operationalised by subjective quitting norm (significant others' expectations that one should quit), descriptive quitting norm (significant others' quitting behaviour), and descriptive smoking norm (partner's smoking). Because gender differences had previously been reported, norm effects were also analysed with respect to gender. A total of 168 smokers who had a partner (47% men, mean age M=34, SD=16) completed measures of TPB variables (including subjective quitting norm), descriptive quitting norm, descriptive smoking norm, and smoking behaviour. Subjective and descriptive quitting norms were more inconsistent in women than in men. The descriptive quitting norm enhanced the TPB prediction of intention by 5%. A three-way interaction accounted for an additional 3% of the variance and revealed both that subjective and descriptive quitting norms interacted in their prediction and that gender moderated this effect: the subjective quitting norm correlated positively to quitting intention only in women with a strong descriptive quitting norm. All analyses were controlled for number of cigarettes per day. These findings confirmed that it is important to distinguish subjective and descriptive norms and that differences exist in how these norms motivate women and men to quit smoking. Consistent quitting norms such as quitting of significant others in combination with their expectations that one should quit appear to be less common but more important in women to form a corresponding intention.

Motivation and participation in a phase III cardiac rehabilitation programme: an application of the health action process approach.

This longitudinal study extends the previous research on low participation rates and high dropout rates in phase III cardiac rehabilitation (CR) exercise programmes. It examines the correlates of motivation and participation 6 months after inpatient phase II CR (T1) and the predictors of dropout 6 months later (T2) using the health action process approach (HAPA). Risk perception, outcome expectancies, self-efficacy, intention (at T1), and participation (at T1 and T2) in relation to phase III CR programmes was assessed in 456 patients. Based on intention and participation at T1, patients were classified as nonintenders (56%), intenders (13%), or actors (31%). Group differences were confirmed in outcome expectancies and self-efficacy. By T2, 21% of T1 actors had dropped out. Dropouts and maintainers differed in intention and self-efficacy (at T1). Results are in line with the HAPA and suggest a perspective for tailoring motivational counselling to improve participation in phase III CR programmes.

Perceived self-efficacy gained from, and health effects of, a rehabilitation program after hip joint replacement.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether a routine multidisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation program can increase patient self-efficacy, and to investigate the effects of high self-efficacy at admission, and increases in self-efficacy, on health changes in patients who undergo such rehabilitation after hip joint replacement. METHODS: Participants in this longitudinal study were 1,065 patients who underwent inpatient rehabilitation after hip joint replacement. Questionnaires were administered at admission, discharge, and 6-month followup. The main outcome variables were disability, pain, depressive symptomatology, and self-efficacy to cope with disability and pain. RESULTS: Significant improvements from admission to discharge from the inpatient rehabilitation program in disability, pain, depressive symptoms, and self-efficacy were found. In addition, higher levels of self-efficacy at admission and larger increases in self-efficacy over the course of the program predicted larger health changes (i.e., greater decreases in disability, pain, and depressive symptoms). Results were generally similar for health changes from discharge to 6-month followup. CONCLUSION: A routine multidisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation program after hip joint replacement can result in enhanced self-efficacy.

[An outcome-oriented quality management strategy for the inpatient rehabilitation of orthopedic patients--towards an empirically based "best practice"]. / Outcome-orientiertes Qualitätsmanagement in der orthopädischen Rehabilitation--Auf dem Weg zu einer empirisch begründeten "best practice".

This paper presents the development and testing of an outcome-oriented quality management system for the inpatient rehabilitation of orthopaedic patients, with a special focus on the indication of knee-replacement. On the level of outcomes we describe the development of appropriate indication-specific outcome indicators, capable of being used to rank the performance of hospitals. With regard to the process-quality of the empirical analysis of the rehabilitative-therapeutic services possibilities and limitations are shown. Furthermore an inkling of the shape that an expert-consent-based base of evidence for identifying best practice--arrived at by using primary empirical findings--might assume is presented. The procedure for establishing the latter offers a methodical approach toward continuous quality development of orthopaedic inpatient rehabilitation, one that is characterised by guidelines and performance transparency. Development potentials are recognised in the formal and the content quality of the therapeutic services.