Cognitive disinhibition and infrequent moderate-to-intense physical activity linked with obesity in U.S. soldiers.

PURPOSE: To explore the relationship between body weight status and neurocognitive functioning in soldiers. METHODS: U.S. soldiers (N = 109) answered survey questions and completed neurocognitive tests including simple reaction time, code substitution, procedural reaction time, go-no-go, matching to sample, code substitution recall, and four versions of the Stroop test including congruent (color and meaning of word agreed); incongruent (color and meaning of word differed); neutral (nonsense words appeared), and emotional (combat-related words such as "I.E.D" and "convoy" appeared). Self-reported heights and weights were used to calculate BMI. A BMI ≥ 30.00 kg/m2 was categorized as obese. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze weight status differences (p ≤ 0.05) across neurocognitive variables. Binomial logistic regression analysis with obesity as the dependent variable was used to ascertain the contributions (p ≤ 0.05) of exercise and the neurocognitive measures that differed based on weight status. RESULTS: Twenty-nine participants (26.6%) were obese. The obese group had significantly lower scores on code substitution, and both neutral and emotional Stroop tasks. Only Stroop emotional scores, p = 0.022, OR = 0.97, and frequency of moderate/intense physical activity, p = 0.009, OR = 0.10, were significant predictors of weight status. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity was associated with less frequent moderate/intense physical activity and compromised executive functioning, namely decrements in response inhibition. Given the design and sample size, additional research is needed to better understand the direction of the relationship between these variables and to inform research related to the treatment and prevention of obesity within military populations. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, case-control analytic study.

The impact of replacing breakfast grains with meat/meat alternatives: an evaluation of child nutrition policy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) rule that allows a meat/meat alternative to replace the breakfast grain requirement three times per week. DESIGN: A 5-week menu including breakfast, lunch and snack was developed with meat/meat alternative replacing the breakfast grain requirement three times per week. Menu nutrients based on the minimum requirements were compared with reference values representing the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range for fat and a range of reference values representing two-thirds the Dietary Reference Intake for 3-year-olds and 4-5-year-olds. The meal pattern minimum requirements were compared with two-thirds of those recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). SETTING: Evaluation took place between April and June 2019. PARTICIPANTS: Human subjects were not utilized. RESULTS: The CACFP minimum grain requirement is well below the DGA reference value (0·5-1·5 v. 3·33 ounce-equivalents). Energy (2208·52 kJ) was below the reference values (3126·83-4362·53 kJ). Protein (34·43 g) was above the reference values (9·87-10·81 g). Carbohydrate (76·65 g), fibre (7·46 g) and vitamin E (1·69 mg) were below their reference values of 86·67 g, 10·46-14·60 g and 4-4·76 mg, respectively. Fat (22·57 %) was below the reference range (25-40 %). CONCLUSIONS: The CACFP rule which allows a meat/meat alternative to replace the breakfast grain requirement three times per week may result in meal patterns low in energy, carbohydrate, fat, fibre and vitamin E, while providing an excessive amount of protein.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptomatology, binge eating disorder symptomatology, and body mass index among college students.

Objective: To explore the relationship between symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), symptoms of binge eating disorder, and body mass index (BMI) among students at a southern university. Participants: Two hundred seventy-seven college students. Methods: Between January 31, 2013 and March 27, 2013, participants completed the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) Screener and the Binge Eating Scale (BES) in addition to permitting researchers to measure their height and weight. Results: Higher ASRS scores, higher BMIs, and lower BES scores were observed among men. Among both men and women, BES scores were positively correlated with BMI and ASRS scores; however, the correlation between ASRS and BMI was not significant. Conclusion: Binge eating disorder symptomatology was associated with increased ADHD symptomatology and a higher BMI among both men and women. Among students presenting with obesity or ADHD, screening for binge eating may assist with the identification of problematic eating behaviors.

Use of Health Belief Model Variables To Examine Self-Reported Food Handling Behaviors in a Sample of U.S. Adults Attending a Tailgate Event.

Unsafe food handling behaviors are common among consumers, and, given the venue, individuals attending a tailgating event may be at risk for foodborne illness. The objective of this study was to measure the association between Health Belief Model variables and self-reported usual food handling behaviors in a convenience sample of men and women at a tailgate event. Participants (n = 128) completed validated subscales for self-reported food handling behaviors (i.e., cross-contamination, sanitation), perceived threat of foodborne illness (i.e., perceived severity, perceived susceptibility), and safe food handling cues to action (i.e., media cues, educational cues). Perceived severity of foodborne illness was associated with safer behaviors related to sanitation (r = 0.40; P < 0.001) and cross-contamination (r = 0.33; P = 0.001). Perceived severity of foodborne illness was also associated with exposure to safe food handling media cues (r = 0.20; P = 0.027) but not with safe food handling educational cues. A large proportion of participants reported that they never or seldom (i) read newspaper or magazine articles about foodborne illness (65.6%); (ii) read brochures about safe ways to handle food (61.7%); (iii) see store displays that explain ways to handle food (51.6%); or (iv) read the "safe handling instructions" on packages of raw meat and poultry (46.9%). Perceived severity of foodborne illness was positively related to both dimensions of safe food handling as well as with safe food handling media cues. Except for the weak correlation between media cues and perceived severity, the relationships between safe food handling cues and perceived threat, as well as between safe food handling cues and behaviors, were nonsignificant. This finding may be due, in part, to the participants' overall low exposure to safe food handling cues. The overall results of this study reinforce the postulate that perceived severity of foodborne illness may influence food handling behaviors.

Fast transmethylation of total lipids in dried blood by microwave irradiation and its application to a population study.

A methodology combining finger-pricked blood sampling, microwave accelerated fatty acid assay, fast gas chromatography data acquisition, and automated data processing was developed, evaluated and applied to a population study. Finger-pricked blood was collected on filter paper previously impregnated with 0.05 mg of the antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene and air-dried at room temperature. Transmethylation was accelerated by microwave irradiation in an explosion-proof multimode microwave reaction system. The chemical procedure was based on a one-step direct transmethylation procedure catalyzed by acetyl chloride. The short-term stability of PUFA in blood dried on filter paper and storage at room temperature was examined using venous blood. The recoveries ranged from 97 to 101 % for the categorized fatty acids as well as the ratios of n-6 to n-3 PUFA and the n-3 % highly unsaturated fatty acid. Specifically, recoveries were 99, 98, 97, and 97 % for linoleic acid (18:2n-6), arachidonic acid (ARA), α-linolenic acid (ALA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), respectively. The mol% (mean ± SD, 95 % confidence interval) of fatty acid composition in subjects from the population study was determined as 36.2 ± 3.8 (35.8, 36.7), 23.2 ± 3.0 (22.8, 23.5), 36.8 ± 3.5 (36.4, 37.2) and 3.79 ± 1.0 (3.68, 3.91) for the saturated, monounsaturated, n-6 and n-3 PUFA, respectively. Individually, the mean mol% (95 % CI) was 22.6 (22.3, 22.9) for 18:2n-6, 9.5 (9.3, 9.7) for ARA, 0.51 (0.49, 0.53) for ALA, 0.42 (0.38, 0.47) for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and 1.67 (1.61, 1.73) for DHA. This methodology provides an accelerated yet high-efficiency, chemically safe, and temperature-controlled transmethylation, with diverse laboratory applications including population studies.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder subtypes and their relation to cognitive functioning, mood states, and combat stress symptomatology in deploying U.S. soldiers.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) subtypes and neuropsychological functioning among U.S. soldiers. METHODS: Deploying soldiers (N = 260) completed the World Health Organization Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) Screener. Cognitive tests, a deployment health-history questionnaire, and the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist-Military Version were completed by subsamples of available participants. RESULTS: The prevalence of positive ASRS screens was 10.4%. ASRS scores were correlated with PTSD avoidance (n = 63, p = 0.37, p = 0.003), hyperarousal (n = 63, p = 0.25, p = 0.047), and total PTSD scores (n = 62, p = 0.33, p = 0.009); and all six moods (e.g., anger, anxiety) scale scores (n = 110; p = -0.37 to 0.43). ASRS was also correlated with scores on the match-to-sample (n = 110, p = -0.23, p = 0.014) and emotional Stroop (n = 108, p = -0.23, p = 0.016) tasks. In addition, a differential pattern between subtypes of ADHD was noted with regard to cognitive functioning, mood, and combat stress symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: Although the results are preliminary given the sample size, the prevalence and comorbidities of ADHD appear to be similar among military and nonmilitary populations.

Use of the Health Belief Model to examine older adults' food-handling behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the association among Health Belief Model (HBM) variables and safe food-handling behaviors among older adults. DESIGN: A mail survey using Dillman's Total Design Method. SETTING: In October 1999, a survey was sent to volunteers from a preexisting cohort of noninstitutionalized older adults living throughout Nevada. Data collection continued through January 2000. PARTICIPANTS: With a 56% response rate, the sample (n = 266) was composed mainly of women (73%) and individuals from urban counties (74%). The mean age was 68.09 years (SD = 8.27). Except for gender, sample characteristics were similar to those of the preexisting cohort. VARIABLES MEASURED: Perceived threat of foodborne illness (ie, perceived severity and perceived susceptibility), cues to action (ie, media cues and educational cues), and safe food-handling behaviors (ie, sanitation and cross-contamination). ANALYSIS: Rank order correlation coefficients were computed to measure the association among variables. Significance was set at P <.05. RESULTS: Cues to action were positively related to perceived threat of foodborne illness and safe food-handling behaviors. Perceived severity of foodborne illness was positively related to one dimension of safe food-handling behaviors (ie, sanitation). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The HBM is a useful framework for examining food-handling behaviors among older adults.