Teaching a Man to Fish: An Evaluation of a Chronic Disease Management Men's Cooking Class.

There is limited data on the effects of cooking classes on male participants. The LiveWell Chronic Disease Management program's Men's Cooking Class (MCC) aims to help participants gain skills and confidence with food to manage chronic diseases more independently and improve their health. This paper evaluates whether, and how, the program is effective in achieving its goals.A qualitative process was used to collect data from past program participants. Data collection included telephone interviews conducted with a sample of 27 past MCC attendees and a focus group held with a subsample of seven participants. Thematic analysis was performed on collected data.Five major themes emerged, including (i) practical and applicable content, (ii) kinesthetic teaching and learning, (iii) catering to the interests of participants, (iv) tailoring to the demographic, and (v) enjoyment and engagement. Findings indicate the current LiveWell MCC program is effective in meeting its goals. The themes identified are aspects of the program that contribute to this effectiveness.The thematic findings indicate areas in which to continuously adapt and monitor the effectiveness of this program and serve as recommendations for other programming. Further research on the long-term impact of MCC for self-management of chronic disease is needed.

A text message intervention to reduce 21st birthday alcohol consumption: Evaluation of a two-group randomized controlled trial.

Twenty-first birthdays are associated with extreme levels of heavy drinking and alcohol-related harm. Effective preventive interventions that are acceptable to young adults are needed. The current study tested the efficacy of a brief text-message intervention for reducing 21st birthday alcohol involvement designed to correct perceived 21st birthday drinking norms and provide protective behavioral strategies (PBS). We also examined potential moderators and mediators. College students (n = 200) with an upcoming 21st birthday completed a baseline assessment and were randomized to a text-message intervention or an assessment-only control condition. For participants in the intervention group, Message 1 (sent one day before the birthday celebration) focused on personalized normative feedback, and Message 2 (sent day of the birthday celebration) discussed PBS to minimize risk. Primary outcomes were assessed using responses to a follow-up assessment the day after their birthday celebration (93% completion rate). Zero-inflated negative binomial regression analyses did not reveal an overall intervention effect for estimated Blood Alcohol Content (eBAC) or alcohol problems on the 21st birthday celebration. In partial support of our hypothesis, there was an indirect effect of perceived 21st birthday norms on 21st birthday eBAC. The intervention was associated with reduced perceived norms, which was, in turn, related to a lower eBAC. There was a 3-way interaction between drinks per week, anticipated eBAC, and intervention condition for the count portion of actual eBAC such that the intervention reduced eBAC among a high-risk subset of the sample. Future research may benefit from further refining the personalized normative feedback (PNF) component of 21st birthday interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record

The role of GluN2A and GluN2B NMDA receptor subunits in AgRP and POMC neurons on body weight and glucose homeostasis.

OBJECTIVE: Hypothalamic agouti-related peptide (AgRP) and pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) expressing neurons play critical roles in control of energy balance. Glutamatergic input via n-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) is pivotal for regulation of neuronal activity and is required in AgRP neurons for normal body weight homeostasis. NMDARs typically consist of the obligatory GluN1 subunit and different GluN2 subunits, the latter exerting crucial differential effects on channel activity and neuronal function. Currently, the role of specific GluN2 subunits in AgRP and POMC neurons on whole body energy and glucose balance is unknown. METHODS: We used the cre-lox system to genetically delete GluN2A or GluN2B only from AgRP or POMC neurons in mice. Mice were then subjected to metabolic analyses and assessment of AgRP and POMC neuronal function through morphological studies. RESULTS: We show that loss of GluN2B from AgRP neurons reduces body weight, fat mass, and food intake, whereas GluN2B in POMC neurons is not required for normal energy balance control. GluN2A subunits in either AgRP or POMC neurons are not required for regulation of body weight. Deletion of GluN2B reduces the number of AgRP neurons and decreases their dendritic length. In addition, loss of GluN2B in AgRP neurons of the morbidly obese and severely diabetic leptin-deficient Lep (ob/ob) mice does not affect body weight and food intake but, remarkably, leads to full correction of hyperglycemia. Lep (ob/ob) mice lacking GluN2B in AgRP neurons are also more sensitive to leptin's anti-obesity actions. CONCLUSIONS: GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors in AgRP neurons play a critical role in central control of body weight homeostasis and blood glucose balance via mechanisms that likely involve regulation of AgRP neuronal survival and structure, and modulation of hypothalamic leptin action.