Emotion-induced eating and sucrose intake in children: the NHLBI Growth and Health Study.

OBJECTIVE: Emotion-induced eating has been implicated as a risk factor for the development of obesity, yet no research has been done on emotion-induced eating in children. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study (NGHS), a multicenter collaborative study of risk factors for obesity, developed an instrument for measuring emotion-induced eating in children and tested hypotheses regarding the association of emotion-induced eating with food intake and adiposity in preadolescent children. METHOD: Subjects were 1,213 black girls and 1,166 white girls who were 9 and 10 at study entry. Baseline data were utilized in this report. Girls were assessed by trained female health examiners who recorded height, weight, and indices of sexual maturation. Girls kept a 3-day food diary. Dietary data were coded and analyzed for total caloric and macro nutrient intake. A measure of emotion-induced eating was derived from seven questions about eating in response to emotions (Cronbach's alpha = .78). RESULTS: Black girls had significantly higher emotion-induced eating scores than white girls (10.8 vs. 9.7, p < .0001). For white girls, but not for black girls, emotion-induced eating was associated with increased intake of sucrose. In both races, a modest inverse association was found between body mass index and emotion-induced eating. DISCUSSION: Prospective studies are needed to explore further the role of emotion-induced eating and food intake and the role of emotion-induced eating in the development of obesity.

Psychometric properties of the Self-Perception Profile for Children in a biracial cohort of adolescent girls: the NHLBI Growth and Health Study.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study (NGHS) is an epidemiologic study of 1,213 Black and 1,166 White girls (ages 9-10) of risk factors for obesity. NGHS used Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC) to measure domain-specific competence and overall self-worth. This report reviews the psychometric properties of the SPPC in this biracial cohort at baseline and Year 3 visits (ages 11-12). Simple structure yielding unique components for each of the SPPC domains was obtained for White but not Black girls, whether analyzed overall or by parental education level. Internal consistency was higher for White girls in both years. The lack of simple structure was reflected in the higher correlations among the subscales for Black girls. The structure and internal consistency improved in Year 3 for Black girls, indicating that the physical appearance and athletic competence domains were not yet fully differentiated at baseline. Readers should be cautious, however, when interpreting the SPPC in young Black girls.

Indexes of obesity and comparisons with previous national survey data in 9- and 10-year-old black and white girls: the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study.

OBJECTIVE: To (1) describe anthropometric and body-size measurements in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study (NGHS) population at baseline and (2) examine potential secular trends in the prevalence of obesity in young black and white girls by comparing NGHS baseline data with those of the two National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES I and II) (measured before the NGHS). DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of cohort baseline data. SETTING: Recruitment in selected schools (Cincinnati and Berkeley) and among the membership of a group health association (Westat). PATIENTS: Enrolled 2379 girls, 9 and 10 years of age, including 1213 black and 1166 white. MEASUREMENTS: Anthropometric measures, including height, weight, and triceps and subscapular skin folds. Body mass index was used as a measure of body size. Nine- and ten-year-old black girls were taller, heavier, and had larger skin folds than white girls. Compared with age-similar girls in the 1970s, girls in the present study are taller and heavier and have thicker skin folds. The differences in body size were most notable among black girls. CONCLUSIONS: Black girls have a greater body mass than white girls even as young as 9 and 10 years of age. The prevalence of obesity appears to be increasing among young girls, especially in black girls. This progression, if not altered, could lead to increased disease in the future for adult women, particularly black women.

Risk-factor changes in wives with husbands at high risk of coronary heart disease (CHD): the spin-off effect.

This study of 220 wives of participants from four of the 22 clinics in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT) addresses the question of whether spouses of men exposed to a continuous coronary heart disease (CHD) risk-factor intervention program (SI group) make changes in their own risk status compared to wives of men who did not receive the intervention program (UC group). Total serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were significantly lower for the SI wives. These differences were found for both hypertensive and normotensive wives, although the magnitudes were much greater for the hypertensive wives. There were also significant differences between the two groups of wives in the food-record rating and in dietary-knowledge scores, indicating that the probable mechanism for the beneficial effect of the intervention with respect to cholesterol levels was the change in the family diet. Although not statistically significant, differences indicating a lower risk for SI wives were found for diastolic blood pressure. There was also a greater mean reduction in cigarettes per day for SI wives who smoked.

Sex, race, age, and hypertension as determinants of employee absenteeism.

This study examined the effects of hypertension on two measures of employee absenteeism with the three confounding variables of sex, race, and age held constant. Subjects were 820 Maryland State employees who participated in a worksite blood pressure screening program. Comparison of official records for the year before (1978) and after screening (1979) revealed a small increase in the frequency of sick calls, a decrease in average duration of sick calls, and no net effect on total number of sick hours. Over the two-year period the average duration of absences was higher for hypertensives when sex, race, and age were held constant; however, the effect was confined to females. The findings indicate that hypertension and absenteeism should be investigated in the context of employees' demographic characteristics since these are related to hypertension and also are important determinants of absenteeism. When multiple regression was used, it became clear that demographic characteristics explained more of the variation in work absences than did blood pressure status. The relationship between hypertension and absenteeism was small, accounting for less than 2% of the variance. Thus employers can be reassured regarding the issue of whether newly detected hypertensives stay away from work. Given the weakness of the relationship found between hypertensive status and absences and the very small proportion of hypertensives who are newly detected, their effect on work absences is inconsequential.