Psychological stress reactivity is associated with atherogenesis in youth. The novel hypothesis is that stress promotes atherogenic behaviors, including snacking on energy-dense food and reducing physical activity, and increases adiposity. Stress also increases systolic blood pressure cardiovascular reactivity, which also may be atherogenic. Exercise dampens stress reactivity and may be one mechanism by which it protects against the development of cardiovascular diseases.
Objective This study compares children with severe obesity and children with mild obesity/overweight participating in family‐based obesity treatment (FBT) on change in (1) relative weight and adiposity and (2) psychosocial distress. Methods Children 7 to 11 years old ( N = 241) and their parents participated in 12 months of behavioral treatment (FBT + maintenance treatment) and completed anthropometric, adiposity, and psychosocial assessments (psychiatric disorder symptomology, quality of life). Severe obesity was defined as a baseline BMI ≥ 120% of the 95th percentile ( N = 105). Results At 12 months, 40% of children with baseline severe obesity no longer had severe obesity. Percent overweight and fat mass index measurements showed similar magnitudes of change among children with severe obesity and children with mild obesity/overweight, whereas BMI z score and percent body fat change was lower in the group with severe obesity. Youth with severe obesity were higher on some measures of psychosocial distress at baseline but generally experienced improvements similar to children with mild obesity/overweight. Conclusions FBT with maintenance treatment is beneficial for children with severe obesity and is recommended for use prior to more invasive treatments in severe pediatric obesity. Future studies should assess the necessity of additional treatment, as children with severe obesity still have high relative weights post intervention.
Background Digital health interventions (DHIs) are poised to reduce target symptoms in a scalable, affordable, and empirically supported way. DHIs that involve coaching or clinical support often collect text data from 2 sources: (1) open correspondence between users and the trained practitioners supporting them through a messaging system and (2) text data recorded during the intervention by users, such as diary entries. Natural language processing (NLP) offers methods for analyzing text, augmenting the understanding of intervention effects, and informing therapeutic decision making. Objective This study aimed to present a technical framework that supports the automated analysis of both types of text data often present in DHIs. This framework generates text features and helps to build statistical models to predict target variables, including user engagement, symptom change, and therapeutic outcomes. Methods We first discussed various NLP techniques and demonstrated how they are implemented in the presented framework. We then applied the framework in a case study of the Healthy Body Image Program, a Web-based intervention trial for eating disorders (EDs). A total of 372 participants who screened positive for an ED received a DHI aimed at reducing ED psychopathology (including binge eating and purging behaviors) and improving body image. These users generated 37,228 intervention text snippets and exchanged 4285 user-coach messages, which were analyzed using the proposed model. Results We applied the framework to predict binge eating behavior, resulting in an area under the curve between 0.57 (when applied to new users) and 0.72 (when applied to new symptom reports of known users). In addition, initial evidence indicated that specific text features predicted the therapeutic outcome of reducing ED symptoms. Conclusions The case study demonstrates the usefulness of a structured approach to text data analytics. NLP techniques improve the prediction of symptom changes in DHIs. We present a technical framework that can be easily applied in other clinical trials and clinical presentations and encourage other groups to apply the framework in similar contexts.
Inadequate sleep duration, sleep patterns, and sleep quality have been associated with metabolic, circadian, and behavioral changes that promote obesity. Adolescence is a period during which sleep habits change to include less sleep, later bedtimes, and greater bedtime shift (e.g., difference between weekend and weekday bedtime). Thus, sleep may play a role in adolescent obesity and weight-related behaviors. This study assesses sleep duration, quality, and schedules and their relationships to relative weight and body fat percentage as well as diet, physical activity, and screen time in adolescents with overweight/obesity.Adolescents between 12 and 17 years old (n = 186) were weighed and measured, reported typical sleep and wake times on weekdays and weekends, and responded to questionnaires assessing diet, physical activity, and screen time habits.Controlling for sleep duration, later weekend bedtime and greater bedtime shift were associated with greater severity of overweight (β = 0.20; β = 0.16) and greater screen time use (β = 0.22; β = 0.2). Later bedtimes on the weekdays and weekends were associated with fewer healthy diet practices (β = -0.26; β = -0.27). In addition, poorer sleep quality was associated with fewer healthy diet habits (β = -0.21), greater unhealthy diet habits (β = 0.15), and less physical activity (β = -0.22). Sleep duration was not associated with any weight or weight-related behavior.Sleep patterns and quality are associated with severity of overweight/obesity and various weight-related behaviors. Promoting a consistent sleep schedule throughout the week may be a worthwhile treatment target to optimize behavioral and weight outcomes in adolescent obesity treatment.
Mental health phone applications (apps) provide cost-effective, easily accessible support for college students, yet long-term engagement is often low. Digital overload, defined as information burden from technological devices, may contribute to disengagement from mental health apps. This study aimed to explore the influence of digital overload and phone use preferences on mental health app use among college students, with the goal of informing how notifications could be designed to improve engagement in mental health apps for this population. A semi-structured interview guide was developed to collect quantitative data on phone use and notifications as well as qualitative data on digital overload and preferences for notifications and phone use. Interview transcripts from 12 college students were analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants had high daily phone use and received large quantities of notifications. They employed organization and management strategies to filter information and mitigate the negative effects of digital overload. Digital overload was not cited as a primary barrier to mental health app engagement, but participants ignored notifications for other reasons. Findings suggest that adding notifications to mental health apps may not substantially improve engagement unless additional factors are considered, such as users’ motivation and preferences.
Summary Background Studies of the association between children's depressive symptoms and obesity treatment response show mixed results. Different measurement may contribute to the inconsistent findings, as children's depressive symptoms are often based on parent‐report about their child rather than child self‐report. Objectives We assessed both child‐ and parent‐report of child depressive symptoms as predictors of children's obesity treatment response. Methods Children with overweight/obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 85th percentile; N = 181) and their parents reported on children's depressive symptoms prior to family‐based behavioral weight loss treatment. Results Child percent overweight reduction from baseline to post‐treatment was not predicted by child self‐reported depressive symptoms or parent‐report of child symptoms ( P > 0.80), but was significantly predicted by the interaction between child self‐report and parent‐report on child ( β = 0.14, P = 0.05). In analyses using clinical cutoffs, amongst children with high self‐reported symptoms, those whose parents reported low child depressive symptoms had greater reduction in percent overweight ( t = 2.67, P = 0.008), whereas amongst children with low self‐reported symptoms, parent ratings were not associated with treatment outcome. Conclusions Including both child self‐report and parent‐report of child depressive symptoms may inform obesity care. Research is needed to examine differences amongst child and parent depressive symptom reports and strategies to address symptoms and optimize pediatric obesity treatment.
The purpose of the FABO-study is to evaluate the effect of family-based behavioral social facilitation treatment (FBSFT), designed to target children's family and social support networks to enhance weight loss outcomes, compared to the standard treatment (treatment as usual, TAU) given to children and adolescents with obesity in a routine clinical practice. Randomized controlled trial (RCT), in which families (n = 120) are recruited from the children and adolescents (ages 6–18 years) referred to the Obesity Outpatient Clinic (OOC), Haukeland University Hospital, Norway. Criteria for admission to the OOC are BMI above the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-off ≥ 35, or IOTF ≥ 30 with obesity related co-morbidity. Families are randomized to receive FBSFT immediately or following one year of TAU. All participants receive a multidisciplinary assessment. For TAU this assessment results in a plan and a contract for chancing specific lifestyle behaviors. Thereafter each family participates in monthly counselling sessions with their primary health care nurse to work on implementing these goals, including measuring their weight change, and also meet every third month for sessions at the OOC. In FBSFT, following assessment, families participate in 17 weekly sessions at the OOC, in which each family works on changing lifestyle behaviors using a structured cognitive-behavioral, socio-ecological approach targeting both parents and children with strategies for behavioral maintenance and sustainable weight change. Outcome variables include body mass index (BMI; kg/m2), BMI standard deviation score (SDS) and percentage above the IOTF definition of overweight, waist-circumference, body composition (bioelectric impedance (BIA) and dual-X-ray-absorptiometry (DXA)), blood tests, blood pressure, activity/inactivity and sleep pattern (measured by accelerometer), as well as questionnaires measuring depression, general psychological symptomatology, self-esteem, disturbed eating and eating disorder symptoms. Finally, barriers to treatment and parenting styles are measured via questionnaires. This is the first systematic application of FBSFT in the treatment of obesity among youth in Norway. The study gives an opportunity to evaluate the effect of FBSFT implemented in routine clinical practice across a range of youth with severe obesity. ClinicalTrails.gov NCT02687516 . Registered 16th of February, 2016
