The associations among objectively estimated sleep and obesity indicators in elementary schoolchildren

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Objective: A negative linear association between sleep duration and obesity in children has been reported, but this has been predominantly based on subjective estimates of sleep duration and only one indicator of obesity. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the relationships among objectively measured sleep parameters and a range of obesity indicators in schoolchildren. Patients/methods: Baseline data were obtained from 335 elementary schoolchildren (aged 7–12 years) recruited to the study. Five indicators of obesity were determined and two global cut-off points (WHO and International Obesity Task Force) were used to define overweight/obesity. Participants wore wrist actigraphy devices (N = 264) for seven consecutive days/nights to objectively estimate six sleep features. Results: Average weekday sleep duration was 7.6 ± 0.7 h and 42.1% of the participants were overweight/obese. After adjustment, those achieving \u3c8 h of sleep had an increased body mass index z-score (β = 0.88, p \u3c 0.001), waist circumference (β = 6.49, p \u3c 0.001), body fat percentage (β = 5.17, p \u3c 0.001), and fat mass (kg) (β = 3.23, p \u3c 0.001) compared to those sleeping ≥8 h. Based on two standardized cut-off points for overweight/obesity, sleeping \u3c8 h was associated with an increased risk of obesity (odds ratio (OR) = 3.75, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.56–9.05; OR = 4.79 95% CI: 2.11–10.90). Conclusion: Sleep insufficiency, in addition to other lifestyle factors, is likely to play a role in childhood obesity. Lifestyle interventions should include advice regarding sleep improvement with promotion of other healthy lifestyle behaviors to tackle childhood obesity, a serious global public health problem

Pelvic floor muscle function in a general female population in relation with age and parity and the relation between voluntary and involuntary contractions of the pelvic floor musculature

Contains fulltext : 80525.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access

Parental involvement and association with adolescents’ fruit and vegetable intake at follow-up: Process evaluation results from the multi-component school-based Boost intervention

BACKGROUND: Based on the assumption of parental influence on adolescent behavior, multicomponent school-based dietary interventions often include a parental component. The effect of this intervention component is seldom reported and the evidence is inconsistent. We conducted a systematic process evaluation of the parental component and examined whether the leveal of parental involvement in a large multi-component intervention: the Boost study was associated with adolescents’ fruit and vegetable (FV) intake at follow-up. METHODS: The Boost study was targeting FV intake among 1,175 Danish 7(th) graders (≈13- year-olds) in the school year 2010/11. The study included a school component: free FV in class and curricular activities; a local community component: fact sheets for sports- and youth clubs; and a parental component: presentation of Boost at a parent-school meeting, 6 newsletters to parents, 3 guided student-parent curricular activities, and a student-parent Boost event. Study population: Students whose parent replied to the follow-up survey (n = 347). Data: Questionnaire data from students, parents and teachers at 20 intervention schools. Process evaluation measures: dose delivered, dose received, appreciation and level of parental involvement. Parental involvement was trichotomized into: low/no (0–2 points), medium (3 points) and high (4–6 points). The association between level of parental involvement and self-reported FV intake (24-h recall), was analyzed using multilevel regression analyses. RESULTS: The Boost study was presented at a parent-school meeting at all intervention schools. The dose delivered was low to moderate for the three other parental elements. Most parents appreciated the intervention and talked with their child about Boost (83.5 %). High, medium and low parental involvement was found among 30.5 %, 29.6 % and 39.4 % of the students respectively. Parental involvement was highest among women. More men agreed that the parental newsletters provided new information. Students with a medium and high level of parental involvement ate 47.5 and 95.2 g more FV per day compared to students with low level/no parental involvement (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Students with a high level of parental involvement ate significantly more FV at follow-up compared to students with a low level/no parental involvement. Parental involvement in interventions may improve adolescents’ FV intake if challenges of implementation can be overcome. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN11666034. Registered 06/01/2012. Retrospectively registered

Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (Gorlin syndrome)

Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS), also known as Gorlin syndrome, is a hereditary condition characterized by a wide range of developmental abnormalities and a predisposition to neoplasms