Observations of parent-adolescent interactions relate to food parenting practices and adolescent disordered eating in adolescents at risk for adult obesity.

Adolescent disordered eating and obesity are interrelated and adversely relate to mental and metabolic health. Parental feeding practices have been associated with adolescent disordered eating and obesity. Yet, observable interactions related to food parenting have not been well characterized. To address this gap, N = 30 adolescents (M ± SD 14 ± 2 year) at risk for adult obesity due to above-average body mass index (BMI ≥70th percentile) or parental obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2 ) participated in a video-recorded parent-adolescent task to discuss a food/eating-related disagreement. Interactions were coded for individual/dyadic affect/content using the Interactional Dimensions Coding System. We examined associations of interaction qualities with parent-reported food practices, adolescent disordered eating behaviors/attitudes, and insulin resistance. Reported parenting practices were correlated with multiple interaction qualities (p-values <0.05), with the most consistent correspondence between parent-reported pressure to eat (e.g., pressure to eat more healthy foods) and negative aspects of parent-adolescent interactions. Also, after accounting for adolescent age, sex, and BMI-standard score, parent-adolescent interaction qualities were associated with adolescents' disordered eating and insulin resistance. Specifically, greater adolescent problem-solving related to less adolescent global disordered eating, shape, and weight concern (p-values <0.05); adolescent autonomy related to less weight concern (p = 0.03). Better parent communication skills were associated with less adolescent eating concern (p = 0.04), and observed dyadic mutuality related to adolescents' lower insulin resistance (p = 0.03). Parent-adolescent interaction qualities during food/eating-related disagreements show associations with parent-reported food practices and adolescent disordered eating. This method may offer a tool for measuring the qualities of parent-adolescent food/eating-related interactions. A nuanced understanding of conversations about food/eating may inform family-based intervention in youth at-risk for adult obesity.

Isotopic discrimination between carrion and elytra clippings of lab-reared American burying beetles (Nicrophorus americanus): Implications for conservation and evaluation of feeding relationships in the wild.

RATIONALE: Differences in stable isotope composition between an animal and its diet are quantified by experimentally derived diet-tissue discrimination factors. Appropriate discrimination factors between consumers and prey are essential for interpreting stable isotope patterns in ecological studies. While available for many taxa, these values are rarely estimated for organisms within the carrion food web. METHODS: We used a controlled-diet stable isotope feeding trial to quantify isotopic diet-tissue discrimination factors of carbon (δ13 C values) and nitrogen (δ15 N values) from laboratory-reared Nicrophorus americanus raised on carrion. We used exoskeleton samples of beetle elytra (wing covers) to determine diet-tissue discrimination factors using a continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometer equipped with an elemental analyzer. We also measured the isotopic compositions of five species of co-occurring, wild-caught burying beetles and evaluated feeding relationships. RESULTS: We found differences in stable carbon discrimination between carrion sources (mammalian and avian) and lab-reared beetles, but no difference in stable nitrogen discrimination. Values for δ13 C did not differ among wild-caught burying beetle species, but values for δ15 N were significantly different for the three species with overlapping breeding seasons. Furthermore, wild-caught burying beetles within our study area do not appear to use avian carrion resources to rear their young. CONCLUSIONS: This study informs future interpretation of stable isotope data for insects within the carrion food web. In addition, these results provide insight into carrion resources used by co-occurring burying beetle species in situ. We also demonstrated that independent of adult food type, the larval food source has a significant impact on the isotopic signatures of adult beetles, which can be estimated using a minimally invasive elytra clipping.

Associations of parental feeding practices and food reward responsiveness with adolescent stress-eating.

Rates of adolescent obesity have continued to rise over the past decade. As adolescence is an important time for developing eating habits that endure into adulthood, more information is needed about the potentially modifiable family- and individual-level factors that influence the development of common overeating behaviors such as stress-eating during adolescence. In this study, we conducted secondary data analyses to evaluate how parental feeding practices and adolescents' food reward responsiveness related to adolescents' stress-eating during a laboratory test meal. Participants were 90 healthy adolescents (50% female), 12-17 years of age (M = 14.3, SD = 1.7 years), at risk for excess weight gain (BMI percentile M = 92.7, SD = 7.5). Parental feeding behaviors were assessed with parent-report on the Child Feeding Questionnaire-Adolescent Version. Adolescents' relative reward value of food was measured with a behavioral task. Stress-eating was assessed as total energy intake from a buffet lunch meal after adolescents participated in the Trier Social Stress Test adapted for adolescents. Results revealed that parental concern about their child's weight (t = 2.27, p = .02) and adolescents' relative reward value of food (t = 2.24, p = .03) were related to greater stress-eating, controlling for BMI standard score, age, sex, and general perceived stress. Parental restriction was not related to stress-eating in this sample (p = .21). These findings suggest that parental attitudes about their adolescent's weight and adolescents' own internalized responsiveness to food as a reward may play a role in propensity to engage in overeating in response to stress.

Mindfulness-based group intervention in adolescents at-risk for excess weight gain: A randomized controlled pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess feasibility/acceptability of a mindfulness-based approach to excess weight prevention in adolescents at-risk for excess weight gain. To pilot test efficacy of a mindfulness-based intervention for improving food reward sensitivity, stress-eating, executive function (EF), and BMI/adiposity. METHODS: A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted with 12-17y adolescents at-risk for excess weight gain based on above-average weight (body mass index [BMI]≥70%ile) or parental history of obesity (BMI≥30 kg/m2). Adolescents were randomized to a mindfulness-based (n = 29) or health education control group (n = 25) that met for six weekly one-hour sessions. Feasibility/acceptability were determined from attendance and acceptability survey ratings. At baseline, six-week and six-month follow-up, adolescents' perceived stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale, food reward sensitivity with a behavioral task, stress-eating during a laboratory test meal, and EF with the parent-reported Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function and NIH Toolbox. At the same intervals, BMI indices and body fat by air displacement plethysmography were assessed in a fasted state. RESULTS: Median session attendance was 6:6 sessions in both conditions; program acceptability ratings were above-average. Compared to health education, adolescents in mindfulness had lower food reward sensitivity at six-months (Cohen's d = 0.64, p = .01). There were no between-condition differences in BMI (mindfulness vs. health educationΔsix-months 95%CI 0.20, 1.52 kg/m2 vs. 0.21, 1.62 kg/m2) or adiposity (-3.64, -0.61% vs. -4.31, -1.04%) changes. CONCLUSIONS: A mindfulness-based group intervention is feasible/acceptable among adolescents at-risk for excess weight. In this pilot sample, mindfulness and health education were equivocal for BMI/adiposity outcomes. Future trials with a larger, adequately-powered sample and longer-term follow-up are necessary to test efficacy of a mindfulness-based intervention for food reward sensitivity, stress-eating, EF, and stabilizing growth trajectories in youth at-risk for adult obesity.

Associations between childhood maltreatment and behavioral sleep disturbances across the lifespan: A systematic review.

Childhood maltreatment has a range of long-term developmental and health consequences. Emerging research suggests that sleep disturbances may be a key behavioral health risk factor implicated in the relationship between maltreatment and poor health across the lifespan. This systematic review examined the association between maltreatment and behavioral sleep disturbances in childhood and adulthood. Studies were identified through PsycINFO, PubMed, and alternative search strategies such as Google Scholar and reference list checks, with an end date of July 2021. Quantitative, peer-reviewed articles examining behavioral sleep outcomes and/or characteristics among maltreatment-exposed samples were included. We assessed the potential risk of bias by examining study design and sleep and maltreatment assessment methods. Across 73 studies included in this review, there was a robust association between childhood maltreatment and behavioral sleep disturbances. Findings suggest that linkages between maltreatment and sleep outcomes diverge with respect to maltreatment characteristics, type of behavioral sleep disturbance assessed, use of subjective versus objective measures, and study design. Given that behavioral sleep disturbances are modifiable, more research is needed that incorporates objective measures of sleep and longitudinal designs to identify specific points of intervention to mitigate the potential long-term impacts of childhood maltreatment on health across socio-demographically diverse populations.

Effects of a mindfulness-induction on subjective and physiological stress response in adolescents at-risk for adult obesity.

BACKGROUND: Mindfulness-training may benefit stress response and stress-eating, yet few studies have experimentally tested these effects in adolescents. In this short communication, we report whether a brief mindfulness-induction affected acute stress response and stress-eating in adolescents at-risk for adult obesity. We explored disordered eating as a moderator. METHOD: Twenty-nine adolescents (age 14 ± 2 y) at-risk for adult obesity participated in a within-subjects, randomized crossover experiment. Following a 10-minute mindfulness or neutral-induction on different days in random order, the Trier Social Stress Test adapted for adolescents was administered, followed by an ad libitum lunch meal. Physiological stress response (heart rate, blood pressure) and subjective stress response (anxiety, mindlessness) were determined with area under the curve with respect to increase. Stress-eating was measured as test meal energy consumed. Global disordered-eating and binge-eating were assessed with the Eating Disorders Examination-Questionnaire. RESULTS: Relative to a neutral-induction, a mindfulness-induction reduced state anxiety response (p = .04). There were significant interactions of induction-type by global disordered-eating (p = .02) and binge-eating (p = .03), such that the mindfulness-induction most reduced anxiety response in adolescents with relatively lower global disordered-eating and those with no binge-eating. Induction-type also interacted with binge-eating in predicting diastolic blood pressure (p = .03). A mindfulness-induction, versus neutral-induction, most reduced diastolic blood pressure response in adolescents with binge-eating. CONCLUSIONS: Brief mindfulness-training may alter some aspects of acute stress response, with variations by disordered-eating. Future research should test alternative mindfulness induction-types (e.g., acceptance/self-compassion) to improve our understanding of how mindfulness-training may benefit adolescents at-risk for adult obesity.

Statin Use and Incident Diabetes Explained by Bias Rather Than Biology.

The evidence supporting a link between statin use and incident diabetes is seemingly robust; it has been observed in multiple prospective randomized trials and confirmed by meta-analyses. However, differences in survival among statin vs placebo-treated patients in randomized trials might have caused bias with respect to diabetes surveillance. Bias might have been further exaggerated from the strong association between diabetes and cardiovascular events, which were the primary end points in major statin trials. Meta-analyses of randomized trials have demonstrated a 9% increase in the odds of incident diabetes among patients who receive statins compared with placebo (odds ratio [OR], 1.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.17) and a 12% increase of high-dose statin therapy vs low doses (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.04-1.22). To simulate the possible effect of bias in these meta-analyses, each pooled trial was modified by assuming that 10% of the patients who experienced primary end points subsequently developed diabetes undetected. Meta-analyses of these simulated trials attenuated the association to a nonsignificant level among placebo-controlled trials (simulated OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.98-1.10), and high- vs low-dose trials (simulated OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.00-1.15). Our results demonstrate how a small influence of bias in each randomized trial could have contributed substantially to the observed association between statin use and diabetes.

O-glycosylation of protein subpopulations in alcohol-extracted rice proteins.

Mucin-type O-glycosylation has been well characterized in mammalian systems but not in plants. In this study, the purified alcohol-soluble, non-reduced protein (prolamin) fraction from rice seed was investigated for the occurrence of O-linked oligosaccharides. As storage prolamins are unlikely to be O-glycosylated, any O-glycosylation found was likely to belong to co-extracted proteins, whether because of association with the protein body or solubility. SDS-PAGE and MS analyses revealed 14 and 16kDa protein families in fractions that bound to the lectins peanut agglutinin (PNA), Vicia villosa lectin (VVL) and Jacalin, indicative of the presence of O-linked saccharides. Enzymatic cleavage, fluorescent labeling and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis demonstrated a peak consistent with Gal-beta-(1-->3)-GalNAc, with similar MS/MS fragmentation. Additionally, upon chemical analysis, a GlcNAc-containing O-linked carbohydrate moiety was discovered. Protein blotting with anti-O-GlcNAc antibody (clone CTD110.6) was positive in a subpopulation of the 14kDa alcohol-soluble protein fraction, but a hot capping experiment was negative. Therefore, the GlcNAc residue in this case is unlikely to be terminal. Additionally, a positive reaction with CTD110.6mAb cannot be taken as absolute proof of O-GlcNAc modification and further confirmatory experiments should be employed. We hypothesize that O-glycosylation may contribute to protein functionality or regulation. Further investigation is required to identify the specific proteins with these modifications. This 'reverse' approach could lead to the identification of proteins involved in mRNA targeting, signaling, translation, anchoring or maintenance of translational quiescence and may be applied to germinating rice seed extracts for further elucidation of protein function and regulation.