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Tag: diet
05/30/2022

Telephone and Web-Based Delivery of Healthy Eating and Active Living Interventions for Parents of Children Aged 2 to 6 Years: Mixed Methods Process Evaluation of the Time for Healthy Habits Translation Trial

Hammersley M, Wyse R, Jones R, Okely A, Wolfenden L, Eckermann S, Xu J, Green A, Stacey F, Yoong S, Jackson J, Innes-Hughes C, Li V, Rissel C. Telephone and Web-Based Delivery of Healthy Eating and Active Living Interventions for Parents of Children Aged 2 to 6 Years: Mixed Methods Process Evaluation of the Time for Healthy Habits Translation Trial. J Med Internet Res 2022;24(5):e35771 DOI: 10.2196/35771

Researchers conducted a mixed methods process evaluation of a translational trial targeting the dietary habits and movement behaviors of children with 3 partially randomized arms. The Time for Healthy Habits study recruited 458 total parents of children aged 2 to 6 years. The three arms were a telephone intervention, a web-based app intervention, and an active control (written education materials). At baseline, participants were asked to indicate their preferred intervention delivery method (telephone, web, written) or if they preferred to be randomized to condition. Participants received the assigned intervention for 12 weeks. Intervention acceptability and process evaluation were assessed at 3 months post baseline using a questionnaire developed by the researchers and qualitative interviews. Data on intervention fidelity and study attrition were also collected. Thirty participants completed the qualitative interviews, and 144 (31.4%) participants completed the postintervention follow-up. Most participants preferred the web-based delivery method at baseline. Results demonstrated high acceptability of the web-based and telephone interventions. Participants reported the healthy eating content to be the most useful component of the web-based modules and telephone calls. A significantly higher proportion of participants completed the telephone intervention compared to the web-based intervention. However, study attrition was higher in the telephone intervention arm. Overall, the process evaluation showed high acceptability of all interventions, but significantly more participants preferred the web-based intervention and were retained in the study relative to the other arms. This study highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of remotely delivered interventions and can inform directions for policy makers and practitioners.

06/25/2021

Supplements for Weight Loss: Do They Work?

Article Excerpt: Weight loss supplements come in a variety of forms, including pills, gummies, powders, and liquids, like teas.They often tout fast and easy weight loss with a promise that you can lose inches without having to rely solely on eating a balanced diet or exercising regularly.And they’re extremely popular. The weight loss supplement industry was worth $6.5 billion in 2020. But do these supplements actually work? A new comprehensive study published in the journal ObesityTrusted Source on June 23 has found that dietary supplements do not result in dramatic weight loss as they claim.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/4tan54sf

Article Source: Healthline

06/24/2021

Taking Weight Loss Supplements? They Probably Won’t Work, Study Suggests

Article Excerpt: There is little high-quality evidence that dietary supplements and alternative therapies marketed for weight loss actually work, a study has concluded. Researchers looked at 315 existing studies of supplements and alternative therapies. These were randomized controlled trials, in which participants were monitored after being randomly assigned an intervention.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/ha4vza6d

Article Source: Newsweek

06/23/2021

The Terrible Science Behind Popular Weight Loss Products

Article Excerpt: To scientists and some consumers, it’s likely no surprise most weight loss supplements and treatments aren’t backed by robust evidence. The supplement industry is loosely regulated, reducing incentives for companies to produce convincing evidence that their weight-loss claims are true. Still, the weight loss industry remains a behemoth: A money-making enterprise that uses tactics like celebrity endorsements and doctored images to convince people there’s a quick and easy way to shed pounds. This study further reinforces the fact that the majority of weight loss products are not medicines backed by empirical evidence.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/cy2ep478

Article Source: Inverse

No Strong Evidence Supplements Do Anything for Weight Loss, Large Review Finds

Article Excerpt: Dietary supplements don’t do much to help people lose weight—that’s the verdict from a large new review published Wednesday. The review found little high-quality evidence from studies trying to test these supplements’ claimed benefits and only inconsistent evidence that some supplements could possibly offer a small boost in losing weight. Plenty of people have turned to dietary supplements to help them reach their weight goals. According to survey data, about a third of American adults trying to lose weight have used supplements in the past. Estimates range, but the weight loss supplement market is also thought to bring in billions of dollars annually. Unfortunately, supplements don’t undergo the same level of scrutiny before they reach the public as drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration do, and many studies have suggested that their health benefits aren’t as potent as advertised. This new research, published in the July 2021 issue of the journal Obesity, seems to show the same is true when it comes to weight loss.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/66tmspty

Article Source: Gizmodo

No Good Evidence Weight Loss Supplements Work: Study

Article Excerpt: Losing weight is hard, but many weight loss supplements promise to make the journey easy. Unfortunately, there’s little high-quality research to back these claims, a new study shows… The study authors issued a statement calling for tighter regulation of supplements and more high-quality studies to assess the risks and benefits of weight loss supplements. The study appears in the June 23 issue of Obesity.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/zhvmr38

Article Source: U.S. News & World Report via HealthDay News.  Also posted in Newsmax.

UNC-Led Review Details Lack of High-Quality Evidence to Support Supplements, Alternative Therapies for Weight Loss

Article Excerpt: A review of data from more than 315 clinical trials of weight loss supplements has returned results suggests very little strong evidence exists to support use of dietary supplements and alternative therapies as weight loss interventions in adults. A systematic conducted by investigators at the University of North Carolina (UNC), results of the study suggest risk of bias and sufficiency varied widely across the studies examined and less than 17% of trials were considered to be of low risk of bias and sufficient to support efficacy. “Our findings are important for clinicians, researchers, and industry alike as they suggest the need for rigorous evaluation of products for weight loss,” said lead investigator John Batsis, MD, associate professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the UNC School of Medicine and in the Department of Nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, in a statement. “Only then can we produce data that allows clinicians to provide input and advice with a higher degree of certainty to our patients.”

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/2erbj43m

Article Source: Endocrinology Network

05/07/2021

How Older Adults Can Get Back Into Physical Exercise Following Months of Pandemic Rules

Article Excerpt: Alice Herb, 88, an intrepid New Yorker, is used to walking miles around Manhattan. But after this year of being shut inside, trying to avoid covid-19, she has noticed a big difference in how she feels… Millions of older Americans are similarly struggling with physical, emotional and cognitive challenges following a year of being cooped up inside, stopping usual activities and seeing few, if any, people. If they don’t address issues that have arisen during the pandemic — muscle weakness, poor nutrition, disrupted sleep, anxiety, social isolation and more — these older adults face the prospect of poorer health and increased frailty, experts warn.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/3uu7p6rh

Article Source: Washington Post via Kaiser Health News. Also posted in CNN Health.

04/16/2019

O’Malley Receives Distinguished Award for Scientific Excellence

Article Excerpt: James O’Malley, MS, PhD, a professor of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice and of biomedical data science at the Geisel School of Medicine and director of the Program in Quantitative Biomedical Sciences, has received the 2019 ISPOR (International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research) Award for Excellence in Health Economics and Outcomes Research Methodology.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/y4vnombu

Article Source: Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine News