Self-reported Health Predicts Hispanic Women's Weight Perceptions and Concerns

Low Health Literacy, Lack of Knowledge, and Self-Control Hinder Healthy Lifestyles in Diverse Patients with Steatotic Liver Disease

INTRODUCTION

In parallel with the obesity and diabetes epidemics, steatotic liver disease (SLD) has emerged as a major global public health concern. The mainstay of therapy is counseling on weight loss and increased exercise. However, such lifestyle modifications infrequently lead to success. We aimed to identify barriers to diet and lifestyle modification in patients with SLD.

METHODS

Patients with SLD completed a 14-item questionnaire that assigned barriers to healthy eating to three categories: lack of knowledge, lack of self-control, and lack of time, with a higher summary score indicating more perceived barriers. We administered assessments of health literacy and physical activity. We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and ordinal regression analysis.

RESULTS

We included 151 participants with a median age of 64; 54% were female and 68.2% were Hispanic. Median BMI was 31.9 kg/m2. Most respondents, 68.2%, had low health literacy and were either underactive, 29.1% or sedentary, 23.2%. Lack of self-control was the strongest barrier to achieving a healthy lifestyle, followed by lack of knowledge. Lack of time was not significant barrier. Patients with the most significant barriers were more likely to have obesity, low health literacy, and be sedentary.

DISCUSSION

Lack of self-control and knowledge are the greatest barriers to adopting a healthy lifestyle in patients with SLD. Future clinical interventions should integrate education that targets various health literacy levels with behavioral approaches to improve a sense of agency.

Demographic and sociocultural risk factors for adulthood weight gain in Hispanic/Latinos: results from the Hispanic Community Health Study / Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL)

BACKGROUND

United States (US) Hispanic/Latinos experience a disproportionate burden of obesity, which may in part be related to demographic or sociocultural factors, including acculturation to an US diet or inactive lifestyle. Therefore, we sought to describe the association between adulthood weight histories and demographic and sociocultural factors in a large diverse community-based cohort of US Hispanic/Latinos.

METHODS

We estimated the effect of several factors on weight gain across adulthood, using multivariable linear mixed models to leverage 38,759 self-reported current body weights and weight histories recalled for 21, 45 and 65 years of age, from 15,203 adults at least 21 years of age at the baseline visit of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (2008-2011).

RESULTS

The average rate of weight gain was nearly 10 kg per decade in early adulthood, but slowed to < 5 kg a decade among individuals 60+ years of age. Birth cohort, gender, nativity or age at immigration, Hispanic/Latino background, and study site each significantly modified the form of the predicted adulthood weight trajectory. Among immigrants, weight gain during the 5 years post-migration was on average 0.88 kg (95% CI: 0.04, 1.72) greater than the weight gain during the 5 years prior. The rate of weight gain appeared to slow after 15 years post-migration.

CONCLUSIONS

Using self-reported and weight history data in a diverse sample of US Hispanic/Latinos, we revealed that both demographic and sociocultural factors were associated with the patterning of adulthood weight gain in this sample. Given the steep rate of weight gain in this population and the fact that many Hispanic/Latinos living in the US immigrated as adults, efforts to promote weight maintenance across the life course, including after immigration, should be a top priority for promoting Hispanic/Latino health and addressing US health disparities more broadly.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity and associated factors among women of childbearing age in Brazil

OBJECTIVE

To assess the factors associated with overweight and obesity among women of childbearing age in Brazil.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Using the National Health Survey (PNS) database, from the year 2013. The socio-economic and demographic factors analysed were age, race/skin colour, region, marital status, education level, employment and family income. Concerning health history, diagnoses of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol, heart attack, stroke, chronic kidney disease, menarche, parity and depression were evaluated. For lifestyle information, health status, alcoholic beverage consumption, smoking and physical activity were included. The outcomes were obesity and overweight. The association of excess weight with socio-economic and demographic factors, health history and lifestyle characteristics was investigated according to the appropriate theoretical-conceptual model for the topic.

PARTICIPANTS

The sample size was 17 109 women aged 18-49 years.

RESULTS

The prevalence of women with excess weight was 55·20 %, with 33·26 % being overweight and 21·94 % with obesity. The factors associated with excess weight were age, non-white skin colour, having a partner, family income of up to two minimum wages, menarche before the age of 12, multiparity, diabetes mellitus, depression, hypertension, high cholesterol, stroke and heart attack.

CONCLUSION

The results showed an association between excess weight and socio-demographic factors, both determinants of general and reproductive health history. Implementation of effective public health policies is necessary to prevent unfavourable outcomes related to the health of women of childbearing age with excess weight.

A cross-sectional analysis of physical activity and weight misreporting in diverse populations: The Seattle Obesity Study III

BACKGROUND

In-person assessments of physical activity (PA) and body weight can be burdensome for participants and cost prohibitive for researchers. This study examined self-reported PA and weight accuracy and identified patterns of misreporting in a diverse sample.

METHODS

King, Pierce and Yakima county residents, aged 21-59 years (n = 728), self-reported their moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and weight, in kilograms. Self-reports were compared with minutes of bout-level MVPA, from 3 days of accelerometer data, and measured weights. Regression models examined characteristics associated with underreporting and overreporting of MVPA and weight, the potential bias introduced using each measure and the relation between perceived and measured PA and weight.

RESULTS

MVPA underreporting was higher among males and college educated participants; however, there was no differential MVPA overreporting. Weight underreporting was higher among males, those age 40-49 years and persons with obesity. Weight overreporting was higher among Hispanic participants and those reporting stress, unhappiness and fair or poor health. The estimated PA-obesity relation was similar using measured and self-reported PA but not self-reported weight. Perceived PA and weight predicted measured values.

CONCLUSION

Self-reported PA and weight may be useful should objective measurement be infeasible; however, though population-specific adjustment for differential reporting should be considered.