PCD News Summary for October 12, 2017
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CDC’s News Media Branch releases to reporters the PCD media packet every Tuesday afternoon between 12 and 2 pm.
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Compañeros: High-School Students Mentor Middle-School Students to Address Obesity Among Hispanic Adolescents
Adding mentoring by high-school students to an obesity prevention program for Hispanic middle-school students improved weight outcomes among overweight and obese students. High-school compañeros, or health mentors, were trained to participate in a 6-month obesity program alongside middle-school students in Houston. The program was conducted from 2013 through 2016 in three groups of students, one in each school year, and students were followed for 12 months. The primary outcome was standardized body mass index (zBMI), which was analyzed at the beginning of the program, at six months, and at 12 months. After the six-month program, students in the condition with compañeros had a larger decrease in zBMI than students in the condition without compañeros. Students who received the intervention with compañeros showed greater sustained results at 12 months. Innovative, low-cost approaches like the one in this study can be implemented by school staff, and can facilitate the meaningful changes in weight outcomes that are necessary to curb the alarming rates of obesity among Hispanic youth.
Melissa Newton
mnewton@cdc.gov
404-718-6281
Early-Onset Obesity and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome Among Chilean Adolescents
Obesity early in childhood increases an adolescent’s risk of metabolic abnormalities. This can lead to the development of chronic disease, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Researchers followed a group of Chilean children from infancy to adolescence, measuring overweight and obesity at age 5 years and in adolescence. Blood pressure and fasting blood samples were assessed in adolescence only. Eighteen percent of participants had early onset obesity, and 50 percent of these remained obese in adolescence. Average risk scores for metabolic syndrome in adolescence were significantly higher among those with early onset obesity than among those without.
Melissa Newton
mnewton@cdc.gov
404-718-6281
A Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Tool for Low-Income Adults in Mexico
To meet the need for a diabetic-retinopathy screening program in Mexico, researchers have created a practical screening tool that can be used by nonspecialized health care personnel in low-income settings with the hopes of reducing the risk of blindness caused by diabetes among Mexican adults. Researchers analyzed biochemical, clinical, anthropometric, and sociodemographic information from 1,000 adults with diabetes in low-income communities in Mexico and performed ophthalmologic evaluations. They then developed a low-cost, easy-to-apply tool to detect people at high risk of diabetic retinopathy.
Melissa Newton
mnewton@cdc.gov
404-718-6281
Marketing Strategies to Encourage Rural Residents of High-Obesity Counties to Buy Fruits and Vegetables in Grocery Stores
A Kentucky program aimed at improving the health of grocery shoppers’ food purchases by providing recipe samples and discounts resulted in frequent shoppers being more motivated to purchase heathier foods. A social marketing campaign was conducted among 17 grocery stores over four months in five rural Kentucky counties. Interventions included providing food samples, recipe cards, promotional discounts on fruits and vegetables, and moving high-calorie foods to side aisles. When surveyed, most shoppers reported that recipe cards influenced their desire to purchase ingredients as well as fruits and vegetables in general. Results indicated a significant association between the influence of recipe cards and frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption.
Melissa Newton
mnewton@cdc.gov
404-718-6281
Geographic Convergence of Obesity, Cardiovascular Disease, and Type 2 Diabetes at the Neighborhood Level: An Approach to Inform Policy and Practice
In a study of people living in west Adelaide, Australia, researchers found a positive association between high body mass index (BMI), diagnosed cardiovascular disease (CVD), and type 2 diabetes. Identification of disease hotspots further showed geographical convergence of the three chronic diseases. Researchers found a great deal of spatial variation in obesity, CVD, and type 2 diabetes across communities in western Adelaide, Australia. Hotspots of these conditions converged in three locations. An inverse relationship was observed between socioeconomic status and area-level prevalence of CVD, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Identification of significant disease clusters can help policy makers to target prevention strategies at the right people, in the right location. The approach taken in this study can be applied to identify clusters of other chronic disease across the world, wherever researchers have access to clinical data.
Melissa Newton
mnewton@cdc.gov
404-718-6281
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Note: Not all articles published in PCD represent work done at CDC. In your stories, please clarify whether a study was conducted by CDC (“a CDC study”) or by another institution (“a study published by CDC”). The opinions expressed by authors contributing to PCD do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CDC or the institutions with which the authors are affiliated. PCD requests that, when possible, you include a live link to the article in your stories.
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