Dietary Associations of Household Food Insecurityamong Children of Mexican Descent: Results of aBinational StudyThis study aimed to understand the level of perceived food insecurityand its association with dietary intake among children of Mexicandescent residing in the United States and Mexico. In California, chil-dren were 301 participants from the Center for the Health Assessmentof Mothers and Children of Salinas study, a longitudinal birth cohortin a Mexican immigrant community; and Mexican children were 301participants in the Proyecto Mariposa study, which was designed tocapture a sample of women and their children living in Mexico whoclosely resembled the California sample, yet who never migrated to theUnited States. Household food insecurity was measured using the USDepartment of Agriculture Food Security Scale, dietary intake wasassessed with food frequency questionnaires, and analysis of variancewas used to examine unadjusted and adjusted differences in totalenergy, nutrient intake, and consumption of food groups by householdfood security status. Based on the results of the study, the authorsconcluded that programs and policies addressing food insecurity in theUnited States and Mexico may need to take steps to address dietaryintake among children in households experiencing food insecurity,possibly through education and programs to increase resources toobtain healthful foods.

See pages 2001-2009.

Psychological Variables Associated with Weight Loss inObese Patients Seeking Treatment at Medical CentersThe aim of this study was to identify the psychological predictors ofweight loss in patients with obesity compliant to continuous treatmentat medical centers. Study design was longitudinal observation of 500obese patients who completed 12-month weight-loss treatment by Ital-ian medical centers offering different programs in the years 2000-2002.Measurements were obtained at baseline and after 12-month weight-loss program. Psychological distress, binge eating, body uneasiness,and attitude toward eating were evaluated by self-administered ques-tionnaires. Body mass index changes, weight-loss expectations, andprimary motivation for seeking treatment (health or improving ap-pearance) were also recorded. Based on the data collected, the authorsconcluded that successful weight-loss was associated with increaseddietary restraint and reduced disinhibition in obese patients seekingweight loss treatment in several medical centers throughout Italy.

See pages 2010-2016.

Determinants of Early Weaning and Use of UnmodifiedCow’s Milk in Infants: A Systematic ReviewIntroduction of complementary foods (weaning) before 4 to 6 months ofage and unmodified cow’s milk before age 12 months are associatedwith several health risks. To develop effective interventions to discour-age these practices, evidence of their determinants is needed. Thissystematic review identified documents from seven electronic data-

bases and reference lists, and by contactingauthors. Seventy-eight studies in devel-oped countries, published between 1976and 2008, quantifying the association be-tween either feeding practice and its poten-tial determinants were included. Strong ev-idence was found for six determinants ofearly weaning (young maternal age, lowmaternal education, low socioeconomic sta-tus, absence or short duration of breast-feeding, maternal smoking, and lack ofinformation or advice from health care pro-viders) and for two determinants of earlyintroduction of unmodified cow’s milk (lowmaternal education and low socioeconomicstatus). Of these determinants, improvingadvice given by health care providers ap-pears the most tractable area for interven-tion in the short term.

See pages 2017-2028.

Weight Control Strategies ofOverweight Adolescents WhoSuccessfully Lost WeightThe purpose of this pilot study was to eval-uate the differences in weight control be-haviors, dietary intake, and physical activ-ity between overweight adolescents wholost weight and overweight adolescentswho did not lose weight. This cross-sec-tional study compared 62 overweight ado-lescents who lost weight in the past with 68overweight adolescents who did not loseweight. Youth responded to questions re-garding weight control behaviors duringthe past year, physical activity, sedentaryactivity, and dietary intake. Resultsshowed that adolescents who lost weightwere more likely to report using healthfulweight control behaviors such as drinkingless soda and increasing their exerciselevel, self-weighing, consuming diets higherin protein, and spending less time watch-ing television compared to overweight ado-lescents who did not lose weight. The au-thors recommend that providers adviseadolescents to engage in healthful weightcontrol behaviors, such as increasing phys-ical activity and decreasing the amount oftime spent watching television, to assistwith weight management.

See pages 2029-2035.

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