. . . School of Public Health Assistant Professor Katherine Arlinghaus and Professor Melissa Laska (HWRC Affiliate Faculty and Co-director respectively) recently outlined the need for more food insecurity research that looks specifically at how it’s intertwined with parent feeding practices in a paper published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
—Read more at SPH News 2/26/21.
Meal prep can mean healthier meal plans in face of stress
“The Family Matters Study aims to identify momentary factors, such as stressors or hassles, that can impede a parent’s decision-making process around feeding their families healthy foods. If we can find ways to intervene on these stressors, we will be able to help parents make good food choices for their families in the face of stress” said Jerica Berge, professor at the U of M Medical School, principal investigator of the study, and HWRC Affiliate Faculty.
—Read more at UGA TODAY 2/23/2021.
It’s Hard to Eat Healthy: Marketing and the U.S. food system encourage obesity
“We’ve seen obesity rates rise over time. To me, this is a reflection of our investment in community and population health,” said Tamara Dubowitz, senior policy researcher at RAND Corporation. “This is about a society that is not creating a solid [food] infrastructure for all people.”
Read more at Pittsburgh Quarterly 02/17/2021.
Kotz named president of The Obesity Society
Catherine Kotz, professor in the Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology and HWRC Affiliated Faculty (as well as Co-director of the MnOPT Training Program), has been named the new president of The Obesity Society, the leading organization devoted to understanding and reversing the epidemic of obesity and its adverse health, economic and societal effects.
Promising mid-career researchers preselected for their pioneering and collaborative approach on Alimentation
Jerica Berge, UMN Professor and HWRC Affiliated Faculty, is 1 of 10 finalists:
The Prize Committee of the 2nd Edition of the Danone International Prize for Alimentation (DIPA) has selected 10 promising mid-career Researchers for their innovative approach on Alimentation, the umbrella term for sustainable eating and drinking practices that contribute to the health of individuals. The laureate will be announced after the Jury decision in April 2021. Read more here: WEBWIRE 2/5/2021.
APS On-Demand Obesity Webinar Series
The American Physiological Society (APS) and InsideScientific websites will continue to have all obesity webinar series content available for on-demand viewership during the next several months (Jan–Mar 2021) free of charge. You may access these events and share content with your colleagues or students.
• Brain Circuits Driving Appetite
• Utilizing Stable Isotope Tracers in Preclinical Models of Obesity
• Calories, Carbs or Quality? What Matters Most for Body Weight
• Heterogeneity and Crosstalk of Human Brown Adipose Tissue
• Cravings and Weightlifting Squats: Technologies that Explore New Metabolic and Behavioral Research
• Mitochondrial Membrane Lipids and Respiratory Efficiency
• Animal Model Selection, Study Design and Current Trends in Preclinical Obesity Research
• Anti-obesity Pharmacotherapy: Where Are We Now? Where Are We Going?
• The Obesity Epidemic: How Basic and Translational Research are Paving the Way to Improve Health
• Why Is Bariatric Surgery So Effective?
Concerns About Child’s Weight Increase Risk for Family Weight Teasing
The study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, reports on findings from Project EAT, . . . Surveys assessed adolescents experiences of family teasing and their subsequent health behaviors eight years later in young adulthood. Parent surveys focused on topics like concerns about their child’s weight, weight-related parenting practices, and their own dieting behaviors. . . . read more UConn Today 11/09/2020
Neumark-Sztainer is awarded a McKnight Presidential Professorship
Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, SPH Professor (and HWRC Affiliated Faculty), has been awarded one of the University’s highest faculty honors, a McKnight Presidential Professorship. She is the first professor in the School of Public Health to be so honored and joins only 17 other University faculty members who have received the professorship since its establishment in 2002. The professorship is bestowed for extraordinary scholarly achievements and for contributions that advance the prominence of the University of Minnesota. Learn more about Dr. Neumark-Sztainer’s work:
GIRLS AND YOUNG WOMEN: Harassment and bullying start early in life.
Being a girl, overweight, from a visible immigrant group or nonbinary all provoke harassment or bullying. Approximately 1 in 4 Minnesota 9th grade girls report “unwanted sexual comments, jokes, and gestures.” One-third to one-half of overweight girls report harassment or bullying based on their appearance; 35% of Somali girls report the same based on ethnicity and national origin. Four in 10 Minnesota transgender and nonbinary 9th and 11th grade students report being bullied based on their appearance, and 50% who identify as lesbian report harassment based on their sexual orientation.
—From the 2020 Status of Women & Girls in Minnesota (pg 14).
Switching to a plant-centered diet linked to reduced diabetes risk for young adults as they age
Finding from a new study from the School of Public Health (SPH) lead researchers to conclude that young adults may benefit from a plant-centered diet to prevent the development of diabetes and weight gain in middle adulthood . . . read more at SPH News 10/8/2020.