Location: Children's Nutrition Research Center
2024 Annual Report
Objectives
An estimated 16% of US children are overweight and 17% are obese, and the prevalence continues to rise. Most obesity prevention interventions have been ineffective and additional research is needed. Researchers will conduct studies on: 1) characterize the food & activity environments in which teens in rural areas live, work, and play and their perceptions regarding obesity, challenges to eating healthfully and being physically active (PA), and ways in which technology might be useful in helping them engage in healthy behaviors; 2) in low-income Hispanic families with children, examine the following parent feeding and child eating behaviors based on data from an existing data set: the direction of effects between parent feeding styles and child eating behaviors; how parent feeding styles and child eating behaviors at baseline predict individual growth curve trajectories for child BMI across 3 time points; and how child eating behaviors interact with parent feeding styles in predicting child BMI over time; 3) assess the psychometrics of sub-scales of food and PA parenting and whether there is differential item functioning among a sample of ethnically and racially diverse fathers; 4) describe fathers' use of parenting practices that support healthful nutrition and PA for their children and how this varies by demographic factors, household responsibilities, and co-parenting alliance; 5) develop and assess the feasibility of child obesity prevention videos for mothers to better engage them during a father targeted obesity prevention program; 6) assess 3 aspects of infant temperament: a) surgency, negative affectivity, and affiliation/orienting by direct observation; b) infant eating behaviors as measured by several sucking parameters, for example maximal suck pressure, burst rate and reductions in pressure during bottle feeding, and c) infant adiposity by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, and characterize the associations between these traits; 7) the NHANES will be used to identify diet-related risk factors for obesity, and other health outcomes in children, adolescents, and adults specifically: identify eating patterns in children, adolescents and adults by gender and ethnicity; examine the association between eating patterns and obesity and related health risk factors; examine the impact of individual foods, nutrients, and food-specific patterns on obesity and health outcomes in children, adolescents, and adults; and identify the impact of eating patterns on dietary intake, nutrient adequacy, and diet quality; 8) examine the rural-urban differences in and associations between food security status, food availability, participation in federal nutrition assistance programs, dietary intake, and obesity among children across different age groups; 9) determine the relationship between children's physical activity, diet, sedentary behavior, and sleep, on summer weight gain in children and the impact of parenting on these behaviors; and 10) assess the feasibility and acceptability of a digital cooking intervention among low-income parents of 6-11 year-old children.
Approach
A multidimensional approach will be undertaken to address the obesity research conducted at the Children's Nutrition Research Center. A mixed methods research using a sequential explanatory design will be used to address the goals of understanding why rural adolescents have a higher prevalence of obesity than their urban counterparts. A secondary data analysis will be performed on data collected from a previous study to gain an insight on the direction of effects between parent feeding styles and child eating behaviors. A cross-sectional study of a racially/ethnically, income and educational diverse sample of fathers will be conducted to be able to better design food or physical activity parenting practice survey instruments for use amongst fathers. A cohort of infants from late preterm or full term births (>=36 weeks gestation) will be recruited and various observational studies will be conducted to monitor the infants’ temperament and correlation amongst the observations. Researchers will also perform secondary analysis using the 2011-2014 NHANES to compare weight and health risk outcome measures and nutrient intake with eating patterns in children, adolescents, and adults; using the 4 years of data will ensure an adequate sample size for the analyses. NHANES data from child as well as adult datasets on food security status will be used for the analyses to assess child as well as household food security status. And to better understand summer weight gain in children, researchers will review demographics, sleep, screen media use, meal patterns, physical activity, childcare arrangements and medication usage during summer via a structured parent interview. Researchers will use the Healthy Cooking Index to create a tailored, digital cooking intervention with the goal of improving cooking practices among low-income parents and, in turn, increasing the diet quality of their children.
Progress Report
To review the progress made during the year, please refer to the following projects: 3092-10700-068-010S (Project #1), 3092-10700-068-020S (Project #2), and 3092-10700-068-030S (Project #3).
Accomplishments
1. How rural communities influence teen obesity risk. Teens living in rural communities have a higher risk of obesity than their peers living in urban or suburban communities. Although well-established, little is known about why this occurs or how to address it. Researchers at the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas, conducted qualitative research with teens living in rural communities which revealed that teens realize that they have choice and make the final decision regarding food and activity choices. However, environmental factors influence their choices, as well as their motivation to engage in these behaviors. These findings provide insight into topics to address in obesity prevention interventions developed for teens living in rural communities.
2. Surveys developed for father’s use of food and physical activity parenting practices. Parents are key influencers on children’s lifestyle behaviors that can influence their health outcomes, such as dietary intake and physical activity, but to date, mothers have almost exclusively been included in research studies to understand their influence on children’s behaviors, or intervening to try to change these parenting influences. A gap exists in our understanding of how fathers influence children’s lifestyle behaviors and thus survey tools need to be developed and tested specifically for fathers to ensure these tools are statistically sound to measure father’s parenting behaviors in the contexts of children’s eating and physical activity. Researchers at the Children’s Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas, conducted a study with over 600 fathers of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and demonstrated that shortened surveys to measure father’s structure, autonomy promotion and control in the context of children’s eating and physical activity are statistically sound in English and Spanish, and for Hispanic and non-Hispanic fathers. These survey tools can be used in other studies to better understand how fathers influence their children eating and physical activity.
3. Metabolomic molecules indicate that diabetes changes how food is digested. Some agencies recommend moderate amounts of monounsaturated fats (“Healthy” fats) for the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes, but this recommendation is controversial, with some evidence suggesting harmful effects in patients who already have diabetes. Researchers at the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas, examined metabolites associated with the consumption of avocado and the effects of these metabolites on blood sugar. They found that avocado intake is associated with a molecule that helps control blood sugar, but only in those without type 2 diabetes. In those with type 2 diabetes, this molecule (which can come from other sources) does help control blood sugar levels but is not associated with the intake of avocado. This demonstrates that type 2 diabetes may change how our food is digested and metabolized. These findings may help researchers devise personalized nutrition approaches to type 2 diabetes, in which recommended dietary intake is tailored to the presence or absence of type 2 diabetes.
4. Familial influences on children’s sleep during the school year and summer. Having later bedtimes and more variable sleep-wake patterns during summer is associated with increases in children’s BMI during summer. To understand how the family environment during summer impacts children’s sleep patterns, researchers at the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas, conducted a secondary analysis of an existing dataset of 119 parent child dyads that focused on differences in bedtime routines and parenting practices. We found that during summer inconsistent bedtime routines predicted going to bed later and waking later. Also, engaging in more activities at bedtime that interfere with sleep (e.g., rough housing, playing videogames, active play, etc.) was associated with greater variability in sleeping and activity patterns. Greater daily screen use during summer was associated with later bedtimes and greater variability in sleep wake and activity patterns. These findings are important to emphasize that during summer, promoting consistent bedtime routines, healthy sleep practices, and limiting screen media may improve children’s sleep patterns and ultimately their BMI.
5. Examining effectiveness of summertime obesity and prevention interventions. The summer break from school is a time when children are prone to accelerated weight gain, yet the effectiveness of interventions that aim to address weight status during summer is unclear. Researchers at the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas, conducted a systematic review of obesity prevention or treatment programs implemented over the summer to determine how they affect anthropometric measures or weight-related behaviors. Most studies sought to promote a healthy weight status through the promotion of physical activity and dietary habits. Results suggest that summertime obesity prevention interventions had little impact on children’s weight, body mass index and waist circumference. Overall, there is a need to better understand how to prevent accelerated weight gain during summer in order to prevent obesity.
6. Urban challenge: Food security disparity among U.S. children. Having enough nutritious food is vital for healthy growth and development in children. Researchers at the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas, conducted a study to examine the connection between food security, participation in federal nutrition programs, and diet quality by region (urban vs. rural) among a nationally representative sample of 6,403 U.S. children ages 2-17 years old. Results indicate differences in household food security were noted for urban versus rural children aged 6-11; there were no significant disparities in children's perceptions of food security, participation in federal nutrition programs, or diet quality by region or age group. This study suggests the need to expand efforts to improve children's diets nationwide and focus specifically on urban areas where food insecurity might be more prevalent but less visible. Addressing these challenges could ensure all children have access to nutritious food, promoting healthier futures.
7. Improving nutrition security to combat diabetes. Not having enough nutritious food and having a poor diet increases the risk of diabetes. Researchers at the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas, conducted a study to investigate how food security (having enough food) and nutrition security (having healthy food) relate to diabetes, considering the role of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Results for adults across five U.S. states indicate that people with a higher nutrition security score were less likely to have diabetes, even after considering other factors like age and income. This study highlights the importance of not just feeding people but feeding them healthy foods to prevent chronic diseases like diabetes. Improving nutrition security to reduce diabetes risk, which can drive healthier consumer choices, influence agricultural practices, and guide public health policies for broader societal and environmental benefits.
8. Comparing nutritional quality: School lunches vs. home-packed lunches. Unlike National School Lunch Program (NSLP) meals, lunches brought from home (LBFH) do not follow strict nutritional guidelines. About 40% of U.S. children bring LBFH despite the availability of NSLP lunches. Researchers at the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas, conducted a systematic review examining studies from 1995 to 2021 on children’s LBFH versus school lunches from the NSLP. Our results indicate that LBFH are generally less nutritious than school lunches, contain fewer vegetables, dairy, and essential nutrients but have more snacks, sweets, and sugary drinks. Although slightly cheaper than school lunches, LBFH become significantly more expensive when replicating NSLP meals at home and intervention programs have not improved their quality. Generally, parents still prefer LBFH due to concerns about the quality of school meals. Addressing parental concerns about school meal quality and implementing effective strategies to enhance the nutritional content of LBFH could lead to improved child health outcomes and reduced healthcare costs in the future.
9. Potential different metabolic consequences of active and passive sedentary behaviors. Excessive time spent in a sedentary behavior contributes to increased risk for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases; however, the underlying physiologic pathways by which sedentary pursuits contribute to metabolic disease in youth are unknown. Researchers at the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas conducted a study that demonstrate that an acute, four-hour bout of sedentary time, did not significantly impact energy metabolism or metabolic markers. We observed an increase in energy expenditure in youth when engaged in active sedentary behaviors (reading or doing a crossword puzzle) compared to youth engaged in passive sedentary behaviors (watching a movie), suggesting that more research is needed to understand the underlying pathways by which sedentary pursuits contribute to disease and if there are sedentary behaviors that are more harmful to metabolic health compared to others. This study advances the science by encouraging researchers to think more deeply about sedentary behaviors and to consider sedentary pursuits as more dynamic behaviors requiring more robust assessment methods.
Review Publications
Thompson, D.J., Miranda, J., Callender, C., Dave, J.M., Appiah, G., Musaad, S.M. 2023. See me, hear me, know me: Perspectives on diet and physical activity influences among teens living in rural Texas communities. Nutrients. 15(21). Article 4695. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15214695.
Yeung, C.H., Lu, J., Soltero, E.G., Bauer, C., Xiao, Q. 2023. U.S. adolescent rest-activity patterns: Insights from functional principal component analysis (NHANES 2011-2014). International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 20(1). Article 125. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-023-01520-3.
Fard, S.E., Ghosh, T., Hossain, D., McCrory, M.A., Thomas, G., Higgins, J., Jia, W., Baranowski, T., Steiner-Asiedu, M., Anderson, A.K., Sun, M., Frost, G., Lo, B., Sazonov, E. 2024. Development of a method for compliance detection in wearable sensors. 2023 International Conference on Electrical, Computer and Energy Technologies (ICECET). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICECET58911.2023.10389483.
Laguzzi, F., Akesson, A., Marklund, M., Qian, F., Gigante, B., Bartz, T.M., Bassett, J.K., Birukov, A., Campos, H., Hirakawa, Y., Imamura, F., Jäger, S., Lankinen, M., Murphy, R.A., Senn, M., Tanaka, T., Tintle, N., Virtanen, J.K., Yamagishi, K., Allison, M., Brouwer, I.A., De Faire, U., Eiriksdottir, G., Ferrucci, L., Forouhi, N.G., Geleijnse, J.M., Hodge, A.M., Kimura, H., Laakso, M., Riserus, U., Van Westing, A.C., Bandinelli, S., Baylin, A., Giles, G.G., Gudnason, V., Iso, H., Lemaitre, R.N., Ninomiya, T., Post, W.S., Psaty, B.M., Salonen, J.T., Schulze, M., Tsai, M.Y., Uusitupa, M., Wareham, N.J., Oh, S.W., Wood, A.C., Harris, W.S., Siscovick, D.S., Mozaffarian, D., Leander, K. 2023. Role of polyunsaturated fat in modifying cardiovascular risk associated with family history of cardiovascular disease: Pooled de novo results from 15 observational studies. Circulation. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.065530.
Hodgson, C., Decker, D., O'Connor, T.M., Hingle, M., Gachupin, F.C. 2023. A qualitative study on parenting practices to sustain adolescent health behaviors in American Indian families. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 20(21). Article 7015. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20217015.
Szeszulski, J., Faro, J.M., Joseph, R.P., Lanza, K., Lévesque, L., Monroe, C.M., Pérez-Paredes, E.A., Soltero, E.G., Lee, R.E. 2023. How societal forces of change are transforming youth physical activity promotion in North America. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2023-0167.
Dave, J.M., Chen, T.A., Castro, A.N., White, M., Onugha, E.A., Zimmerman, S., Thompson, D.J. 2024. Regional variability in the prevalence of food insecurity and diet quality among United States children. Nutrients. 16(2). Article 224. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16020224.
Aslamy, A., Wood, A.C., Jensen, E.T., Bertoni, A.G., Sheridan, P.A., Wong, K.E., Ramesh, G., Rotter, J.I., Chen, Y.I., Goodarzi, M.O. 2023. Increased plasma branched short-chain fatty acids and improved glucose homeostasis: The Microbiome and Insulin Longitudinal Evaluation Study (MILES). Diabetes. https://doi.org/10.2337/db23-0401.
Kumar Vadathya, A., Baranowski, T., O'Connor, T.M., Beltran, A., Musaad, S.M., Perez, O., Mendoza, J.A., Hughes, S.O., Veeraraghavan, A. 2024. Development of Family Level Assessment of Screen use in the Home for Television (FLASH-TV). Multimedia Tools and Applications. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-023-17852-y.
Xiao, S., Li, V.L., Lyu, X., Chen, X., Wei, W., Abbasi, F., Knowles, J.W., Tung, A.S., Deng, S., Tiwari, G., Shi, X., Zheng, S., Farrell, L., Chen, Z.Z., Taylor, K.D., Guo, X., Goodarzi, M.O., Wood, A.C., Chen, Y.D., Lange, L.A., Rich, S.S., Rotter, J.I., Clish, C.B., Tahir, U.A., Gerszten, R.E., Benson, M.D., Long, J.Z. 2024. Lac-Phe mediates the effects of metformin on food intake and body weight. Nature Metabolism. 6:659-669. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-024-00999-9.
Jia, W., Li, B., Xu, Q., Chen, G., Mao, Z.H., McCrory, M.A., Baranowski, T., Burke, L.E., Lo, B., Anderson, A.K., Frost, G., Sazonov, E., Sun, M. 2024. Image-based volume estimation for food in a bowl. Journal of Food Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2024.111943.
Forster, C.S., Wood, A.C., Davis-Rodriguez, S., Chang, P.W., Desai, S., Tchou, M., Morrison, J.M., Mudd, J.D., Casey, B.D., Trevisanut, V., Hamdy, R.F., Vemulakonda, V., Brady, P.W., Wallace, S.S. 2024. Frequency of treatment failure of UTIs in children with congenital urinary tract anomalies. Hospital Pediatrics. 14(3):189-196. https://doi.org/10.1542/hpeds.2023-007427.
Power, T.G., Baker, S.S., Barale, K.V., Aragon, M.C., Lanigan, J.D., Parker, L., Silva Garcia, K., Auld, G., Micheli, N., Hughes, S.O. 2024. Using mobile technology for family-based prevention in families with low incomes: Lessons from a randomized controlled trial of a childhood obesity prevention program. Prevention Science. 25:369–379. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-023-01637-8.
Almohamad, M., Dave, J.M., Calloway, E.E., Li, R., Sharma, S. 2024. Relationship between food security, nutrition security, and diabetes: The role of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation. Current Developments in Nutrition. 5(8). Article 102153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.102153.
Soltero, E.G., Musaad, S.M., O'Connor, T.M., Thompson, D.J., Norris, K., Beech, B.M. 2024. Feasibility of Fit24, a digital diabetes prevention program for Hispanic adolescents: Qualitative evaluation study. JMIR Formative Research. 8. Article e54595. https://doi.org/10.2196/54595.
Lee, R.E., Mama, S.K., Leach, H.J., Soltero, E.G., Parker, N.H. 2024. The physical environment and public policy. In: Razon S, Sachs ML, editors. Applied Exercise Physiology: The Challenging Journey from Motivation to Adherence, 2nd edition. New York, NY: Routledge. Chapter 15. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003279587-15.
Crumbley, C., Cepni, A.B., Taylor, A., Thompson, D.J., Moran, N.E., Olvera, N., O'Connor, D.P., Johnston, C.A., Ledoux, T.A. 2023. Exploring factors associated with accelerometer validity among ethnically diverse toddlers. Pediatric Exercise Science. https://doi.org/10.1123/pes.2022-0114.
Raber, M., Allen, H., Huang, S., Vazquez, M., Warner, E.L., Thompson, D.J. 2024. Mediterranean diet information on TikTok and implications for digital health promotion research: Social media content analysis. JMIR Formative Research. 8. Article e51094. https://doi.org/10.2196/51094.
Short, E., Thompson, D.J., Taren, D., Bryant, H., Gonzalez, R., Sheava, J., Hingle, M. 2023. Feasibility of a food-based diabetes self-management education intervention for food insecure patients with type 2 diabetes: A convergent mixed methods study. Public Health Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980023002082.
Thompson, D.J., Callender, C., Dave, J.M., Jibaja-Weiss, M.L., Montealegre, J.R. 2023. Health equity in action: Using community-engaged research to update an intervention promoting a healthy home food environment to Black/African American families. Cancer Causes and Control. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-023-01753-4.
Baranowski, T., O'Connor, T.M., Jimenez-Garcia, J.A., Radhakrishnan, K., Arrendondo, E.M., Thompson, D.J. 2024. Social marketing and the challenges of participant recruitment. Translational Behavioral Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibae028.
Hollier, J.M., Strickland, T.A., Fordis, C.M., Shulman, R.J., Thompson, D.J. 2024. Expert review of child and caregiver critiques of a therapeutic guided imagery therapy mobile application targeting disorders of gut-brain interaction in children. Digital Health. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241245376.
Marrero, N., Jha, K., Hughes, T.M., Razavi, A.C., Grant, J.K., Boakye, E., Anchouche, K., Dzaye, O., Budoff, M.J., Rotter, J.I., Guo, X., Yao, J., Wood, A.C., Blumenthal, R.S., Michos, E.D., Thanassoulis, G., Post, W.S., Blaha, M.J., Ibeh, C., Whelton, S. 2024. Association of aortic valve calcium with dementia and stroke: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2024.117596.
Cepni, A.B., Power, T.G., Ledoux, T.A., Vollrath, K., Hughes, S.O. 2024. The longitudinal relationship between diet quality and executive functioning development of Hispanic preschoolers in Houston, Texas. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2024.05.014.
Pierce, T.B., Aragón, M.C., Auld, G., Barale, K.V., Hughes, S.O., Power, T.G., Lanigan, J.D., Parker, L., Baker, S.S. 2024. Parents report positive changes in parental feeding practices 12 months after intervention. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2024.03.012.
Song, S., Tabares, E., Ishdorj, A., Crews, M., Dave, J. 2024. The quality of lunches brought from home to school: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Advances in Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2024.100255.
Dhanjani, S., Allen, H., Varmin, B., Callender, C., Dave, J.M., Thompson, D.J. 2024. Community-based participatory obesity interventions in rural communities: A scoping review. Nutrients. 16(14). Article 2201. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16142201.
Cammann, D.B., Lu, Y., Rotter, J.I., Wood, A.C., Chen, J. 2024. Polygenic scores and Mendelian randomization identify plasma proteins causally implicated in Alzheimer's disease. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 18. Article 1404377. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2024.1404377.
Dave, J.M., Chen, T.A., Castro, A.N., White, M.A., Onugha, E.A., Zimmerman, S., Thompson, D.J. 2024. Urban-rural disparities in food insecurity and weight status among children in the United States. Nutrients. 16(13). Article 2132. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16132132.
Jobarteh, M.L., McCrory, M.A., Lo, B., Triantafyllidis, K.K., Qiu, J., Griffin, J.P., Sazonov, E., Sun, M., Jia, W., Baranowski, T., Anderson, A.K., Maitland, K., Frost, G. 2023. Evaluation of acceptability, functionality, and validity of a passive image-based dietary intake assessment method in adults and children of Ghanaian and Kenyan origin living in London, UK. Nutrients. 15(18). Article 4075. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15184075.
Juneja, S., Chang, J., Nguyen, T., Castaneda, R., O'Connor, T., Musaad, S., Moran, N.E. 2024. The relative validity of nutrition assessment methods for estimating infant carotenoid intake differs by assessment tool, nutrient database, and milk carotenoid adjustment method. Nutrition Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2024.06.003.
Kaul, I., Burton-Murray, H., Musaad, S., Mirabile, Y., Czyzewski, D., Van Tilburg, M.A., Sher, A.C., Chumpitazi, B.P., Shulman, R.J. 2024. Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder prevalence is high in children with gastroparesis and functional dyspepsia. Neurogastroenterology & Motility. 36(5). Article e14777. https://doi.org/10.1111/nmo.14777.
So, S., Badu, S., Wu, Q., Yalcinkaya, N., Mirabile, Y., Castaneda, R., Musaad, S., Heitkemper, M., Savidge, T.C., Shulman, R.J. 2023. Sex-dependent efficacy of dietary fiber in pediatric functional abdominal pain. Gastroenterology. 166(4):645-657. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2023.12.011.
Cepni, A.B., Vilson, R., Helbing, R.R., Walsh, D.W., Johnston, C.A., Yoon, C.Y., Hughes, S.O., Ledoux, T.A. 2024. The most optimal school recruitment strategies for school-based obesity prevention and health promotion research in the United States: A systematic review with Delphi study. Obesity Reviews. Article e13808. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13808.
Garg, M., Guo, H., Maclam, E., Zhanov, E., Samudrala, S., Pavlov, A., Rahman, M.S., Namkoong, M., Moreno, J.P., Tian, L. 2024. Molecularly imprinted wearable sensor with paper microfluidics for real-time sweat biomarker analysis. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c10033.