Preventive medicine
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To address limited longitudinal nutrition data on children and adolescents, a self-administered food frequency questionnaire was designed for older children and adolescents. Initially, the Youth/Adolescent Questionnaire (YAQ) was developed and demonstrated to be reproducible. This study was conducted to evaluate its validity. ⋯ A simple self-administered questionnaire completed by older children and adolescents can provide nutritional information about this age group.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 1997
The Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project: intervention, evaluation, and baseline results of a diabetes primary prevention program with a native community in Canada.
Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project is a 3-year community-based, primary prevention program for non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in a Mohawk community near Montreal, Canada. Objectives are to improve healthy eating and encourage more physical activity among elementary school children. ⋯ Implementing a Native community-based diabetes prevention program is feasible through participatory research that incorporates Native culture and local expertise.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 1997
Cancer-preventive effects of drinking green tea among a Japanese population.
Laboratory studies have revealed the cancer preventive effects of green tea, so the association between green tea consumption and cancer was examined in a human population. ⋯ Our epidemiological study showed that green tea has a potentially preventive effect against cancer among humans.
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Physical inactivity is recognized as an important public health issue. Yet little is known about doctors' knowledge, attitude, skills, and resources specifically relating to the promotion of physical activity. Our survey assessed the current practice, perceived desirable practice, confidence, and barriers related to the promotion of physical activity in family practice. ⋯ There are significant differences between self-reports of current practice and perceived desirable practice in the promotion of physical activity by doctors. Future strategies need to address the self-efficacy of family physicians and involve resources of proven effectiveness. The potential of referral systems for supporting efforts to increase physical activity by Australians should be explored.
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Preventive medicine · Sep 1997
ReviewThe nocebo phenomenon: concept, evidence, and implications for public health.
The nocebo hypothesis proposes that expectations of sickness and the affective states associated with such expectations cause sickness in the expectant. The nocebo phenomenon is a little-recognized facet of culture that may be responsible for a substantial variety of pathology throughout the world. However, the extent of the phenomenon is not yet known, and evidence is piecemeal and ambiguous. This paper reviews the concept of nocebo and its association with the placebo phenomenon, gives examples of evidence for the nocebo phenomenon, and suggests public health implications.