American journal of preventive medicine
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Rising rates of childhood obesity over the past 2 decades have spurred a number of public- and private-sector initiatives aimed at halting or even reversing this trend. Recognizing common interests in this issue, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NIH, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation began conversations about creating a formal collaboration aimed at accelerating efforts to address childhood obesity by coordinating research agendas and providing support for evidence-building activities. The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) was launched in February 2009, and the U. ⋯ Department of Agriculture joined in 2010. Using the model provided by other previously successful collaborations, such as the Youth Tobacco Cessation Collaborative, NCCOR has emphasized several principles suggested by Petrovich as key elements for successful partnerships: (1) delineate a common purpose by identifying key knowledge gaps in the field; (2) create a shared identity around that common purpose; (3) develop structures for democratic and respectful collaboration so as to strategically coordinate efforts for maximum national impact; (4) identify effective leaders capable of articulating challenges in the field and inspiring a commitment of minds and the resolve to address identified needs; (5) facilitate continuous knowledge exchange and synthesis to keep the field informed; and (6) support assessment of progress and feedback loops for ensuring continual progress. This paper examines how NCCOR has used these principles to help build the field of research, evaluation, and surveillance for childhood obesity prevention and management.
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Commute time is associated with reduced sleep time, but previous studies have relied on self-reported sleep assessment. The present study investigated the relationships between commute time for employment and objective sleep patterns among non-shift working U.S. Hispanic/Latino adults. ⋯ Commute time is significantly associated with actigraphy-measured sleep duration and regularity among Hispanic/Latino adults. Interventions to shorten commute times should be evaluated to help improve sleep habits in this minority population.
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The current study examined whether three distinct antecedent factors related to maternal adverse childhood experiences were differentially associated with maternal health and psychosocial outcomes in the antepartum period. It was hypothesized that all three adverse childhood experience factors would be positively associated with poor health prior to pregnancy, poor reproductive health history, and health complications and psychosocial difficulties during pregnancy. ⋯ Adverse childhood experience categories differentially predicted maternal health and psychosocial outcomes prior to and during pregnancy. The overall variance accounted for by adverse childhood experiences was small (3%-19%), suggesting that factors other than childhood adversity likely contribute to maternal health.
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Rising obesity rates in the U. S. over the past several decades, particularly among children and adolescents, led to an increased focus on research addressing obesity prevention and public- and private-sector initiatives on healthy eating and physical activity. Groups conducting prevention initiatives recognized that their ability to achieve and sustain cross-sector environmental, policy, and systems-level solutions was hampered by limited evidence in those areas. ⋯ S. Department of Agriculture. It includes a discussion of lessons learned from, and benefits of, this collaborative model.