American journal of preventive medicine
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With nearly one quarter of the combined governmental public health workforce eligible for retirement within the next few years, recruitment and retention of workers is a growing concern. Epidemiology has been identified as a potential workforce shortage area in state health departments. ⋯ Although the proportion of state health department epidemiologists intending to retire or change careers during the next 5 years is lower than the estimate for the total state public health workforce, important recruitment and retention barriers for the employees exist.
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Research consistently demonstrates that physical activity declines with age. However, such declines do not occur linearly. The transition into early adulthood is one period in which disproportionate declines in physical activity have been evident, but much of our understanding of such declines among young adults has been based on either cross-sectional data or prospective studies that focus exclusively on college/university students. ⋯ Physical activity decline was evident during young adults' transition into early adulthood, with declines being steepest among men who entered a college/university. Although there were increases in several health-risk behaviors during adolescence, individuals tend to grow out of binge drinking and smoking as they mature.
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Blunts are hollowed-out cigars or leaf tobacco filled with marijuana. Use of blunts has increased since the 1990s and, in 2005, 3.5% of all American youth were estimated to have used blunts in the past month. Blunt smokers may have greater odds of cannabis and tobacco dependency and are at risk of smoking-related diseases. Previous studies have suggested that blunt use is more common among blacks, older teens, and men. However, data pertaining to blunt use in non-adolescent African-American populations are scarce. ⋯ Blunt use is relatively common among male African Americans aged 19-30 years and is frequently associated with concomitant cigarette use. Tobacco control efforts in this male African-American population should also address blunt usage.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Efficacy of a weight-loss website based on positive deviance. A randomized trial.
Web-based interventions for weight control could promote more-widespread dissemination of weight-loss opportunities; however, they remain limited in effectiveness. Incorporating weight-control practices used by individuals with long-term weight-loss success ("positive deviants") may improve the efficacy of web-based weight control interventions. ⋯ User-generated weight-loss practices from "positive deviants" could promote weight control in web-based interventions; however, further research is needed to improve program efficacy.