The American journal of clinical nutrition
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Food insecurity, a well-established determinant of chronic disease morbidity and mortality, is rapidly increasing due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We present a conceptual model to understand the multiple mechanisms through which the economic and public health crises sparked by COVID-19 might increase food insecurity and contribute to poor health outcomes in the short- and long-term. ⋯ Research is needed to examine the impact of the pandemic-related increase in food insecurity on short- and long-term chronic health outcomes, and to delineate the underlying causal mechanisms. Such research is critical to inform the development of effective programs and policies to address food insecurity and its downstream health impacts during COVID-19 and future pandemics.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effectiveness of a normative nutrition intervention in Chilean pregnant women on maternal and neonatal outcomes: the CHiMINCs study.
Some nutritional interventions have shown their efficacy in reducing gestational weight gain (GWG); however, their applicability in routine care is limited. ⋯ Our findings demonstrate that a low-intensity, high-coverage intervention delivered through the Chilean public health care system under standard operating conditions reduces GWG and has the potential for successful scale-up. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01916603.
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The Asia-Pacific obesity classification recommends using lower BMI cutoffs in Asians compared with those in Western populations. However, the supporting evidence is scarce and little is known about the exact shape of the relations between adiposity and mortality in Asians. ⋯ Our data suggest a strong positive association between adiposity and mortality in a population without pre-existing disease. We observed the lowest mortality at BMI = 25.0-29.9, suggesting that the current cutoff for overweight (BMI ≥23) may require re-evaluation and that BMI alone may not be a useful measure for indicating adiposity in Asians.
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The US faces remarkable food and nutrition challenges. A new federal effort to strengthen and coordinate nutrition research could rapidly generate the evidence base needed to address these multiple national challenges. However, the relevant characteristics of such an effort have been uncertain. ⋯ The need and opportunities for strengthened federal nutrition research are clear, with specific identified options to help create the new leadership, strategic planning, coordination, and investment the nation requires to address the multiple nutrition-related challenges and grasp the opportunities before us.
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Few longitudinal studies examine the response to beverage taxes, especially among regular sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumers. ⋯ A sweetened beverage tax was not associated with reduced taxed beverage purchases among SSB consumers 12 mo posttax in the full sample. Both secondary analyses excluding holiday purchasing or aggregating posttax time periods found reductions in taxed beverage purchases ranging from -4.9 to -12.5 ounces per day. Larger longitudinal studies are needed to further understand tax effects.