Purpose of Review The aim of this narrative review was to summarize and critique recent evidence evaluating the association between ultra-processed food intake and obesity. Recent Findings Four of five studies found that higher purchases or consumption of ultra-processed food was associated with overweight/obesity. Additional studies reported relationships between ultra-processed food intake and higher fasting glucose, metabolic syndrome, increases in total and LDL cholesterol, and risk of hypertension. It remains unclear whether associations can be attributed to processing itself or the nutrient content of ultra-processed foods. Only three of nine studies used a prospective design, and the potential for residual confounding was high. Summary Recent research provides fairly consistent support for the association of ultra-processed food intake with obesity and related cardiometabolic outcomes. There is a clear need for further studies, particularly those using longitudinal designs and with sufficient control for confounding, to potentially confirm these findings in different populations and to determine whether ultra-processed food consumption is associated with obesity independent of nutrient content.

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For the USA, the only nationally representative data source capturing trends in obesity in this period was the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which uses repeated cross-sectional data to document national trends in obesity in the USA. For global trends, the only systematic reviews of obesity across the globe were the Global Burden of Disease Obesity study and the Non-communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration study. In general, the population distribution of body mass index (BMI) in the USA has shifted towards the upper end of its distribution over the past three decades. The global distribution has similarly increased, albeit with large regional differences. US and global studies suggest an increasing trend in obesity since the 1980s, and there is a dearth of nationally representative longitudinal studies using measured anthropometry to capture trends in adult obesity in the USA for the same individuals over time. Greater efforts are needed to identify factors contributing to the continued increases in obesity.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES To provide a reliable assessment of the hypothesized association of fish consumption with stroke risk accumulatively, an updated meta-analysis of published prospective cohort studies was conducted. SUBJECTS/METHODS Prospective cohort studies through April 2012 in peer-reviewed journals indexed in MEDLINE and EMBASE were selected. Additional information was retrieved through Google or a search of the reference list in relevant articles. The main outcome measure was the weighted hazards ratio (HR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) for incident stroke according to fish consumption using a random-effects model. RESULTS A database was derived from 16 eligible studies (19 cohorts), including 402 127 individuals (10 568 incident cases) with an average 12.8 years of follow-up. Compared with those who never consumed fish or ate fish <1/month, the pooled adjusted HRs of total stroke risk were 0.97 (95% CI, 0.87–1.08), 0.86 (0.80–0.93), 0.91 (0.85–0.98) and 0.87 (0.79–0.96) for those who consumed fish 1–3/month, 1/week, 2–4/week and ≥5/week, respectively (Plinear trend = 0.09; Pnonlinear trend = 0.02). Study location was a modifier. An inverse association between fish intake and stroke incidence was only found by studies conducted in North America. The modest inverse associations were more pronounced with ischemic stroke and were attenuated with hemorrhagic stroke. CONCLUSIONS Accumulated evidence generated from this meta-analysis suggests that fish intake may have a protective effect against the risk of stroke, particularly ischemic stroke.

IMPORTANCE Obesity disproportionately affects Black women, who also have a higher risk of death after a breast cancer diagnosis compared with women of other racial/ethnic groups. However, few studies have evaluated the association of measures of adiposity with mortality among Black breast cancer survivors.OBJECTIVE To assess the association of measures of adiposity with survival after a breast cancer diagnosis among Black women. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis prospective population-based cohort study comprised 1891 women with stage 0 to IV breast cancer who self-identified as African American or Black and were ages 20 to 75 years. The New Jersey State Cancer Registry was used to identify women living in 10 counties in New Jersey who were recruited from March 1, 2006, to February 29, 2020, and followed up until September 2, 2020.EXPOSURES Measures of adiposity, including body mass index, body fat distribution (waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio), and body composition (percent body fat and fat mass index), were collected during in-person interviews at approximately 10 months after breast cancer diagnosis.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES All-cause and breast cancer-specific mortality. RESULTS Among 1891 women, the mean (SD) age at breast cancer diagnosis was 54.5 (10.8) years. During a median follow-up of 5.9 years (range, 0.5-14.8 years), 286 deaths were identified; of those, 175 deaths (61.2%) were associated with breast cancer. A total of 1060 women (56.1%) had obesity, and 1291 women (68.3%) had central obesity. Higher adiposity, particularly higher waist-to-hip ratio, was associated with worse survival. Women in the highest quartile of waist-to-hip ratio had a 61% increased risk of dying from any cause (hazard ratio [HR], 1.61; 95% CI, 1.12-2.33) and a 68% increased risk of breast cancer death (HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.04-2.71) compared with women in the lowest quartile. The risks of all-cause and breast cancer-specific death were similarly high among women in the highest quartile for waist circumference (HR, 1.74 [95% CI,] and 1.64 [95% CI, 1.08-2.48], respectively), percent body fat (HR, 1.53 [95% CI, 1.09-2.15] and 1.81 [95% CI, 1.17-2.80]), and fat mass index (HR, 1.57 [95% CI,] and 1.74 [95% CI, 1.10-2.75]); however, the risk was less substantial for body mass index (HR, 1.26 [95% CI, 0.89-1.79] and 1.33 [95% CI, 0.84-2.10]). In analyses stratified by estrogen receptor status, menopausal status, and age, a higher waist-to-hip ratio was associated with a higher risk of all-cause death among women who had estrogen receptor-negative tumors (HR, 2.24; 95% CI, 1.14-4.41), women who were postmenopausal (HR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.28-3.61), and women who were 60 years or older at diagnosis (HR per 0.10-U increase, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.37-2.26). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEIn this population-based cohort study, central obesity and higher adiposity were associated with higher all-cause and breast cancer-specific mortality among Black breast cancer survivors. Simple measures of body fat distribution and body composition were f...

Background Parenting style may be an important determinant of an individual's future weight status. However, reviews that evaluate the relationship between parenting style and weight-related outcomes have not focused on prospective studies. Methods We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and PsychInfo for studies published between 1995-2016 that evaluated the prospective relationship between parenting style experienced in childhood and subsequent weight outcomes. Results We identified eleven prospective cohort studies. Among the eight studies that categorized parenting style into distinct groups (i.e. authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful), five provided evidence that authoritative parenting was associated with lower body mass index gains. Among the six highest quality studies, four suggested a protective role of authoritative parenting style against adverse weight-related outcomes. However, only one study controlled for a comprehensive set of confounders, and the small number of studies conducted within certain age groups precluded our ability to ascertain critical periods when parenting style is most strongly related to child weight. Conclusions The present literature supports the idea that authoritative parenting may be protective against later overweight and obesity, although findings are mixed. More prospective cohort studies of longer durations, with more sophisticated methods that examine age-varying relationships, and that control for a comprehensive set of confounders, are needed.

Background Prospective evidence of associations of dietary patterns with cognitive decline is limited and inconsistent. We examined how cognitive changes among Chinese older adults relate to either an adapted Mediterranean diet score or factor analysis-derived dietary patterns. Methods This prospective cohort study comprised 1650 adults ≥55 years who completed a cognitive screening test at two or more waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey in 1997, 2000 or 2004. Outcomes were repeated measures of global cognitive scores, composite cognitive z-scores (standardized units [SU]), and standardized verbal memory scores (SU). Baseline diet was measured by 24-hour recalls over three days. We used linear mixed-effects models to evaluate how changes in cognitive scores were associated with adapted Mediterranean diet score and two dietary pattern scores derived from factor analysis. Results Among adults ≥65 years, compared with participants in the lowest tertile of adapted Mediterranean diet, those in the highest tertile had a slower rate of cognitive decline (difference in mean standardized unit [SU] change/year β=0.042; 95% CI: 0.002, 0.081). A wheat-based diverse diet derived by factor analysis shared features of the adapted Mediterranean diet, with the top tertile associated with slower annual decline in global cognitive function (β=0.069 SU/year; 95% CI: 0.023, 0.114). We observed no associations among adults <65 years. Conclusions Our findings suggest a potential role of an adapted Mediterranean diet or a wheat-based diverse diet with similar components as a modifiable dietary factor to reduce the rate of cognitive decline in later life in the Chinese population.

The association between visit-to-visit variability of blood pressure (BP) and cognitive decline over time remains incompletely understood in a general population of older adults. We assessed the hypothesis that higher visit-to-visit variability in BP, but not mean BP, would be associated with faster decline in cognitive function among community-dwelling older adults. This prospective cohort study comprised 976 adults who had 3 or 4 visits with BP measurements as part of the China Health and Nutrition Survey from 1991, up to their first cognitive tests, and completed cognitive screening tests at 2 or more visits in 1997, 2000 or 2004. Visit-to visit BP variability was expressed as the standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation or as the variation independent of mean BP across visits conducted at a mean interval of 3.2y. Mean (SD) age at the first cognitive test was 64 (6)y. Using multivariable-adjusted linear mixed-effects models, we found higher visit-to-visit variability in systolic BP, but not mean systolic BP, was associated with a faster decline of cognitive function (adjusted mean difference [95% CI] for high vs. low tertile of SD variability: standardized composite scores −0.038 standardized units (SU)/y [−0.066, −0.009] and verbal memory −0.041 SU/y [−0.075 to −0.008]). Higher visit-to-visit variability in diastolic BP was associated with a faster decline of cognitive function, independent of mean diastolic BP, among adults 55–64y but not those ≥ 65y. Our results suggest that higher long-term BP visit-to-visit variability is associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline among older adults.