SUMMARY Although 5%–10% weight loss is routinely recommended for people with obesity, the precise effects of 5% and further weight loss on metabolic health are unclear. We conducted a randomized controlled trial that evaluated the effects of 5.1±0.9% (n=19), 10.8±1.3% (n=9) and 16.4±2.1% (n=9) weight loss, and weight maintenance (n=14) on metabolic outcomes. Five percent weight loss improved adipose tissue, liver and muscle insulin sensitivity, and β-cell function, without a concomitant change in systemic or subcutaneous adipose tissue markers of inflammation. Additional weight loss further improved β-cell function and insulin sensitivity in muscle, and caused stepwise changes in adipose tissue mass, intrahepatic triglyceride content, and adipose tissue expression of genes involved in cholesterol flux, lipid synthesis, extracellular matrix remodeling and oxidative stress. These results demonstrate that moderate 5% weight loss improves metabolic function in multiple organs simultaneously, and progressive weight loss causes dose-dependent alterations in key adipose tissue biological pathways.

BACKGROUND.Obesity is associated with insulin resistance and increased intrahepatic triglyceride (IHTG) content, both of which are key risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, a subset of obese people does not develop these metabolic complications. Here, we tested the hypothesis that people defined by IHTG content and insulin sensitivity as "metabolically normal obese" (MNO), but not those defined as "metabolically abnormal obese" (MAO), are protected from the adverse metabolic effects of weight gain. METHODS.Body composition, multiorgan insulin sensitivity, VLDL apolipoprotein B100 (apoB100) kinetics, and global transcriptional profile in adipose tissue were evaluated before and after moderate (~6%) weight gain in MNO (n = 12) and MAO (n = 8) subjects with a mean BMI of 36 ± 4 kg/m 2 who were matched for BMI and fat mass. RESULTS.Although the increase in body weight and fat mass was the same in both groups, hepatic, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue insulin sensitivity deteriorated, and VLDL apoB100 concentrations and secretion rates increased in MAO, but not MNO, subjects. Moreover, biological pathways and genes associated with adipose tissue lipogenesis increased in MNO, but not MAO, subjects.CONCLUSIONS. These data demonstrate that MNO people are resistant, whereas MAO people are predisposed, to the adverse metabolic effects of moderate weight gain and that increased adipose tissue capacity for lipogenesis might help protect MNO people from weight gain-induced metabolic dysfunction.TRIAL REGISTRATION. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01184170.

Weight gain is associated with an increase in intrahepatic triglycerides (IHTGs), and is the primary cause of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in obese people. We combined imaging and stable isotope tracer techniques to evaluate the physiologic mechanisms of weight gain-induced steatosis in 27 obese people. Weight gain appeared to increase IHTG content by generating an imbalance between hepatic fatty acid availability and disposal, and resulted in increased hepatic de novo lipogenesis, decreased intrahepatic fatty acid oxidation, and inadequate increases in IHTG export via very low-density lipoprotein secretion. ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01184170.

Introduction Social marketing is a promising planning approach for influencing voluntary lifestyle behaviors, but its application to nutrition and physical activity interventions in the early care and education setting remains unknown. Methods Pubmed, ISI Web of Science, PsycInfo, and the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health were systematically searched to identify interventions targeting nutrition and/or physical activity behaviors of children enrolled in early care centers between 1994 and 2016. Content analysis methods were used to capture information reflecting eight social marketing benchmark criteria. Results The review included 135 articles representing 77 interventions. Two interventions incorporated all eight benchmark criteria, but the majority included fewer than four. Each intervention included behavior and methods mix criteria, and more than half identified audience segments. Only one-third of interventions incorporated customer orientation, theory, exchange, and insight. Only six interventions addressed competing behaviors. We did not find statistical significance for the effectiveness of interventions on child-level diet, physical activity, or anthropometric outcomes based on the number of benchmark criteria used. Conclusion This review highlights opportunities to apply social marketing to obesity prevention interventions in early care centers. Social marketing could be an important strategy for early childhood obesity prevention efforts, and future research investigations into its effects are warranted.

Although social marketing principles have been successfully employed in school-based interventions to prevent obesity, use in early care and education (ECE) settings has been limited. This paper describes the use of the social marketing approach to develop an ECE-based intervention that encourages an ECE provider-parent partnership to improve the quality of preschool children's diets and their level of physical activity. A six-step social marketing approach for public health interventions guided the development of this ECE-based intervention. These steps were as follows: (i) initial planning, (ii) formative research, (iii) strategy development, (iv) program development, (v) implementation, and (vi) monitoring and evaluation. During this process, we reviewed current literature, conducted focus groups with ECE providers and parents, developed a detailed conceptual model and content map, created and tested the campaign concept, and developed final campaign materials along with strategies for its implementation. The final intervention resulting from this process was an 8-month campaign known as Healthy Me, Healthy We. The campaign is delivered by the child care center and includes branded materials for use in the classroom and at home. The final campaign is being evaluated in a cluster-randomized trial. Healthy Me, Healthy We offers an innovative approach to promoting healthy eating and physical activity during early childhood, a key developmental period, that leverages partnership between ECE providers and parents to affect behavior change.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused alterations to be made in the way many people access, prepare, and consume food. Rural communities are particularly impacted due to pre-existing structural vulnerabilities, i.e., poverty, lack of infrastructure, and limited fresh food options. This study aimed to characterize experiences of one rural Appalachian community’s changes to the food environment during the pandemic. In April 2021, six focus groups were conducted with residents of Laurel County, Kentucky. Using grounded theory, we identified losses, gains, and overall changes to the community food environment since the onset of COVID-19. Seventeen Laurel Countians (17 female; ages 30–74) participated in the six focus groups. Three main themes emerged regarding food environment changes—(1) modifications of community food and nutrition resources, (2) expansion and utilization of online food ordering, and (3) implications of the home food environment. Rural communities faced considerable challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, in part, due to gaps in existing infrastructure and loss of pre-existing resources. This study illustrates the complexity of changes occurring during COVID-19. Using the preliminary data obtained, we can better understand pre-existing issues in Laurel County and suggestions for future programming to address the inequitable access and response during public health emergencies and beyond.

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between screen time (ST) parenting practices and 2–5-year-old children’s TV viewing and weight status. Data were collected from 252 parent–child dyads enrolled in a randomized parent-focused childhood obesity prevention trial from 2009–2012. ST parenting practices were assessed at baseline using a validated parent-reported survey. Parent-reported child TV viewing and objectively measured anthropometrics were assessed at baseline, post-intervention (35 weeks), and follow-up (59 weeks). Marginal effect models were developed to test the association between baseline ST parenting practices and children’s TV viewing, BMI z-score, and waist circumference across all time points. Limiting/monitoring ST was associated with decreased weekly TV viewing (β = −1.79, 95% CI: −2.61; −0.95), while exposure to TV was associated with more weekly TV viewing over 59 weeks (β = 1.23, 95% CI: 0.71; 1.75). Greater parent use of ST as a reward was associated with increased child BMI z-score (β = 0.15, 95% CI: 0.03; 0.27), while limiting/monitoring ST was associated with decreased BMI z-score (β = −0.16, 95% CI: −0.30; −0.01) and smaller waist circumference (β = −0.55, 95% CI: −1.04; −0.06) over the study period. These findings suggest that modifying parent ST practices may be an important strategy to reduce ST and promote healthy weight in young children.