Background Online social networks, such as Facebook™, have extensive reach, and they use technology that could enhance social support, an established determinant of physical activity. This combination of reach and functionality makes online social networks a promising intervention platform for increasing physical activity. Purpose To test the efficacy of a physical activity intervention that combined education, physical activity monitoring, and online social networking to increase social support for physical activity compared to an education-only control. Design RCT. Students (n=134) were randomized to two groups; education-only controls receiving access to a physical activity–focused website (n=67) and intervention participants receiving access to the same website with physical activity self-monitoring and enrollment in a Facebook group (n=67). Recruitment and data collection occurred in 2010 and 2011; data analyses were performed in 2011. Setting/participants Female undergraduate students at a large Southeastern public university. Intervention Intervention participants were encouraged through e-mails, website instructions, and moderator communications to solicit and provide social support related to increasing physical activity through a physical activity–themed Facebook group. Participants received access to a dedicated website with educational materials and a physical activity self-monitoring tool. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was perceived social support for physical activity; secondary outcomes included self-reported physical activity. Results Participants experienced increases in social support and physical activity over time but there were no differences in perceived social support or physical activity between groups over time. Facebook participants posted 259 times to the group. Two thirds (66%) of intervention participants completing a post-study survey indicated that they would recommend the program to friends. Conclusions Use of an online social networking group plus self-monitoring did not produce greater perceptions of social support or physical activity as compared to education-only controls. Given their promising features and potential reach, efforts to further understand how online social networks can be used in health promotion should be pursued. Trial Registration This study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT01421758.

BackgroundLow-income women of reproductive age are at increased risk for obesity and resulting increases in the risk of maternal/fetal complications and mortality and morbidity. Very few weight-loss interventions, however, have been targeted to this high-risk group. Based on the high prevalence of social media use among young and low-income individuals and previous successes using group formats for weight-loss interventions, the use of social media as a platform for weight-loss intervention delivery may benefit low-income women of reproductive age.ObjectiveExamine the feasibility of delivering group-based weight-loss interventions to low-income women of reproductive age using face-to-face meetings and Web-based modalities including social media.MethodsParticipants attended a family planning clinic in eastern North Carolina and received a 5-month, group- and Web-based, face-to-face weight-loss intervention. Measures were assessed at baseline and 20 weeks.ResultsForty participants enrolled, including 29 (73%) African American women. The mean body mass index of enrollees was 39 kg/m2. Among the 12 women who completed follow-up, mean weight change was -1.3 kg. Participation in the intervention was modest and retention at 5 months was 30%. Returnees suggested sending reminders to improve participation and adding activities to increase familiarity among participants.ConclusionsEngagement with the intervention was limited and attrition was high. Additional formative work on the barriers and facilitators to participation may improve the intervention’s feasibility with low-income women of reproductive age.

Low-socioeconomic status (SES) individuals have higher rates of obesity. Social media platforms are used frequently by low-SES individuals and facilitate important weight loss program components including social support. Very few social media-based weight loss interventions, however, have enrolled or been tailored to low-SES participants. The purpose of this article is to examine the feasibility of a social media-based weight loss intervention among low-SES adults. We conducted a one-group pretest post-test pilot intervention study with two groups (group 1, n = 39, group 2, n = 16) of low-SES overweight/obese adults who were enrolled in a 12-week social media-based weight loss intervention including self-monitoring via Fitbits and participation in a private Facebook group. A moderator provided educational content and encouraged social support via Facebook. Descriptive statistics were used to assess intervention acceptability and engagement. Exploratory analyses were conducted to examine changes in study outcomes and engagement patterns. The study had good retention (86%). Among 55 total participants enrolled, there were 9,175 participant interactions within the Facebook group. Among completers (n = 47), 96% indicated they would recommend the intervention to a friend. Mean weight loss was 1.07 kg (SD = 3.96, p = .0498), and participants reported increases in positive dietary social support (mean = 2.47, SD = 5.09, p = .0007). Engagement in this social media-based pilot intervention was high and exceeded results from previous studies using similar formats. Participants evaluated the intervention favorably. Changes in weight loss and several theoretical mediators were in the desired direction. Overall, our results indicate social media groups as a platform for weight loss intervention delivery among low-SES adults are feasible and should be studied in larger randomized trials.

The primary objective of the current study was to examine the relationship between social support and physical activity within the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) theoretical framework. This study used data from the Internet Support for Healthy Associations Promoting Exercise randomized controlled trial. A total of 134 female undergraduate students participated in the study, which included baseline and post measures of perceived social support for physical activity (esteem, informational, and companionship), TPB variables related to physical activity (perceived behavioral control, intention, and attitude), and physical activity behavior. Path analysis revealed a significant indirect relationship between change in companionship support and physical activity mediated by change in intention (.13, p<.01) and a significant direct relationship between change in esteem support and change in physical activity (.26, p=.03). The model explained 27% of the variance in physical activity and 59% of the variance in intention. Overall, change in social support exerted a small to medium amount of influence on change in physical activity in this modified TPB model when controlling for traditional model constructs. Encouraging companionship and esteem support should be considered as a strategy for increasing physical activity in this population.

Despite their widespread use and extensive technical features, little is known about how to use online social networking sites to increase physical activity. This study aims to examine Facebook engagement among participants in the online social networking arm of a randomized controlled physical activity promotion trial (n = 67). Facebook communications were double coded and analyzed using ATLAS.ti. Regression procedures were used to determine predictors of Facebook use and associations between types of use and changes in perceived social support and physical activity. Changes in perceived social support and physical activity were more strongly associated with participants' individual Facebook use than use of the Facebook intervention group. The way social media sites are used in intervention design could have an impact on their effects. Including existing friends in interventions and using applications that incorporate intervention activities into a more naturalistic use of Facebook may improve the efficacy of future interventions.

Social media are now used by a majority of American internet users. Social media platforms encourage participants to share information with their online social connections and exchange user-generated content. Significant numbers of people are already using social media to share health-related information. As such, social media provide an opportunity for “user-generated” cancer control and prevention interventions that employ users' behavior, knowledge, and existing social networks for the creation and dissemination of interventions. These interventions also enable novel data collection techniques and research designs that will allow investigators to examine real-time behavioral responses to interventions. Emerging social media-based interventions for modifying cancer-related behaviors have been applied to such domains as tobacco use, diet, physical activity, and sexual practices, and several examples are discussed for illustration purposes. Despite some promising early findings, challenges including inadequate user engagement, privacy concerns, and lack of internet access among some groups need to be addressed in future research. Recommendations for advancing the field include stronger partnerships with commercial technology companies, utilization of rapid and adaptive designs to identify successful strategies for user engagement, rigorous and iterative efficacy testing of these strategies, and inclusive methods for intervention dissemination. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(9); 1953–6. ©2014 AACR.

All participants reported smoking cigarillos for use as a tobacco product, averaging 13 per week. Twenty-five (83%) also reported using cigarillos to smoke marijuana blunts. A preference for group smoking and product sharing, and the belief that cigarillos extend the high of marijuana were found to promote the co-use of these products. Cigarillos were also found to be used as a substitute for blunts when marijuana was unavailable or when its use was being restricted or monitored. Conclusions/Importance: This analysis of adolescent cigarillo and marijuana co-use demonstrates how marijuana use can initiate, increase, and reinforce tobacco use. These findings can be used to inform public health education campaigns and other programs and policies aimed at reducing cigarillo and marijuana use by youth.

Background The U.S. Department of Agriculture launchedChooseMyPlate.gov nutrition recommendations designed to encourage increased fruit and vegetable intake in part as a strategy for improving weight control through the consumption of high satiation foods. Objective The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to assess the relationship between adults’ reported daily intake of fruits and non-starchy vegetables (i.e., those thought to have the lowest energy density) expressed as a proportion of their total daily food intake and objectively measured cardiovascular and metabolic disease risk factors using data from the 2009–2010 National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES). Physical activity was included as a moderator variable. Design This study employed a cross-sectional examination of 2009–2010 NHANES data to assess how daily fruit and non-starchy vegetable intake were associated with anthropometric measures and cardiometabolic blood chemistry markers. Participants/setting Adults free of cardiac or metabolic disease (N=1,197) participated in 24-hour dietary recalls; a variety of cardiometabolic biomarkers and anthropometric measures were also collected from participants. Main outcome measures Among participants with complete data on all variables, the ratio of the combined cup equivalents of fruit and non-starchy vegetable intake to the total gram weight of all foods consumed daily (FV ratio) served as the primary independent variable. Main dependent measures included: fasting glucose, insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, total cholesterol, waist circumference, and body mass index. Statistical analyses performed Demographic and behavioral predictors of the FV ratio and the association between the FV ratio and cardiometabolic disease risk factors were examined using multivariate regression. Results BMI (β = −2.58, 95% CI [−3.88, −1.28]), waist circumference (β = −6.33, 95% CI [−9.81, −2.84]), and insulin (β = −0.21, 95% CI [−0.37, −0.05]) were inversely associated with the FV ratio. These associations were weakened for the subset who adhered to federal physical activity recommendations. No other statistically significant associations were found between FV ratio and main dependent measures. Conclusions In this nationally representative sample, predicted inverse associations between the proportion of daily fruit and non-starchy vegetable intake relative to total intake and measures reflective of body fat composition and fasting insulin were confirmed. Future research should examine whether a similar association is observed for other sources of resistant starch, such as whole grains, which are arguably more strongly linked with satiety and host insulin levels.