This mobile phone weight-loss programme was effective in short- and long-term weight loss. As a minimum-advice, maximal-contact programme, it offers ideas for future weight-loss programmes.

No abstract

Objective: To test the hypothesis that metabolic syndrome predicts cognitive impairment, and to examine the association of single metabolic risk factors with cognitive functioning. Methods: Weperformed a 12-year follow-up study in a population-based sample of 101 women aged 60–70 years at baseline. Metabolic syndrome wasdefined by the National Cholesterol Education Program criteria (≧3 out of 5 risk factors). Global cognitive function was measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination both at baseline and follow-up. A detailed neuropsychological evaluation for memory and cognitive speed was performed at follow-up. Results: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome increased from 13% at baseline to 49% at follow-up (p < 0.001). Women with metabolic syndrome at baseline had a 4.27 (95% confidence interval: 1.02–17.90; p = 0.047) times higher risk of poor memory at follow-up after adjustment for age, education and depression. The increasing number of metabolic risk factors was associated with worsening of memory at follow-up (p = 0.034 for linear trend). Women with low baseline levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were more likely to have poor memory at follow-up than those with higher HDL levels (p = 0.028). The risk of having poor memory increased by 46.5% (95% confidence interval: 15–66%; p = 0.008) with 1 SD decrease in HDL cholesterol level. Conclusion: In elderly women, metabolic syndrome may be an important contributor to worsening of memory, which is an essential part of mild cognitive impairment.

We begin this year with an issue that highlights food insecurity-its measurement, correlates, outcomes and directions for the future. An editorial from Dr Mark Nord, from the Economic Research Service in the US Department of Agriculture, provides some context for the articles on food insecurity that appear in this issue. In other news regarding Public Health Nutrition, you might notice a slight increase in the heft of the journal. To accommodate the increase in number of submissions we receive, we have increased the number of pages in the journal from 192 to 240. This should help reduce the time to hard copy publication, although time to online publication, which is quicker, will be unaffected. We also introduce our first Call for Papers for a special issue on Sustainability and Public Health Nutrition. The motivation for the Call for Papers is this: first, that current systems of food production, distribution and consumption are likely to have negative consequences on food insecurity, malnutrition, overnutrition and nutrient deficiencies; and second, that by 2050 we will need our food systems to produce enough to feed 9-10 billion people. New research and thinking are needed to develop a food system that

The number of papers addressing overweight and obesity submitted to this journal is still substantial, as previously reported (1). As the first issue for the new year we have chosen Overweight and obesity as the hot topic. You can find papers on antioxidant capacity in obese women (2) , growth reference curves for Portuguese adolescents (3) and validity of self-reported height and weight in Austrian adults (4). These papers point at the importance of correct assessment and use of the right reference curves. There is also a paper looking at changes in overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence during health transition (5) and one looking at low-income New Yorkers and their food concern related to obesity and diabetes (6). Colleagues from Scotland publish the evaluation of the first phase of a weight management programme performed within the National Health Service-interesting reading, indeed (7). The results point at the 'you get what you pay for' principle, with patients who stay in the programme being more likely to lose weight. Being male, depressed, older than 40 years and severely obese (BMI .50 kg/m 2) increased the chance of losing more weight while being socially deprived reduced the chance of improvement in weight status. The authors point at the need for more targeted interventions. We look forward to more results from this programme. Hendrie et al. (8) discuss the complexity of the relationship between behaviours and obesity in childhood and Ergin et al. (9) discuss socioeconomic inequalities in overweight among adults in Turkey. Wiklund et al. (10) publish data from Finland indicating that breast-feeding mothers may be protected against later-life obesity and Wu et al. (11) look at quality of life related to body weight and related variables among adolescents in Canada. Tavares et al. (12) follow up on the issue of ultra-processed foods (discussed earlier in this journal (13)) and their importance for the metabolic syndrome in a Brazilian study of adolescents, and Zhang et al. (14) discuss the same type of issues in their paper from China. Three reviews on the home environment and its importance for childhood obesity, on dietary weight-loss interventions in people of African ancestry and on free will and the obesity epidemic are also included in this issue (15-17). Will the 'epidemic of obesity publications' still be raging at the end of 2012? Will the obesity epidemic as such level out in the coming years? The editors look forward with anticipation. Happy New Year!