University scientists conducting research on topics of potential health concern often want to partner with a range of actors, including government entities, non-governmental organizations, and private enterprises. Such partnerships can provide access to needed resources, including funding. However, those who observe the results of such partnerships may judge those results based on who is involved. This set of studies seeks to assess how people perceive two hypothetical health science research collaborations. In doing so, it also tests the utility of using procedural justice concepts to assess perceptions of research legitimacy as a theoretical way to investigate conflict of interest perceptions. Findings show that including an industry collaborator has clear negative repercussions for how people see a research partnership and that these perceptions shape people’s willingness to see the research as a legitimate source of knowledge. Additional research aimed at further communicating procedures that might mitigate the impact of industry collaboration is suggested.

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Summary To update existing literature and fill the gap in meta‐analyses, this meta‐analysis quantitatively evaluated the worldwide economic burden (in 2022 US $) of childhood overweight and obesity in comparison with healthy weight. The literature search in eight databases produced 7756 records. After literature screening, 48 articles met the eligibility criteria. The increased annual total medical costs were $237.55 per capita attributable to childhood overweight and obesity. Overweight and obesity caused a per capita increase of $56.52, $14.27, $46.38, and $1975.06 for costs in nonhospital healthcare, outpatient visits, medication, and hospitalization, respectively. Length of hospital stays increased by 0.28 days. Annual direct and indirect costs were projected to be $13.62 billion and $49.02 billion by 2050. Childhood obesity ascribed to much higher increased healthcare costs than overweight. During childhood, the direct medical expenditures were higher for males than for females, but, once reaching adulthood, the expenditures were higher for females. Overall, the lifetime costs attributable to childhood overweight and obesity were higher in males than in females, and childhood overweight and obesity resulted in much higher indirect costs than direct healthcare costs. Given the increased economic burden, additional efforts and resources should be allocated to support sustainable and scalable childhood obesity programs.

Diet-related mobile apps hold promise in helping individuals self-regulate their eating behaviors. Nevertheless, little is known about the extent to which diet-related mobile apps incorporate the established behavior change theories and evidence-based practices that promote dietary self-regulation. Guided by the self-regulation aspect of Bandura's social cognitive theory and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this study conducts a content analysis of diet-related mobile apps for iPhone (N = 400). In terms of the adherence to the self-regulation aspect of the social cognitive theory, results show that although 72.5% of the apps incorporate at least one theoretical construct, few apps tap all three processes of self-regulation (i.e., self-observation/monitoring, judgment process, and self-reaction). Additionally, outcome expectation is manifested in a majority of the diet-related apps. In terms of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, while the diet-related apps equally emphasize setting goals for calorie intake or nutrient consumption, more apps feature nutrient tracking than calorie tracking. Implications and limitations are discussed.