Background: The aim of the study was to examine the construct validity of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire -R18 (TFEQ-R18), a measure of eating behaviour, and to evaluate cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating in a sample of adolescent and young adult females of different weights.

BackgroundWe aimed to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of an individualized, long-term support lifestyle counseling approach in promoting healthy physical activity, improving dietary and sleeping behaviors, and preventing weight gain in young females. The counseling approach’s intensity was designed to be low enough to be implementable in primary health care.MethodsYoung women (n = 3,059, age at baseline 17–21 years) attending a population-based human papilloma virus vaccination trial (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00122681) in 15 vaccination centers in different communities across Finland, were cluster-randomized into intervention and control arms of the LINDA intervention. Both intervention and control arms received counseling on sexual health and contraception from the study nurses as part of the vaccination trial. Additionally, the LINDA intervention arm (n = 1,537) received a 20-minute individualized lifestyle counseling session followed by further support at the six-monthly follow-up visits of the vaccination trial, in total for 1.5–2.5 years.The LINDA solution-focused brief therapy intervention focused on healthy physical activity, and dietary and sleeping behaviors, based on the needs and interests of the participants. Anthropometrics were measured, and data on health-related behaviors were collected using self-report questionnaires at baseline and after the intervention at 1.5–2.5 years.ResultsIn the intervention arm, 37% vs. 31% in the control arm made an overall improvement in their health behaviors concerning physical activity, meal regularity and/or earlier bedtime (NNT = 18, 95% CI = 11–50). The per-protocol analysis further revealed that 30% of those who actually received lifestyle change support on healthy physical activity behaviors improved their physical activity level vs. 23% in the control group (NNT = 15, 95% CI = 9–38). Respectively, 36% of those who received support on healthy sleeping behaviors went to sleep earlier before school-/work-days after the intervention vs. 28% in the control group (NNT = 13, 95% CI = 7–61). Dinner irregularity increased in both groups, but less in the intervention group among those who received support on healthy dietary behaviors (NNT = 15, 95%CI = 9–46). There was no effect on weight gain between baseline and study end-point.ConclusionsThe solution-focused brief therapy intervention, with individually tailored content, helped to make small, long-term overall improvements in health behaviors concerning physical activity, meal regularity and/or earlier bedtime.

Objective-The relationship between Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cpn) infection and arterial measures of preclinical atherosclerosis has remained controversial. Because atherogenesis begins in early life, we examined whether carotid and aortic intima-media thickness (IMT) and brachial artery endothelial function are associated with Cpn seropositivity in children. Methods and Results-Cpn-specific IgG and IgA antibodies were assessed by enzyme immunoassay in 199 healthy children followed-up annually from 7 to 11 years of age. Carotid (cIMT) and aortic IMT (aIMT), and brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) were measured in 137 of the 199 children at the age of 11 years using high-resolution ultrasound. Research into the infectious hypothesis in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis has focused, in particular, on Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cpn), an obligate intracellular human pathogen responsible for a significant portion of atypical pneumonia. The evidence of Cpn as a causative agent in the development of atherosclerosis is based on seroepidemiological studies, 3 and detection of viable Cpn from the atheromas of coronary, carotid and femoral arteries, and of abdominal aortic aneurysms. 4,5 However, in the available studies in adults, the relation of Cpn infection to endothelial dysfunction and increased intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery (cIMT), 2 measures of subclinical atherosclerosis, has not been conclusively demonstrated.High-resolution ultrasound is a reliable noninvasive method for detecting early functional and structural atherosclerotic changes in the arterial wall. Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery is a marker of endothelial function. 6 The carotid artery has been the target in the assessment of early structural vascular changes because it is located superficially on the neck and is thus easily visualized by ultrasound. However, autopsy studies have shown that the earliest morphological alterations in the arterial wall emerge in the abdominal aorta. 7 Therefore, intima-media thickness of the abdominal aorta (aIMT) may provide an even better index of preclinical atherosclerosis than cIMT. Consistent with this idea, we have recently shown that children with increased risk factor load are more efficiently identified by measuring aIMT than cIMT, which shows more overlapping with healthy controls. 8 Numerous cardiovascular risk factors have been related to early functional and structural vascular wall changes already in the first decade of life. 9 -13 In addition, impaired FMD and increased cIMT have been demonstrated in HIV-infected children, 14 and in children with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations. 15 Currently, there are no data on the association between exposure to Cpn and markers of subclinical atherosclerosis in childhood. Therefore, we assessed whether the thickness of aortic and carotid intima-media complex, and brachial artery reactivity are related to Cpn seropositivity in otherwise healthy children. MethodsFor a more detailed description, please s...