The study’s purpose was to evaluate an intervention to reduce fruit and vegetable food neophobia and influence attitudes and behaviors among children using a four-month, non-experimental, before-and-after intervention. Participants were children aged 5–11 years in an intervention school (IS) and a control school (CS). Children were offered fruit or vegetable samples weekly utilizing school-specific psychosocial and educational practices to encourage participation. The outcomes of interest included attitudes measured using a written survey-based food neophobia scale (FNS), behavioral observations, and an oral survey. The post-intervention IS FNS score was significantly lower compared to pre-intervention (p = 0.04). Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a statistically significant overall effect of time (p = 0.006). School type-time interaction was not significant (p = 0.57). Pre-intervention observational data showed the proportions finishing and taking another fruit and vegetable sample were higher in the CS (p < 0.001 for both). Post-intervention, the proportions taking the vegetable (p = 0.007) and the fruit (p < 0.001) were higher in the IS. The percentage tasting the vegetable was higher in the CS (p = 0.009). Offering samples of produce in school lunchrooms may reduce food neophobia. This intervention is an inexpensive program that volunteers can quickly implement.

Background: Prescription medication usage has been used as a predictor of disease prevalence and overall health status. Evidence suggests an inverse relationship exists between polypharmacy, which is the use of 5 or more medications, and physical activity participation. However, there is limited evidence examining the relationship between sedentary time and polypharmacy in adults. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between sedentary time and polypharmacy in a large nationally representative sample of US adults. Methods: Study sample (N = 2879) included nonpregnant adult (≥20 y old) participants from the 2017–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Self-reported minutes per day of sedentary time were converted to hours per day. The dependent variable was polypharmacy (≥5 medications). Results: Analysis revealed that for every hour of sedentary time, there was 4% greater odds of polypharmacy (odds ratio, 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.00–1.07, P = .04) after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, education, waist circumference, and the interaction term between race/ethnicity and education. Conclusion: Our findings suggest increased sedentary time is associated with an increased risk of polypharmacy among a large nationally representative sample of US adults.

Objective: Examine the mode of physical activity (PA) participation in United States adults by US Census region. Methods: The study sample (N = 323,435) included adult (18 years of age and older) participants from the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Participants reported meeting both aerobic and muscle strengthening activity (MSA) guidelines, the aerobic-only guideline, the...

The purpose of this study is to examine trends for mean serum insulin concentration (pmol/L) and prevalence of hyperinsulinemia (≥4.358 pmol/L fasting insulin) in US adults without diabetes. We used data from the 1999-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Participants (n = 14,150) were ≥20 years of age, not pregnant, had no history of diabetes, had a fasting blood glucose measure of less than 126 mg/dL, and had valid responses to all study variables. Consecutive cycles of NHANES data from 1999 to 2018 (20 years) were aggregated into five four-year intervals. The Annual Percent Change (APC) for mean fasting insulin ranged from 5.64 (adjusted for body mass index) to 7.65 % when unadjusted (all p-values for trend <0.0001). The APC for hyperinsulinemia prevalence ranged from 19.4 % (adjusted for waist circumference) to 22.3 % when unadjusted (all p-values for trend <0.0001). The subanalyses by gender consistently revealed significant positive trends for both outcomes. This study illustrates a significant positive trend for mean fasting insulin concentrations and hyperinsulinemia among US adults over 20 years. Monitoring serum insulin and hyperinsulinemia trends provides insights into the continuing rise in type 2 diabetes (T2D) and opportunities for T2D prevention.