Involvement of young Australian adults in meal preparation : cross-sectional associations with abdominal obesity and body mass index

Previous research has shown that involvement in meal preparation is positively associated with better diet quality. However, it is unclear whether there is an association between involvement in meal preparation and being overweight or obese. This study investigated whether the level of involvement in meal preparation was associated with objectively measured weight status in young adults. During 2004-2006, a national sample of 1,996 Australian adults aged 26 to 36 years completed a self-administered questionnaire including questions on sociodemographic characteristics, diet, and physical activity. Participants were asked to report who usually prepared the main meal on working days and responses were categorized as “myself,” “shared,” or “someone else.” Waist circumference, weight, and height were measured by trained staff. Moderate abdominal obesity was defined as waist circumference >94 cm for men and >80 cm for women. Overweight was defined as body mass index (calculated as kg/m2) >25. Prevalence ratios were calculated using log binomial regression. After adjusting for age, education, and leisure time physical activity, men who shared the meal preparation had a slightly lower prevalence of moderate abdominal obesity (prevalence ratio=0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.86 to 0.99) than those whose meals were usually prepared by someone else. There was no association with having sole responsibility (prevalence ratio=0.99; 95% CI: 0.92 to 1.06). There were no associations between level of involvement in meal preparation and being overweight (shared responsibility prevalence ratio=0.99; 95% CI: 0.92 to 1.07; sole responsibility prevalence ratio=0.98; 95% CI: 0.91 to 1.05). For women, level of involvement was not associated with moderate abdominal obesity (shared responsibility prevalence ratio=0.93; 95% CI: 0.84 to 1.03; sole responsibility prevalence ratio=0.94; 95% CI: 0.86 to 1.03) or being overweight (shared responsibility prevalence ratio=0.93; 95% CI: 0.84 to 1.02; sole responsibility prevalence ratio=0.93; 95% CI: 0.85 to 1.02). In this sample of young adults, level of involvement in meal preparation was not strongly related to weight status.

Diabetes MILES - Australia (Management and Impact for Long-Term Empowerment and Success) : methods and sample characteristics of a national survey of the psychological aspects of living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in Australian adults

Background Successful management of diabetes requires attention to the behavioural, psychological and social aspects of this progressive condition. The Diabetes MILES (Management and Impact for Long-term Empowerment and Success) Study is an international collaborative. Diabetes MILES-Australia, the first Diabetes MILES initiative to be undertaken, was a national survey of adults living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in Australia. The aim of this study was to gather data that will provide insights into how Australians manage their diabetes, the support they receive and the impact of diabetes on their lives, as well as to use the data to validate new diabetes outcome measures.

Methods The survey was designed to include a core set of self-report measures, as well as modules specific to diabetes type or management regimens. Other measures or items were included in only half of the surveys. Cognitive debriefing interviews with 20 participants ensured the survey content was relevant and easily understood. In July 2011, the survey was posted to 15,000 adults (aged 18-70 years) with type 1 or type 2 diabetes selected randomly from the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) database. An online version of the survey was advertised nationally. A total of 3,338 eligible Australians took part; most (70.4%) completed the postal survey. Respondents of both diabetes types and genders, and of all ages, were adequately represented in both the postal and online survey sub-samples. More people with type 2 diabetes than type 1 diabetes took part in Diabetes MILES-Australia (58.8% versus 41.2%). Most respondents spoke English as their main language, were married/in a de facto relationship, had at least a high school education, were occupied in paid work, had an annual household income > $AUS40,000, and lived in metropolitan areas.

Discussion A potential limitation of the study is the under-representation of respondents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin). Diabetes MILES-Australia represents a major achievement in the study of diabetes in Australia, where for the first time, the focus is on psychosocial and behavioural aspects of this condition at a national level.

Promoting fit bodies, healthy eating and physical activity among Indigenous Australian men : a study protocol

Background: Overall the physical health of Indigenous men is among the worst in Australia. Research has indicated that modifiable lifestyle factors, such as poor nutrition and physical inactivity, appear to contribute strongly to these poor health conditions. To effectively develop and implement strategies to improve the health of Australia’s Indigenous peoples, a greater understanding is needed of how Indigenous men perceive health, and how they view and care for their bodies. Further, a more systematic understanding of how sociocultural factors affect their health attitudes and behaviours is needed. This article presents the study protocol of a communitybased investigation into the factors surrounding the health and body image of Indigenous Australian men.
Methods and design: The study will be conducted in a collaborative manner with Indigenous Australian men using a participatory action research framework. Men will be recruited from three locations around Australia (metropolitan, regional, and rural) and interviewed to understand their experiences and perspectives on a number of issues related to health and health behaviour. The information that is collected will be analysed using modified grounded theory and thematic analysis. The results will then be used to develop and implement community events in each location to provide feedback on the findings to the community, promote health enhancing strategies, and determine future action and collaboration.
Discussion: This study will explore both risk and protective factors that affect the health of Indigenous Australian men. This knowledge will be disseminated to the wider Indigenous community and can be used to inform future health promotion strategies. The expected outcome of this study is therefore an increased understanding of health and health change in Indigenous Australian men, the development of strategies that promote healthy eating and positive patterns of physical activity and, in the longer term, more effective and culturally-appropriate interventions to improve health.

Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its determinants in Australian adults aged 25 years and older : a national, population-based study

Objective  Vitamin D deficiency is recognized as a global public health problem, but the population-based prevalence of deficiency and its determinants in Australian adults is not known. This study evaluated the vitamin D status of Australian adults aged ≥25 years and risk factors associated with vitamin D deficiency in this population.

Design and Patients  We studied a national sample of 11 247 Australian adults enrolled in the 1999/2000 Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study drawn from 42 randomly selected districts throughout Australia.

Measurements  Serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] were measured by immunoassay. Vitamin D deficiency was defined as a concentration <50 nmol/l. Information on demographic and lifestyle factors was derived from interview-administered questionnaires.

Results  The mean serum 25(OH)D concentration was 63 nmol/l (95% CI: 59–67 nmol/l). Only 4% of the population had a level <25 nmol/l, but the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (<50 nmol/l) was 31% (22% men; 39% women); 73% had levels <75 nmol/l. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency increased significantly with age, was greater in women, in those of non-Europid origin, in the obese and those who were physically inactive and with a higher level of education. Deficiency was also more common during winter and in people residing in southern Australia (latitude >35°S); 42% of women and 27% of men were deficient during summer–autumn, which increased to 58% and 35%, respectively, during winter–spring.

Conclusion  Vitamin D deficiency is common in Australia affecting nearly one-third of adults aged ≥25 years. This indicates that strategies are needed at the population level to improve vitamin D status of Australians.

Do health beliefs and behaviors differ according to severity of obesity? A qualitative study of Australian adults

Public responses to obesity have focused on providing standardized messages and supports to all obese individuals, but there is limited understanding of the impact of these messages on obese adults. This descriptive qualitative study using in-depth interviews and a thematic method of analysis, compares the health beliefs and behaviors of 141 Australian adults with mild to moderate (BMI 30−39.9) and severe (BMI ≥ 40) obesity. Mildly obese individuals felt little need to change their health behaviors or to lose weight for health reasons. Most believed they could “lose weight” if they needed to, distanced themselves from the word obesity, and stigmatized those “fatter” than themselves. Severely obese individuals felt an urgent need to change their health behaviors, but felt powerless to do so. They blamed themselves for their weight, used stereotypical language to describe their health behaviors, and described being “at war” with their bodies. Further research, particularly about the role of stigma and stereotyping, is needed to fully understand the impact of obesity messaging on the health beliefs, behaviors, and wellbeing of obese and severely obese adults.

Projected socioeconomic disparities in the prevalence of obesity among Australian adults

Objective: To project prevalence of normal weight, overweight and obesity by educational attainment, assuming a continuation of the observed individual weight change in the 5-year follow-up of the national population survey, the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study (AusDiab; 2000–2005).

Methods: Age-specific transition probabilities between BMI categories, estimated using logistic regression, were entered into education-level-specific, incidence-based, multi-state life tables. Assuming a continuation of the weight change observed in AusDiab, these life tables estimate the prevalence of normal weight, overweight and obesity for Australian adults with low (secondary), medium (diploma) and high (degree) levels of education between 2005 and 2025.

Results: The prevalence of obesity among individuals with secondary level educational attainment is estimated to increase from 23% in 2000 to 44% in 2025. Among individuals with a degree qualification or higher, it will increase from 14% to 30%. If all current educational inequalities in weight change could be eliminated, the projected difference in the prevalence of obesity by 2025 between the highest and lowest educated categories would only be reduced by half (to a 6 percentage point difference from 14 percentage points).

Conclusion: We predict that almost half of Australian adults with low educational status will be obese by 2025. Current trends in obesity have the potential to drive an increase in the absolute difference in obesity prevalence between educational categories in future years.

Implications: Unless obesity prevention and management strategies focus specifically on narrowing social inequalities in obesity, inequalities in health are likely to widen.

A middle approach to literacy in a minority Indigenous Australian language context.

Kunib-dji live in Maningrida, a remote community in the Northern Territory and speak Ndj-bbana as their preferred language of communication. Kunib-dji are one of many groups of Indigenous Australian languages who speak a minority language. Very little has been documented about the social practices of literacy with speakers of such languages, particularly with the texts that mediate these languages. Knowing about the beliefs and attitudes towards enacted by these speakers towards these texts is useful for understanding the process of learning of minority and majority languages. This paper presents a middle approach to literacy as distinct form top-down and bottom-up approaches, that has emerged from the minority Indigenous Australian language context in Maningrida. The proposed middle approach to literacy incorporates non-indigenous intervention in Indigenous social practices and technological transform of Indigenous texts. The methodological aspects of such intervention and transformation together with the implications of a middle approach to literacy are presented in this paper. Throughout the paper references are made to Kunib-dji children's access to digital Ndj-bbana texts and their engagement with these texts in a home environment.

Talking books for children's home use in a minority Indigenous Australian language context

Members of the Kunibidji community are the traditional owners of the lands and seas around Maningrida, a remote community in Northern Australia. Most of the 200 members of the Kunibidji Community speak Ndjebbana as their first language. This study reports on the complexities of transforming technology to provide Kunibídji children with access to digital texts at home. The printed Ndjebbana texts that were kept at school were transformed to Ndjebbana talking books displayed on touch screen computers in the children's homes. Some results of the children's interaction around these touch screens are presented as well as some quantitative results of the computer viewing in the homes. The processes of rejecting technological determinism, upholding linguistic human rights of speakers of minority languages and viewing technology as practice rather than a set of artefacts are discussed in this paper. The results of this study highlight the need for speakers of minority Indigenous Australian languages to have access to texts in their threatened languages on technologies at home.

Daily eating frequency and cardiometabolic risk factors in young Australian adults : cross-sectional analyses

Eating frequency may be important in the development of overweight and obesity and other cardiometabolic risk factors; however, the evidence is inconsistent. The aim of the present study was to examine the associations between the number of eating occasions and cardiometabolic risk factors in a national population-based sample of young adults. A cohort of 1273 men and 1502 women, aged 26–36 years, completed a meal pattern chart to record when they had eaten during the previous day (in hourly intervals). The total number of eating occasions was calculated. Diet quality was assessed, waist circumference was measured and a fasting blood sample was taken. Dietary intake was compared with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. The associations between the number of eating occasions and cardiometabolic risk factors were calculated using linear regression. Analyses were adjusted for age, education and physical activity. Most men ate three to five times per d and most women ate four to six times. The proportion of participants meeting dietary recommendations increased with the number of eating occasions. For men, an additional eating occasion was associated with reductions in mean values for waist circumference ( − 0·75 cm), fasting glucose ( − 0·02 mmol/l), fasting insulin ( − 0·34 mU/l; 2·04 pmol/l), TAG ( − 0·03 mmol/l), total cholesterol ( − 0·08 mmol/l) and LDL-cholesterol ( − 0·06 mmol/l). Adjustment for waist circumference attenuated the results. Significant trends were not observed for women. In conclusion, a higher number of eating occasions were associated with reduced cardiometabolic risk factors in men. Many associations were mediated by waist circumference.

Everyone’s life is so different : the experiences of young Australian adults who return home

The article focuses on the experiences of young Australian adults who return to their parent's homes. It cites several factors that lead young people to return home such as unemployment, divorce and parenthood. It uses qualitative interviews of 22- to 30-year-olds as basis of young adults' experiences. It argues that the decision of returning home is not a failure, but a positive choice in living arrangement.

Highlighting the unmet needs of Australian adults with diabetes : first results from Diabetes MILES - Australia

In July 2011, The Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes undertook a national survey of adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The survey focused on the psychological, social, and behavioural aspects of living with diabetes.