Meta-analysis of the effectiveness of school substance abuse prevention programs in Spain

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

British Nutrition Foundation annual lecture: chips with everything? Nutritional genomics and the application of diet in disease prevention

The development of high throughput techniques ('chip' technology) for measurement of gene expression and gene polymorphisms (genomics), and techniques for measuring global protein expression (proteomics) and metabolite profile (metabolomics) are revolutionising life science research, including research in human nutrition. In particular, the ability to undertake large-scale genotyping and to identify gene polymorphisms that determine risk of chronic disease (candidate genes) could enable definition of an individual's risk at an early age. However, the search for candidate genes has proven to be more complex, and their identification more elusive, than previously thought. This is largely due to the fact that much of the variability in risk results from interactions between the genome and environmental exposures. Whilst the former is now very well defined via the Human Genome Project, the latter (e.g. diet, toxins, physical activity) are poorly characterised, resulting in inability to account for their confounding effects in most large-scale candidate gene studies. The polygenic nature of most chronic diseases offers further complexity, requiring very large studies to disentangle relatively weak impacts of large numbers of potential 'risk' genes. The efficacy of diet as a preventative strategy could also be considerably increased by better information concerning gene polymorphisms that determine variability in responsiveness to specific diet and nutrient changes. Much of the limited available data are based on retrospective genotyping using stored samples from previously conducted intervention trials. Prospective studies are now needed to provide data that can be used as the basis for provision of individualised dietary advice and development of food products that optimise disease prevention. Application of the new technologies in nutrition research offers considerable potential for development of new knowledge and could greatly advance the role of diet as a preventative disease strategy in the 21st century. Given the potential economic and social benefits offered, funding for research in this area needs greater recognition, and a stronger strategic focus, than is presently the case. Application of genomics in human health offers considerable ethical and societal as well as scientific challenges. Economic determinants of health care provision are more likely to resolve such issues than scientific developments or altruistic concerns for human health.

Obesity prevention programs demand high-quality evaluations

Obesity prevention programs are at last underway or being planned in Australia and New Zealand. However, it is imperative that they are well-evaluated so that they can contribute to continuous program improvement and add much-needed evidence to the international literature on what works and does not work to prevent obesity. Three critical components of program evaluation are especially at risk when the funding comes from service delivery rather than research sources. These are: the need for comparison groups; the need for measured height and weight; and the need for sufficient process and context information. There is an important opportunity to build collaborative mechanisms across community-based obesity prevention sites to enhance the program and evaluation quality and to accelerate knowledge translation into practice and policy.

Weight concerns among elementary school children : a review of prevention programs

There is increasing evidence that children display high levels of weight and muscle concerns, which include body dissatisfaction and problem eating. In order to address these issues, researchers have designed and implemented prevention programs for this age group. Thirteen published studies were located and reviewed, with children aged 8–12 years from elementary schools, or equivalent. Overall, the programs were shown to be effective in improving children's knowledge at post-test and at follow-up assessments. However, there is limited evidence to show that the programs reduced or prevented body image concerns and/or problem eating. Too few studies have examined muscle concerns so no conclusions can yet be drawn about this domain. Limitations of the studies and suggestions for future prevention efforts are discussed.