EpidEmiologyAlthough there is a full body of evidence for an association between obesity and depression in adolescents, evidence for the association between obesity and psychological health, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts is still limited (1-4). The present study investigated the association between selfreported weight status and self-reported psychological health, suicidal thoughts in the past 12 months and lifetime suicide attempts in Dutch adolescent boys and girls. Methods and ProceduresDuring one classroom session, 35,107 students of the second (13-14 years) and fourth grade (15-16 years) filled out an Internet-based questionnaire as part of the 2003 Electronic Monitor and Health Education (E-MOVO) project (5,6).Based on self-reported weight and height, BMI was calculated and students were classified into five groups of weight status using age-and gender-specific international standards (7,8). The five-item version of the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) was used to assess the MHI-5 score (0 = very unhealthy to 100 = perfectly healthy) (9). Scores of ≤60 were classified as "psychologically unhealthy" (10). To check the robustness of the results, alternative cutoff values (i.e., 65 and 72) were used, and the MHI-5 score was analyzed as a continuous measure. Suicidal thoughts in the past 12 months were measured by a single question of which answers were dichotomized into "yes" ("very often", "occasionally" and "a few times") and "no" ("never"). Lifetime suicide attempts ("yes" or "no") were also measured by a single question.In total, 21,730 students (10,667 boys and 11,063 girls) were included in the analyses. Logistic regression, linear, and polytomous

A minority of child abuse cases is recognized by professionals, making the role of non-professional bystanders essential. The stages of change construct, as proposed by the Transtheoretical Model, may provide a useful approach to explain non-professional helping behavior. The objective of this study was to test the applicability of the stages of change construct by (i) assessing whether cognitive determinants distinguish between the stages, (ii) testing the predictive value of the stages for future helping behavior and (iii) examining the mediating role of the stages in the relation between previous and future helping behavior. Data of 126 adult non-professional bystanders were analyzed. Respondents were questioned by telephone or via an Internet questionnaire, at baseline and after a follow-up of about two months later. Attitude toward helping was significantly less positive in pre-contemplation than in the other stages, and self-efficacy expectations were significantly higher in preparation compared with the other stages. Moreover, baseline preparators were more likely to conduct future helping behavior than those in the two earlier stages. Finally, the stages of change mediated the relation between previous and future helping behavior. Initial support was found for the applicability of the stages of change construct for helping behavior by non-professional bystanders.

This review aimed to gain insight in the extent to which psychosocial effects of obesity prevention programmes have been studied, to give an overview of the methods used to measure the particular psychosocial aspects and - if possible - to quantify the effects found. Intervention studies (n = 267) covering the period 1990-October 2005 were derived from seven reviews about childhood obesity interventions. An additional search identified 2754 studies covering the period January 2005-February 2008. In total, 2901 papers (excluding 120 duplicates) were screened for inclusion. Sixty-nine papers covering 53 interventions were included and screened on measuring psychosocial variables. All original authors were contacted. Seven of the selected interventions measured psychosocial variables, five of which evaluated a net intervention effect as compared with a control condition. Only two interventions reported a statistically significant net intervention effect (a decrease in use of purging or diet pills and a decrease in peer ratings of aggression and observed verbal aggression). We conclude that a minority of childhood obesity interventions investigate the effects of their programmes on psychosocial well-being of children and adolescents. It is recommended that in the future, these programmes will be evaluated in a uniform way on a broad range of psychosocial aspects.