Public compliance with social distancing is key to containing COVID-19, yet there is a lack of knowledge on which communication ‘messages’ drive compliance. Respondents (224 Canadians and Americans) rated combinations of messages about compliance, systematically varied by an experimental design. Independent variables were perceived risk; the agent communicating the policy; specific social distancing practices; and methods to enforce compliance. Response patterns to each message suggest three mindset segments in each country reflecting how a person thinks. Two mindsets, the same in Canada and the US, were ‘tell me exactly what to do,’ and ‘pandemic onlookers.’ The third was ‘bow to authority’ in Canada, and ‘tell me how’ in the US. Each mindset showed different messages strongly driving compliance. To effectively use messaging about compliance, policy makers may assign any person or group in the population to the appropriate mindset segment by using a Personal Viewpoint Identifier that we developed.

Cost-effective and efficient body composition measurement devices that are reliable and valid are necessary for identifying health risk as well as for understanding the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability and validity of three body composition measurement devices. Forty-nine adults (mean age (SD) = 31.5 (10.7) y; BMI = 23.5 (3.0) kg/m 2 ) completed a reference air displacement plethysmography (ADP) measure, and duplicate measures using skinfold callipers (Lange), ultrasound (BodyMetrix A-mode) and a 3-dimensional photonic scanner (3DPS; Fit3D ProScanner). Skinfold thickness was measured at seven sites using callipers and ultrasound; percent body fat (%BF) was then estimated using population-specific algorithms. The 3DPS was used to measure body circumferences, and then %BF was estimated using its beta-software.

Paper-based motivation-to-eat visual analogue scales (VASs) developed for adults are widely used in the pediatric age range. The VAS is comprised of four domains: hunger, fullness, desire to eat, and prospective food consumption. The purpose of the present study was to determine agreement between the traditional paper-based VAS and a novel digital VAS (with and without images), as well as the novel digital VAS’s predictive validity for subsequent food intake (FI) in 9–14-year-old children and adolescents. Following an overnight fast and 3 h after consuming a standardized breakfast at home, children and adolescents (n = 17) completed three different VAS instruments (VASpaper, VASimages, VASno-images) in a randomized order at five time-points: 0 min (baseline), 5 min (immediately after consuming a 147 kcal yogurt treatment), 20 min, 35 min (immediately before an ad libitum lunch), and 65 min (immediately post ad libitum lunch). All three instruments were comparable, as shown by low bias and limits of agreement on Bland–Altman plots, moderate to excellent intraclass correlation coefficients for all domains at all time-points (ICC = 0.72–0.98), and no differences between the incremental area under the curve for any of the domains. All three instruments also showed good predictive validity for subsequent FI, with the strongest relationship observed immediately before the ad libitum lunch (p = 0.56–0.63). There was no significant association between subjective thirst and water intake, except with VASno-images at baseline (r = 0.49, p = 0.046). In conclusion, the present study suggests that a novel image-based digital VAS evaluating motivation-to-eat is interchangeable with the traditional paper-based VAS, and provides good predictive validity for next-meal FI in 9–14-year-old normal weight children and adolescents.

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Objectives Childhood is a critical time for regular intake of high-quality nutrients to aid developing brains. Dietary protein and fat independently and additively enhance cognitive performance in adults, however there are limited studies in children. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of whole eggs and its components (egg whites [protein-rich, fat-free] vs. egg yolks [containing protein and essential fatty acids]) on cognitive performance, glycemic response, and subjective appetite in children. Methods Using a randomized within-subject repeated-measures design, 19 children (age: 12.2 ± 0.4 years) completed five test conditions, at least seven days apart. Following the consumption of a standardized breakfast 3 h prior to arriving at the laboratory, children consumed one of the following treatments: whole eggs (147 kcal), egg yolks (112 kcal), egg whites (35 kcal), full fat yogurt (147 kcal), or continued to fast. Cognitive performance, blood glucose, and subjective appetite were assessed at baseline and 15, 30, 60, and 90-min post-treatment. A battery of cognitive performance tests assessed attention, learning and memory, executive functioning, and spatial working memory. Results Word recall (learning and memory) was higher after egg yolks (Δ = 1.7 ± 0.6 words; P = 0.03) compared with egg whites. Change from baseline cognitive processing test scores (attention) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) after egg yolks by 1.11, 1.25, and 1.21 trials compared with whole eggs, egg whites, and yogurt, respectively. Change from baseline subjective average appetite was lower after yogurt compared with snack skipping (Δ = 9.7 ± 2.9 mm; P = 0.01). Change from baseline blood glucose was lower after yogurt compared with egg yolks (P = 0.001) and egg whites (P = 0.01); and blood glucose was lower after whole eggs compared with egg yolks (P = 0.02). Conclusions Egg yolks resulted in higher short-term learning and memory scores compared with egg whites, and attention was higher after egg yolks compared with egg whites, whole eggs and yogurt. In conclusion, consumption of egg yolks may be beneficial for supporting cognitive performance in children. Funding Sources Egg Nutrition Center.