Self-reported height and weight, if accurate, provide a simple and economical method to track changes in body weight over time. Literature suggests adults tend to under-report their own weight and that the gap between self-reported weight and actual weight increases with obesity. This study investigates the extent of discrepancy in self-reported height, weight, and subsequent Body Mass Index (BMI) versus actual measurements in young adults. Physically measured and self-reported height and weight were taken from 1562 students. Male students marginally overestimated height, while females were closer to target. Males, on average, closely self-reported weight. Self-reported anthropometrics remained statistically correlated to actual measures in both sexes. Categorical variables of calculated BMI from both self-reported and actual height and weight resulted in significant agreement for both sexes. Researcher measured BMI (via anthropometric height and weight) and sex were both found to have association with self-reported weight while only sex was related to height difference. Regression examining weight difference and BMI was significant, specifically with a negative slope indicating increased BMI led to increased underestimation of weight in both sexes. This study suggests self-reported anthropometric measurements in young adults can be used to calculate BMI for weight classification purposes. Further investigation is needed to better assess self-reported vs measured height and weight discrepancies across populations.

The 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends a diet largely composed of fruit and vegetables. Consuming a diet high in fruit and vegetables and low in refined carbohydrates and saturated fat may reduce an individual's risk for type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, low‐grade chronic inflammation, and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Several recent studies have implicated the bioactive sphingolipid ceramide as an associative and causative biomarker for the development of these conditions. Considering that the intake of fruit and vegetables is frequently inadequate in young adults, we performed a pilot investigation to assess the efficacy of a free‐living fruit and vegetable intervention on overall metabolic health, circulating ceramide supply, and inflammatory status in young adults. We discovered that adoption of the recommended DGA for fruit and vegetable intake for 8 weeks decreased waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, and circulating cholesterol. Lipidomics analysis revealed that nutritional intervention can lower circulating ceramides, including C24:0 ceramide, a known inhibitor of insulin signaling. Unexpectedly, we observed an increase in C16:0 ceramide, suggesting that this form of ceramide in circulation is not associated with metabolic disease in humans. We also observed an improved inflammatory status with enhanced fruit and vegetable intake that was correlated with ceramide concentrations. These data suggest that adopting the recommended DGA is associated with a reduction of many, but not all, ceramide species and may help to prevent or mitigate MetS. Future research needs to assess whether the ceramide‐lowering ability of nutritional intervention is associated with reduced risk of developing metabolic disease.

Objective/Introduction Lengthy surveys have the potential to burden users and can lead to inaccuracies. Conducting analyses to shorten existing validated surveys is beneficial. The objective, therefore, was to shorten the Pittsburgh Quality Sleep Index (PSQI) for young adults. Methods PSQI data from 1246 college students were used. An exploratory factor analysis (FA) was utilized to shorten survey after dropping select items. Nonparametric correlation analysis (Spearman's rho) was conducted between the global sleep scores of the shortened and original surveys. Agreements tests (Kappa and McNemar's test) measured the agreement of the surveys and sensitivity and specificity were evaluated. Results Six factors were examined using maximum likelihood factoring method, applying squared multiple correlations with Promax rotation to allow for correlated variables. FA with six factors explained 100% of shared variance based on eigenvalues and accounted for 61% of variability based on variables. The FA resulted in 13 selected questions (“shortPSQI”), corresponding to 5 of the 7 components of the original survey. High correlation was found between the global scores of the original survey and the “shortPSQI” (rho = 0.94, p < 0.001). When the global score was converted to the categorical variable of good or poor sleepers, the agreement test indicated strong agreement (Kappa 0.83, 95% CI 0.79–0.86, p < 0.0001). Conclusion The validated, 19-item PSQI survey was shortened to 13 items. Tests of correlation and agreement indicate the “shortPSQI” may be an acceptable alternative to the original survey for young adults. Clinical Trial Registration Data for this study was taken from the Get Fruved study, registered on October 21, 2016, on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02941497).

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are a leading source of added sugar in the American diet. Further, ingestion of added sugars from SSBs exceeds recommendations. Thus, interventions that effectively reduce SSB consumption are needed. Focus group discussions with parents (n = 37) and school-aged children between the ages of 6 and 11 years (n = 41) from Florida, New Jersey, and West Virginia were led by trained moderators using Social Cognitive Theory as a guide. Trends and themes that emerged from the content analysis of the focus group data indicated that both parents and children felt that limiting SSBs was important to health and weight control. However, parents and children reported consuming an average of 1.85 ± 2.38 SD and 2.13 ± 2.52 SD SSB servings/week, respectively. Parents and children were aware that parent behaviors influenced kids, but parents reported modeling healthy SSB behaviors was difficult. Busy schedules, including more frequent parties and events as children get older, were another barrier to limiting SSBs. Parents were most successful at limiting SSBs when they were not in the house. This qualitative research provides novel insights into parents’ and children’s cognitions (e.g., beliefs, attitudes), barriers, and facilitators related to SSB ingestion. Consideration of these insights during nutrition intervention development has the potential to improve intervention effectiveness in reducing SSB intake.

The FRUVEDomics study investigates the effect of a diet intervention focused on increasing fruit and vegetable intake on the gut microbiome, and cardiovascular health of young adults with/at risk for Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). It was hypothesized the recommended diet would result in metabolic and gut microbiome changes. The 9-week dietary intervention adhered to the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and focused on increasing fruit and vegetable intake to equal half of the diet. Seventeen eligible young adults with/or at high risk of MetS, consented and completed preintervention and postintervention measurements, including anthropometric, body composition, cardiovascular, complete blood lipid panel, and collection of stool sample for microbial analysis. Participants attended weekly consultations to assess food logs, food receipts, and adherence to the diet. Following intention-to-treat guidelines all 17 individuals were included in the dietary, clinical, and anthropometric analysis. Fruit and vegetable intake increased from 1.6 to 3.4 cups of fruits and vegetables ( P < .001) daily. Total fiber ( P = .02) and insoluble fiber ( P < .0001) also increased. Clinical laboratory changes included an increase in sodium ( P = .0006) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ( P = .04). In the fecal microbiome, Erysipelotrichaceae (phylum Firmicutes) decreased (log2 fold change: −1.78, P = .01) and Caulobacteraceae (phylum Proteobacteria) increased (log2 fold change = 1.07, P = .01). Implementing a free living 9-week diet, with intensive education and accountability, gave young adults at high risk for/or diagnosed with MetS the knowledge, skills, and feedback to improve diet. To yield greater impact a longer diet intervention may be needed in this population.