9 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
Research has shown that a high percentage of college students do not meet recommended national guidelines for physical activity or fruit/vegetable intake. The purpose of this study was to pilot test the short-term efficacy of a one-on-one, brief motivational intervention (BMI) designed to increase physical activity and fruit/vegetable intake. It was hypothesized that participants in the BMI condition would report greater physical activity and fruit/vegetable intake at follow-up than those in an education-only control condition.
The investigators want to find out if providing a Community Health Educator Referral Liaison (CHERL) helps practices help their patients change risky behaviors (tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, and risky drinking) by connecting patients to available services in the community or directly providing behavior change support.
Project FIT is a collaboration between the public school system, local health systems, physicians, neighborhood associations, businesses, faith-based leaders, community agencies and university researchers to develop a multi-faceted approach to promote physical activity and healthy eating toward the general goal of preventing and reducing childhood obesity among children in Grand Rapids, MI, USA. There are four overall components to Project FIT: school, community, social marketing, and school staff wellness - all that focus on: 1) increasing access to safe and affordable physical activity and nutrition education opportunities in the schools and surrounding neighborhoods; 2) improving the affordability and availability of nutritious food in the neighborhoods surrounding the schools; 3) improving the knowledge, self-efficacy, attitudes and behaviors regarding nutrition and physical activity among school staff, parents and students; 4) impacting the 'culture' of the schools and neighborhoods to incorporate healthful values; and 5) encouraging dialogue among all community partners to leverage existing programs and introduce new ones.
Background: Pyrimidine and purine metabolism disorders (DPPMs) affect how the body metabolizes chemicals called pyrimidines and purines. DPPMs can cause dysfunctions throughout the body, especially in the brain, blood, kidneys, and immune system. People with DPPMs might have no symptoms, mild symptoms, or they may have severe, chronic symptoms, that can be fatal. DPPMs are not well understood, and researchers want to learn more about what causes them and how to treat them. Objective: To learn more about factors that affect DPPMs by comparing test results from affected, uaffected family members, and healthy people. Eligibility: Three types of participants are needed: people aged 1 month and older with DPPMs; their family members who do not have DPPMs; and healthy volunteers. Design: Participants with DPPMs will come to the clinic once a year; some may be asked to come more often. At each visit, all affected participants will have a physical exam and give samples of blood, urine, saliva, and stool. Depending on their symptoms, they may also have other procedures, such as: Swabs of their skin and inside the mouth. Tests of their heart, kidney, brain, and nerve function. Questionnaires about what they eat. Dental exams, and exams of their hearing and vision. Tests of their learning ability. Monitoring of their physical activity. Imaging scans. Photographs of their face and body. These tests may be spread over up to 7 days. Affected participants may remain in the study indefinitely if they wish to. Healthy volunteers and family members will have 1 study visit. They will have a physical exam and may be asked to give blood, urine, saliva, and stool samples.
Food insecurity predisposes to poor diet, thereby increasing risk for diet-sensitive chronic disease. This trial is to evaluate the impact of a model of weekly home-delivery of locally-grown vegetables along with selected whole grains on diet among low-income children living in a household with food insecurity. The investigators plan to enroll children (10-15 years) who will participate along with their parent/caregiver. Intervention will consist of 12 weeks of weekly delivered food plus recipes and text-messaged links to cooking instruction. Dyads will be randomized (2:1) to either immediate intervention or a wait-list control group, and diet and diet-related behaviors will be assessed in-person as well as over the telephone.
To evaluate the effect of the Minneapolis minimum wage ordinance on change in body mass index among low-wage workers.
Obesity is recognized as a pro-inflammatory condition associated with multiple chronic diseases, including asthma. The specific mechanisms linking asthma and obesity remain hypothetical. Our primary hypothesis is that inflammatory SNPs may regulate the degree of the inflammatory response, with obesity modifying the severity of the disease. In this instance, asthma that develops in the context of obesity demonstrates the potential deleterious relationship between a specific proinflammatory state (obesity) and the genetic regulators of inflammation (SNPs). Our secondary hypothesis proposes that short-term (12-weeks) weight loss by diet alone, but not exercise alone, will reduce lung specific inflammation and diminish the pro-inflammatory responses in female African American obese adolescents with asthma compared to a waiting list control group who after their initial 12 weeks then receive a combined 12-week diet plus exercise program (waiting list control/combined). A third exploratory hypothesis proposes that the frequency of identified SNPs will be significantly related to the amount of fat loss through diet, exercise or combined program and will further be mediated by specific airway and, pro-and-anti-inflammatory markers.These hypotheses will be tested using the following Specific Aims: 1. To determine the frequency of single nucleotide polymorphisms and SNP haplotypes in pro- and anti-inflammatory genes in female African American obese and non-obese asthmatic and non-asthmatic adolescents, 13-19 years or age. 2. To examine the effects of diet or exercise on lung specific inflammation (exhaled nitric oxide, \[eNO\]) and pro-and-anti-inflammatory responses in female African-American obese asthmatic and non-asthmatic adolescents compared to a waiting list control/ combined group. In addition we will examine the following Exploratory Aim: To determine the effects of the inflammatory SNPs in the modulation of several inflammatory markers and lung specific inflammation (eNO) in female African-American obese asthmatic and non-asthmatic adolescents before and after weight loss through diet, exercise or both.
Poor sleep quality is very common in modern society. Walnuts contain many nutrients that may be helpful for sleep, including melatonin and polyphenols. Some studies show that eating foods high in melatonin and polyphenols improves sleep quality, but walnuts have not been studied specifically. This study proposes to test if eating walnuts improves sleep compared to a food that lacks these sleep-promoting factors. The investigators expect that walnut consumption for 4 days will increase melatonin levels and lead to better sleep quality compared to a high-carbohydrate, high-sugar food. The study will enroll middle-aged and older adults with sleep complaints to participate in this study. Each person will eat the two different foods for 4 days each in random order. The 4-day periods will be separated by at least 2-3 weeks. Sleep quality will be measured by questionnaire and with a wrist monitor every day. The investigators will also do a sleep study using electroencephalography (EEG) on night 3 and take measures of circadian physiology (natural body rhythms) in the laboratory on day 4 (including overnight) by measuring body temperature and blood and urine melatonin. The study findings may provide new options to improve sleep health from increased walnut consumption.
In 1986, The Pioneer Valley in Western Massachusetts was home to one of the first two community supported agriculture (CSA) businesses in the USA. In 2014, there were 6,200 CSAs across the states, and today, in the Pioneer Valley alone, there are sixty CSAs. As with many parts of the United States, there are too many CSAs competing for the same pool of middle and upper-class customers. In his research at the University of Massachusetts in 2014, Mark Paul stated CSA farms are trapped in a lose-lose conundrum in which the farmers are not making enough money for a living wage, while simultaneously CSA shares are too expensive for many community members. The central challenge facing the CSA model moving forward is to provide fair compensation to farmers and farm workers, while making shares available at prices that can attract more members of the community. "(Im)Proving the CSA Model" proposes to increase consumption of and access to local products AND to develop new market opportunities for farms by opening the CSA membership base nationwide to low-income consumers and more price conscious middle class consumers. The investigators will do this by researching and documenting the health benefits of belonging to a CSA program. The investigators expect the resulting data to justify insurance-provided cash "wellness" benefits for CSA participation, much like those currently provided for gym membership. A wellness benefit will provide the financial incentive necessary to open CSA programs to lower- and middle-income consumers. The two-year research study intends to demonstrate that enrolling community health center patients in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program is feasible and leads to dietary improvements that would be expected to offer clinical benefits in larger scale studies over longer timeframes. To maximize the knowledge gained from participation in this study, the investigators will measure several self-reported, laboratory, and clinical outcomes, but the primary purpose of this study is to provide pilot data for the model. To test this the investigators will implement a randomized controlled clinical trial design, with individual-level randomization of 120 participants, assigned in 1:1 ratio to receipt of a CSA membership (goal: 60 participants) or enhanced usual care (goal: 60 participants).