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J L Forster

Publications and source records attributed to J L Forster.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Hypertension prevention trial: do 24-h food records capture usual eating behavior in a dietary change study?

The Hypertension Prevention Trial (HPT) was a randomized unmasked multicenter trial designed to address questions concerning the feasibility and efficacy of dietary intervention in the primary prevention of hypertension. Participants in the diet treatments were given counseling to achieve and sustain changes in calorie, sodium, and/or potassium intake. Diet composition, sodium and potassium excretion, and body weight were assessed for all participants at 6-mo intervals over 3 y. This paper provides information about extent and possible sources of bias in the dietary assessment methodology used in the HPT. Estimates of nutrient intake were derived from food records, urinalysis, and measurement of body weight. Reported potassium intake increased and sodium intake declined to a greater degree during the study than did potassium and sodium excretion. Our results indicate that repeated assessments of diet, which depend upon participant recording, may not accurately represent usual diet in a dietary trial.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Public support for policy initiatives regulating alcohol use in Minnesota: a multi-community survey.

Public support for policies to control alcohol sales and consumption was surveyed in seven Minnesota communities. A total of 438 women and 383 men were asked to indicate their level of support of or opposition to nine different proposals designed to regulate alcohol. There was general support for all policies, which was strongly related to characteristics of respondents and type of policy proposed. Women were significantly more supportive of all items than were men. Marriage, older age and low alcohol consumption were also associated with support. Education and voter status generally were not. Policies and activities that serve primarily to protect youth received the strongest support. Restrictions and prohibitions such as limiting advertisements were less popular. The least support was expressed for increases in taxes on alcohol and for measures that would eliminate an existing practice such as prohibiting wine-cooler sales at convenience stores. The majority of respondents also indicated that they felt the individual, as opposed to the manufacturer or retailer, was responsible for problems associated with alcohol and should be the focus of intervention. Strategies for shifting the focus from the individual to environmental and regulatory control are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Public support for policy initiatives regulating high-fat food use in Minnesota: a multicommunity survey.

Public support of eight policies to regulate the sale and consumption of high-fat food was evaluated in a survey of 438 women and 383 men in seven Minnesota communities. The survey was part of the ongoing activities of the Minnesota Heart Health Program (MHHP). Respondents, when asked to indicate their level of support or opposition to each of eight policies, expressed general support for all but two. Women were consistently more supportive than men. Other sociodemographic characteristics and reported use of food and other substances were generally not predictive of support. Policies that would control conditions of sale or information about the product were the most strongly supported. Taxation as an incentive to food producers to provide alternatives to high-fat food or as a disincentive to consumers to purchase these foods was moderately supported. A proposal to limit sale of high-fat food to children was the most strongly opposed. The majority of respondents indicated that they felt the individual consumer, as opposed to the producer or retailer, is most responsible for problems associated with high-fat food use. The three communities which had received MHHP health promotion activities were significantly more supportive than the comparison communities on two of the eight proposals. There is a moderate level of support in the general public for additional policies to regulate the sale and consumption of high-fat foods. These policy level interventions, similar to policies common in the regulation of alcohol and tobacco use, may be a feasible strategy to help moderate use of potentially health-compromising food products.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Baseline characteristics in the Hypertension Prevention Trial. Hypertension Prevention Trial Research Group.

The Hypertension Prevention Trial (HPT) was a randomized, controlled, multicenter (four clinics, four resource centers) trial designed to test the feasibility of achieving and sustaining dietary changes in the intake of calories, sodium, and potassium and to assess the effect of those changes on blood pressure in a normotensive population. The trial involved 841 men and women (plus a test cohort of 78) who, at the first baseline (BL) examination were in the age range of 25-49 years and had diastolic pressure (DBP) greater than or equal to 76 but less than 100 mm Hg (average of two readings), and at the examination prior to randomization (BL 2), had DBP greater than or equal to 78 but less than 90 mm Hg (also averaged). Participants were randomly assigned to a control treatment group (no dietary counseling) or to one of four dietary treatment groups involving counseling designed to reduce calorie intake; reduce sodium intake, reduce sodium and calorie intake, and reduce sodium and increase potassium intake. This chapter presents HPT baseline characteristics by weight stratum, clinic, and treatment group for various demographic, medical history, and nutritional characteristics, for several physiologic variables used in monitoring treatment compliance, and for blood pressure. The degree of comparability observed among treatment groups was within the range expected for the randomization procedure used.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Long-term follow-up of behavioral treatment for obesity: patterns of weight regain among men and women.

Maintenance of weight loss continues to be a critical concern in behavioral treatment programs. Problems with the acquisition and/or application of behavioral skills are a likely contributor to relapse. However, biological models, especially the hypothesis of a body weight setpoint, are being offered increasingly as alternative explanations for maintenance failure. Within the context of these sometimes opposing viewpoints the present study describes long-term weight outcomes for 114 men and 38 women assessed annually for 4 or 5 years following completion of a 15 week behavioral weight loss program. Although significant mean weight loss was evident at long-term follow-up, a negatively accelerating pattern of weight regain was the predominant outcome. Less than 3 percent of the subjects were at or below their posttreatment weight on all follow-up visits. Consistent sex differences were found, with women having better weight loss maintenance than men. Implications and potential future directions are discussed.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1989

The relationship between social status and body mass index in the Minnesota Heart Health Program.

This study investigated relationships between social variables and body mass index (BMI) in 2465 men and 2792 women aged 25 to 74 in six upper midwestern communities. After controlling for age and cigarette smoking status, BMI was significantly related to education, income, occupation, and marital status in both men and women. SES variables tended to be inversely related to BMI, with a steeper gradient for women than for men. A curvilinear trend was noted, however, in that social status tended to be lower at both ends of weight distribution than in the middle. The relationship between marital status and BMI was also found to be curvilinear. Highest rates of marriage were in the middle portion of the weight distribution for both sexes.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

One-year follow-up study to a worksite weight control program.

Follow-up weights were obtained from 149 participants from two worksite weight control programs 1 year after the end of treatment. These participants regained, on average, 75% of the weight they had lost during treatment. Only 21% of this population maintained their post-treatment weight or continued to lose. We conclude that worksites do not appear to offer special advantages over clinic settings in aiding weight-loss maintenance.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Preventing weight gain in adults: a pound of prevention.

This study evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of a program for weight gain prevention in normal-weight adults. Two hundred nineteen participants were randomized to either weight gain prevention treatment or no treatment for a period of 12 months. Those in the treatment group received monthly newsletters relating to weight management, participated in a financial incentive system, and were offered an optional four-session education course in the sixth month of the program. Results demonstrated high interest in weight gain prevention among individuals who were not objectively overweight. Participation, as measured by return of postcards sent with each newsletter, was approximately 75%. Results after 1 year showed a net weight loss in the group receiving the program of 1.8 lb compared to those in the control group. Eighty-two percent of program participants maintained or lost weight, compared to 56% of the control group. It is concluded that programs for weight gain prevention are feasible in adults and may be more effective than weight loss treatment programs in addressing the problem of community-wide obesity.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Home testing of urine chloride to estimate dietary sodium intake: evaluation of feasibility and accuracy.

To estimate the utility of quantab chloride titrators, a product of Ames Laboratories, in estimating urine and diet sodium, two study populations were examined. The first consisted of 56 normotensive individuals providing timed, overnight, urine collections and 24-hour food records as part of the baseline assessment for a hypertension prevention study. The second group consisted of 19 study employees, who were instructed to maintain a low sodium diet, and to self-assess diet sodium and urine chloride at home. Results showed that urine chloride measured by quantab was highly correlated with urine sodium. Neither urine chloride nor urine sodium correlated highly with the previous day's intake of dietary sodium as measured by food record. It is estimated that five overnight urine samples would be required to estimate food record sodium to within +/- 25 mEq in individuals with relatively stable diets. Home assessment of urine chloride is feasible. It seems likely that clinical procedures which combine self-monitoring of dietary sodium intake by food record and home measurement of urine chloride concentration would be an effective way of providing persons prescribed sodium restricted diets with continuous and convergent feedback about their success in dietary adherence.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Reproductive history and body mass index in black and white women.

The relationships of timing, spacing, number of births, and demographic variables to body mass index were examined in 844 white and 289 black women. Subjects were interviewed in 1978-1979 as mothers or female guardians of a stratified random sample of all Minneapolis children in grades 1-3. Results indicate that among black and white women, number of births, age at last birth, and years between first and last births were positively associated with body mass index. However, when age, education, and income were included in the regression equation for black women, none of the reproductive variables predicted body mass index. When number of births, age at last birth, and years between first and last birth were included in the same regression for white women, only number of births was independently associated with body mass index.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Gender differences related to weight history, eating patterns, efficacy expectations, self-esteem, and weight loss among participants in a weight reduction program.

Fifty-five men and 58 women participating in a behavioral weight loss program were studied to determine sex differences in weight history, eating patterns, efficacy expectations, self-esteem, weight loss and maintenance. Weight history, eating patterns, and psychological variables were further analyzed to identify factors associated with weight change. Women reported more previous dieting experience and a higher degree of overweight at age 25 than men. Women also reported more eating in response to mood and lower self-efficacy prior to participation in this program, while men reported more eating in social situations. Women's self-efficacy rose during treatment, but men's did not. Short-term weight loss was not related to sex, but women were more successful in maintaining weight loss. Degree of overweight at age 25 and prior program participation were inversely related to weight loss success. Self-efficacy in social situations was positively associated in men with short-term weight loss. For men, eating frequency in various moods at post-treatment negatively predicted weight maintenance, and self-efficacy in controlling mood-related eating was positively associated with weight maintenance. We conclude that men and women differ importantly along several dimensions with regard to weight history and response to treatment. These differences may have implications for treatment of overweight.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1985

Promoting weight control at the worksite: a pilot program of self-motivation using payroll-based incentives.

Thirty-six individuals participated in a worksite weight-loss program in which the central component was a self-motivation program of biweekly payroll deductions refunded contingent on meeting self-selected weight-loss goals. Half were assigned to early treatment and the remainder to a delayed treatment control group. Nine additional individuals also enrolled at the time of delayed treatment and were included in descriptive analyses of factors associated with weight loss. Results showed low program attrition over 6 months (6%) and mean weight losses (12.3 lb) that are competitive with those obtained in clinical settings. Although not different at baseline, participants in the delayed treatment group lost more than twice as much weight as those in the early treatment condition. This difference was interpreted as either a strong seasonal effect or a critical mass effect related to the proportion of employees at the worksite participating in the program. We conclude that self-motivation programs for health behavior change using the payroll system as an organization framework offer a promising new methodology for promoting healthful behaviors in work settings.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

A work-site weight control program using financial incentives collected through payroll deduction.

In a work-site weight control program using a self-motivational program of financial incentives implemented through payroll deduction, 131 university employees chose weight loss goals (0 to 60 lb) and incentives (+5 to +30) to be deducted from each paycheck for six months. Return of incentive money was contingent on progress toward weight goals. Participants were assigned randomly to one of four protocols, involving group educational sessions v self-instruction only and required v optional attendance at weigh-ins and sessions. Overall, dropout rates (21.4%) and mean weight loss (12.2 lb) were encouraging, especially compared with those of other work-site programs. Weight loss was positively associated with attendance at weigh-ins and educational sessions. However, requiring attendance did not increase program effectiveness and seemed also to discourage enrollment among men. The weight control program was equally effective when offered with professionally led educational sessions or when accompanied by self-instructional materials only.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

The segregation of mitochondrial genes in yeast. I. Analysis of zygote pedigrees of petite X grande crosses.

A large number of spontaneous, cytoplasmic petite mutants from six grande strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were crossed to a pair of isogenic tester strains. Suppressivity values were obtained by randomly sampling the diploid progeny from these crosses, and this basis, crosses were broadly categorized as having high, intermediate, or low suppressivity. For each cross, individual zygotes were obtained also. All successive first-generation buds were isolated from the zygotes, and analyzed for the presence of petite genotypes. We found that, though early buds may be mixed, all zygotes eventually produce a succession of buds which have the same genotype--either all petite or all grande. Many more zygotes from crosses in all categories of suppressivity purified to petite than expected from the population values for suppressivity. Reconstruction experiments indicate that most petite mutants may actually generate over 90% petite progeny in a petite X grande cross.

Clone Cells↗
PubMed1975

The segregation of mitochondrial genes in yeast. II. Analysis of zygote pedigrees of drug-resistant X drug-sensitive crosses.

Cytoplasmically inherited chloramphenicol- and erythromycin-resistant mutants were obtained in three unrelated and two isogenic haploid strains of yeast. The bias favoring the transmission of these resistance alleles in crosses to the isogenic strains was compared on two levels: on the population level by means of observing random diploid progeny from mass matings, and on the zygote level by zygotic pedigree analyses. The genetic basis of this bias was determined by tetrad analysis. Our results suggest that 1. an intracellular selection mechanism operates within zygotes to determine the degree of bias; 2. the selection mechanism operates differently with respect to the two loci, C and E, under consideration; and 3. the selection mechanism is controlled by a set of nuclear genes. Other models which have been suggested to explain bias are critically examined in light of our results.

Chloramphenicol↗