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Biomedical subjects

P R Nader

Publications and source records attributed to P R Nader.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Parental behavior in relation to physical activity and fitness in 9-year-old children.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between parental behaviors and physical activity and fitness in elementary school-aged children. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of students and parents. SETTING: Seven public elementary schools in a suburban southern California city. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred forty-eight fourth-grade girls and 149 fourth-grade boys and their parents. Eighty-four percent were white. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS/MAIN RESULTS: Children's physical activity was indicated by self-report, data obtained from a monitor (accelerometer), and results of the mile run/walk. Multiple regression analysis, controlling for ethnicity and body mass index, was conducted separately for girls and boys to explain variation in child activity and fitness. Parents' reported physical activity was not associated with child activity or fitness. However, availability of transportation by parents to sport and fitness activities was significant (or nearly so) in two regressions for boys and in one regression for girls. Parents who played with their children had more active boys, based on self-report, but verbal encouragement to be active was not significant in any model. CONCLUSION: The parental role as gatekeeper of access to activity and sport facilities deserves further study.

Behavior↗
PubMed1992

Infant-feeding practices and adiposity in 4-y-old Anglo- and Mexican-Americans.

A longer duration of breast-feeding and later introduction to solids may protect against excessive adiposity in infancy. This study investigated infant feeding practices and their relationship to two measures of adiposity--body mass index (BMI) and sum of skinfold thicknesses (SUMSF)--in 331 4-y-old Anglo- (43%) and Mexican-American (57%) children. No associations were detected between any of the infant feeding variables of duration of breast-feeding and introduction to solids and formula and measures of the child's adiposity. Mother's physical measures of BMI and SUMSF explained the largest portion of variance for both measures of childhood adiposity, BMI (9.5%), and SUMSF (8.3%). Genetic and environmental factors other than infant feeding practices appear to have a greater influence on a 4-y-olds' adiposity.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1992

Anglo- and Mexican-American preschoolers at home and at recess: activity patterns and environmental influences.

Habitual physical activity in children is related to physical fitness and appears to mediate cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. We studied the physical activity patterns and associated variables of a large bi-ethnic cohort of 4-year-old children from low to middle socioeconomic families. Trained observers coded the behavior of 351 children (150 Anglo-American, 201 Mexican-American; 182 boys, 169 girls) during two 60-minute home visits and two unstructured recesses lasting up to 30 minutes each at 63 different preschools. Findings indicated that although children were much less active at home, there were low but significant correlations between their activity patterns at home and during recess (r = .13). Children who had activity-promoting toys at home also tended to have them available during preschool recess (r = .20). Ethnic differences were evident for both activity and environmental variables. Mexican-American children were less active than Anglo children at home (p less than .002) and during recess (p less than .03), thus adding to the adult literature that has found Mexican-Americans to be less active than Anglos, and supporting to the notion that physical activity life-style habits may be established in early childhood. In both settings, Mexican-American children spent more time in presence of adults (home, p less than .04; recess, p less than .03) and had access to fewer active toys (home, p less than .001; recess, p less than .05). Gender differences were also evident for both activity and environmental variables.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

California↗
PubMed1991

A national survey on pediatric training and activities in school health.

National trends in school health practice and training were assessed 10 years after the report of the 1978 American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Pediatric Education. A questionnaire was sent to 2,237 randomly selected AAP Fellows and was returned by 1,068 (48%). Seventy-seven percent of practicing pediatricians reported involvement in some type of school-based or school consultant activity. Those having residency training in school health and those practicing in rural areas were most likely to be involved. The most common types of activity were school-based pre-athletic exams (56%), consultant to special education placement (26%), and game/event physician (23%). Pediatricians were paid for 20% of sports-related school consultation and 25% of nonsports school health activities. Didactic or clinical training in school health was offered during residency to 19%. Specific didactic topics in school health included learning and attention deficit disorders (32%), physician role in health education (15%), and sports medicine (12%). Preathletic participation exams were the most commonly performed school health activity during residency (23%), followed by serving as a school consultant (11%), and attending an individual education plan meeting (7%). Most pediatricians engaged in school health activities. However, they did so without preparation during residency and without payment for their services.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed1991

Blood pressure reactivity to exercise: stability, determinants, family aggregation, and prediction.

Previous studies have shown blood pressure reactivity to exercise predicts future resting blood pressure. Subjects in this study were 206 healthy Mexican-American and Anglo-American families with fifth or sixth grade children. A total of 539 children (mean age = 12 years) and parents (mean age = 37 years) had complete data at baseline, and 79% were remeasured 48 months later. Blood pressure was measured during a submaximal cycle ergometer fitness test. Reactivity measures included systolic blood pressure at 70% of maximal heart rate (SBP70) and slope of the blood pressure-heart rate association during exercise (SLOPE). Stability of reactivity measures over 24 months varied from .22 to .63 (all p less than 0.001). Correlates of blood pressure reactivity in parents included resting heart rate, gender, age, and sodium intake. Correlates of reactivity in children included resting heart rate, body mass index, and age. Modest but significant levels of family aggregation of blood pressure reactivity were observed. In stepwise multiple regression analyses, SBP70 at baseline predicted resting blood pressure 48 months later in parents but not in children. The present results confirm previous studies indicating systolic blood pressure reactivity to exercise is a significant predictor of later resting blood pressure.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1991

The development of scales to measure knowledge and preference for diet and physical activity behavior in 4- to 8-year-old children.

Although there is a sizable literature on determinants of health-related habits in adults, relatively little attention has been paid to influences on health habits in children. The purpose of this study was to (a) develop practical, reliable, and valid measures of knowledge of and preference for cardiovascular disease-related diet and exercise behaviors in children, and (b) assess parental influences on children's knowledge and preference. Eighty-one 4- to 8-year-old children from diverse ethnic backgrounds and their parent or legal guardian participated. Children were presented with 15 attractive photo-pairs of foods. One photograph was of a "healthful" food or activity, and the other was "unhealthful." They were asked to identify which food/activity of the pair they preferred, and which one they thought was more healthy. Children were retested after 1 week to determine test-retest reliability. Validity of the preference tests was determined by giving the child actual choices of the same activity and food pairs. Validity of knowledge tests was determined by testing children after an educational intervention session. The alpha coefficients, test-retest reliabilities, and validity data generally indicated that food preference and knowledge tests had adequate psychometric properties, but the physical activity scales did not. Very few parental influences on health-related behavior were detected.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗
PubMed1991

Fat and cholesterol avoidance among Mexican-American and Anglo preschool children and parents.

Is a fat-avoidance scale a useful tool for monitoring and tracking dietary fat selections of adults and children? Using a seven-point scale, we addressed this question with 341 preschool children and 421 of their parents participating in a longitudinal study of childhood behaviors in San Diego County, California. Milk type and cooking fat reported in the fat-avoidance scale was compared with data reported in a 24-hour food intake record. An overall 86% agreement for milk type and a 78% agreement for cooking fat were noted. Anglo preschoolers (n = 143) had significantly greater mean scores for fat and cholesterol avoidance than did Mexican-American preschoolers (n = 198). Anglo, but not Mexican-American, women avoided fat and cholesterol more often than did their male counterparts. A significantly higher sum score was noted for Anglo men and women and Mexican-American men as education increased. These findings indicate that the fat-avoidance scale has a relative validity compared with a 1-day food record, that fat avoidance can be measured, that differences can be noted in a biethnic sample of children and adults, and that the scale has potential for monitoring success in achieving a lower fat and cholesterol intake.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Health education for kindergarten children.

A health education program for kindergarten children was jointly planned and conducted by health and education professionals. The program demonstrates an application of an approach based on skill development for health behavior. It is presented as an example of how a school district can take beginning steps in developing a foundation for teaching health skills. A unique activity of the program included medical students as a means of involving health care professionals as part of school health education.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1979

A comparison of absentee rates of elementary schoolchildren with asthma and nonasthmatic schoolmates.

Daily school attendance has been suggested as a health status measure for children. The present study compares school absence in children known to have asthma (N = 95) with a random sample of nonasthmatic elementary schoolchildren (N = 711). The differences in average percentage of days absent over one year were analyzed by comparing both groups' conditioning on ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, and grade. Children with asthma have a significantly higher absentee rate (absent 8.4% of days) than do nonasthmatic children (absent 5.9% of days) (P less than 9001). This significant difference holds true regardless of ethnicity of sex and for most socioeconomic groups. A comparison by grade level shows a similar trend for children with asthma and nonasthmatic children: absentee rates decrease as children get older; however, except for one grade level, children with asthma have a greater percentage of school days absent. Mean absentee rates for children with asthma were different when compared according to their mother's perception of severity of asthma--mild (6.9%), moderate (7.9%), and severe (13.9%).

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1978

The high school nurse practitioner.

Better problem identification and improved access to community health care were the result of changes made during the past three years in a traditional urban high school health service. The first change included training the nurse to become a pediatric nurse practitioner and adding a full-time health aide. The other change included the use of clinic management forms developed by the nurse practitioner/health aide team to be used for three common student complaints: headache, stomachach and upper respiratory symptoms. Our experience indicates that out-of-school referrals for medical care doubled, and more students referred received care after these changes were instituted. The high school pediatric nurse practitioner counsels students in understanding their health problems and in making decisions about their health care. She also coordinates educational and health resources and provides psychosocial support for students.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Reasons for health office visits in an urban school district.

A survey of 3,048 school clinic visits (a 5% random sample by school of all visits during one school year) revealed the most frequent complaints or reasons for visits of school children in grades kindergarten through twelve. Minor trauma was the complaint identified in the largest proportion of clinic visits at all levels. Taking prescribed medication was the second most frequent reason for clinic visits at the elementary level. Headache was a frequent complaint presented in high school clinic visits.

Age Factors↗