American journal of preventive medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Adaptive Goals and Reinforcement Timing to Increase Physical Activity in Adults: A Factorial Randomized Trial.
Potent lifestyle interventions to increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity are urgently needed for population-level chronic disease prevention. This trial tested the independent and joint effects of a mobile health system automating adaptive goal setting and immediate financial reinforcement for increasing daily walking among insufficiently active adults. ⋯ This study offers automated and scalable-behavior change strategies for increasing walking among adults most at-risk for chronic diseases attributed to sedentary lifestyles.
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The long-term impact of physical activity during early life on the risk of depression in later stages of adulthood remains unclear. This study examines the association between physical activity during childhood and adolescence and the incidence of depressive symptoms in early, middle, and late adulthood. ⋯ Adolescence is a critical early-life period to promote physical activity for reducing the incidence of elevated depressive symptoms throughout adulthood. Public health policies should promote healthy lifestyles during the lifespan to reduce both the burden of physical inactivity and depressive symptoms at the population level.
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Lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals have elevated suicide risk, but there is little information available about how this risk may vary by gender, age, and race/ethnicity. ⋯ In light of consistently elevated rates of suicide thoughts and behaviors, lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults may expressly benefit from enhanced prevention, identification, and treatment of suicide risk. Additional research is needed to assess the associations between sexual identity and suicide mortality as well as to understand the heterogeneity in suicide risk among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth, particularly by race/ethnicity.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Storybooks About Healthy Beverage Consumption: Effects in an Online Randomized Experiment With Parents.
Parents spend substantial time reading to their children, making storybooks a promising but understudied avenue for motivating parents to serve their children healthier beverages. This study examines parents' reactions to messages promoting healthy beverage consumption embedded in a children's storybook. ⋯ Embedding beverage messages in storybooks is a promising, scalable strategy for motivating parents from diverse backgrounds to serve children more water and fewer sugary drinks.
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A total of 34 U.S. state governments imposed moratoria on water shutoffs between March and May 2020 to ensure equitable access to water during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, by the end of 2020, most of these moratoria had expired, and millions of people were exposed to the risk of water disconnections. This study examines the linkage between water equity and public health and provides policy recommendations for improving water access and health equity. ⋯ This study raises attention to the importance of water equity and the need for government actions to create more uniform protections from water shutoffs across all states. A comprehensive approach to water equity can protect the health and safety of all communities.