Background: Engagement in disordered eating behaviors (DEBs) during adolescence could have long-term implications on health. Previous studies investigating protective and risk factors of DEBs have predominantly focused on individual- and family-level aspects.
Objective: The objective of this study is to examine association of housing insecurity with DEBs in a nationally representative sample of adolescents from low-income households.
Design: A cross-sectional study design was used.
Participants/setting: Using 2022 National Survey of Children's Health data, adolescents, aged 12 years or older, and from households with incomes ≤200% federal poverty level were included (N = 5607). Housing insecurity was defined as experiencing 1 of the following: inability to pay mortgage/rent on time, history of homelessness, multiple moves, and caregiver stress on eviction/foreclosure.
Main outcome measures: Main outcome measures were engagement in 1 or more DEB and individual DEBs.
Statistical analyses: Logistic regression models, adjusted for demographic covariates and food security status, examined associations of experiencing housing insecurity with engaging in 1 or more DEB as well as individual DEBs (ie, skipping meals or fasting, having low interest in food, extremely picky eating, or binge eating) in male and female adolescents.
Results: Housing insecurity was significantly associated with greater odds of engaging in 1 or more DEB in female adolescents (odds ratio [OR] 1.52; 95% CI, 1.07 to 2.15). Housing insecurity also was significantly associated with greater odds of low interest in food (OR 1.64; 95% CI, 1.07 to 2.51) and extremely picky eating (OR 1.89; 95% CI, 1.20 to 2.99) in female adolescents.
Conclusions: Study findings indicate that housing insecurity is associated with certain DEBs in female adolescents, independent of food security status. Additional research is needed to elucidate mechanisms linking housing insecurity and DEBs in adolescents.
Introduction: In low-resource settings, exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and household water security are recognized contributors to child health. Yet few studies have examined how they are related.
Objectives: This study aims to (1) test the relationship between domains of household water insecurity and EBF cessation before 6 months, and (2) examine the association between water insecurity and recent child diarrheal disease and stunting.
Design: The Haramaya University Health and Demographic Surveillance System is a cross-sectional survey.
Participants/setting: Mother-child (aged 6-59 months) dyads (n = 1019) were recruited from smallholder agricultural households in rural Eastern Ethiopia in 2019.
Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was EBF cessation before 6 months. Secondary outcomes were children's diarrhea (last 2 weeks) and stunting. Exposure variables assessing water insecurity included time spent fetching water, objective water quality (Escherichia coli presence), water source reliability, and overall household water insecurity status (classified using the Household Water InSecurity Experiences Scale).
Statistical analyses: Survey logistic regression models were used to assess associations of water insecurity domains with early EBF cessation, diarrhea, and stunting.
Results: Poor water quality (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-1.98), unreliable water (AOR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.04-1.98), and water fetching time >30 minutes (AOR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.15-2.05) were associated with early EBF cessation risk. Children in households classified as moderate (AOR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.03-2.30) or high water insecurity (AOR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.33-3.24) had a greater risk of diarrhea. No association was observed between domains of water insecurity and stunting.
Conclusion: Multiple domains of water insecurity were associated with early EBF cessation, and overall water insecurity was associated with children's diarrheal risk. Water insecurity has been identified as a key programmatic and policy consideration for early childhood nutrition.
Background: Proposed neonatal malnutrition criteria exist for nutritional assessment. Recommendations differ regarding which growth chart to use after premature birth.
Objective: This study compared malnutrition classification across Fenton, Olsen, and International Fetal and Newborn Growth Consortium for the 21st Century (INTERGROWTH) growth charts; examined their associations with body composition; and evaluated discrepancies in identifying fat-free mass (FFM) deficit and fat mass (FM) excess in preterm infants.
Design: This was a retrospective cohort study of preterm infants who underwent air displacement plethysmography.
Participants and setting: Two hundred eighty-five preterm infants (<37 weeks) from 4 Ohio neonatal intensive care units (2012-2023) were included. After excluding 22 infants for early air displacement plethysmography assessments (at or before 14 days) and 5 for gestational age <23 weeks + 4 days, 258 remained.
Main outcome measures: Main outcomes were malnutrition diagnosis using weight z score decline from birth to air displacement plethysmography assessment for each growth chart and FFM and FM z scores.
Statistical analyses performed: Linear regression models compared relationships between weight z score change amongst the 3 growth charts and with FFM and FM z scores. κ Coefficient and Bowker or McNemar test assessed malnutrition agreement between charts. Kruskal-Wallis test compared median body composition z scores across malnutrition categories.
Results: The 3 charts demonstrated strong associations between weight z score changes (R2 = 0.8 to 0.9) but statistically significant discrepancies in malnutrition classifications (Fenton vs INTERGROWTH κ = 0.46, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.57; INTERGROWTH vs Olsen κ = 0.49, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.61; Fenton vs Olsen κ = 0.69, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.77; P < .05). INTERGROWTH identified fewer cases of malnutrition (P < .0001). Weight z score change and size-for-gestational-age exhibited significant associations with body composition z scores (P < .0001). Fenton classified more malnutrition in infants with low FFM (46.1% vs 16.4%; P < .0001), whereas INTERGROWTH classified more infants with no malnutrition in those with high FM (94.8% vs 69%; P < .0001).
Conclusions: Fenton growth chart is more likely than Olsen or INTERGROWTH to categorize infants with low FFM as having malnutrition.
Background: Dietary management is essential in gastroparesis, but existing guidelines primarily focus on diabetic gastroparesis, highlighting a lack of evidence-based guidelines for patients with nondiabetic gastroparesis, who experience higher malnutrition and mortality rates. Management is complicated by a suggested bidirectional relationship with eating disorders.
Objective: To investigate evidence on dietary interventions, patterns, and intake in nondiabetic gastroparesis, including effects on symptoms, nutritional outcomes, quality of life (QoL), and their potential role in disordered eating behaviors.
Methods: A scoping review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. A comprehensive search was conducted across 8 databases: Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science Core Collection, Global Health, CINAHL, Scopus, CENTRAL and PsycInfo, alongside gray literature and citation searching. English-language studies from 2008 investigating dietary interventions, patterns, and intake in adults with objectively confirmed nondiabetic gastroparesis (idiopathic, autoimmune-related, postviral, or eating disorder-associated causes) were included. Two reviewers independently screened, extracted data, and synthesized findings using a narrative approach.
Results: Of 6212 articles screened by title/abstract, 88 underwent full-text review, and 13 met inclusion criteria. Of these, 7 studies examined dietary interventions, 5 assessed dietary patterns, and 2 reported dietary intake. Two were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) including 16 participants with nondiabetic gastroparesis; the remaining 11 observational studies included 679 participants with confirmed nondiabetic gastroparesis and 752 for whom cause was unspecified or delayed gastric emptying could not be confirmed. All included studies assessed symptom burden; 5 reported nutritional outcomes, and 2 evaluated dietary impact on QoL. No studies explored the role of diet in disordered eating. Considerable variation was observed in dietary management strategies across studies.
Conclusion: Research on dietary management in nondiabetic gastroparesis is limited, with significant variability in interventions, dietary definitions, and study designs, reflecting lack of standardization across intervention protocols and research methodology. Well-designed trials are needed to clarify the impact of diet on symptoms, nutritional status, and QoL, considering psychosocial effects and potential disordered eating risks.

