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Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement 643309. The material presented and views expressed here are the responsibility of the author(s) only. The European Commission takes no responsibility for any use made of the information set out. ; Background: The use of digital interventions can be accurately monitored via log files. However, monitoring engagement with intervention goals or enactment of the actual behaviors targeted by the intervention is more difficult and is usually evaluated based on pre-post measurements in a controlled trial. Objective: The objective of this paper is to evaluate if engaging with 2 digital intervention modules focusing on (1) physical activity goals and action plans and (2) coping with barriers has immediate effects on the actual physical activity behavior. Methods: The NoHoW Toolkit (TK), a digital intervention developed to support long-term weight loss maintenance, was evaluated in a 2 x 2 factorial randomized controlled trial. The TK contained various modules based on behavioral self-regulation and motivation theories, as well as contextual emotion regulation approaches, and involved continuous tracking of weight and physical activity through connected commercial devices (Fitbit Aria and Charge 2). Of the 4 trial arms, 2 had access to 2 modules directly targeting physical activity: a module for goal setting and action planning (Goal) and a module for identifying barriers and coping planning (Barriers). Module visits and completion were determined based on TK log files and time spent in the module web page. Seven physical activity metrics (steps; activity; energy expenditure; fairly active, very active and total active minutes; and distance) were compared before and after visiting and completing the modules to examine whether the modules had immediate or sustained effects on physical activity. Immediate effect was determined based on 7-day windows before and after the visit, ...

AbstractBread is an elementary part of the western diet, and especially rye bread is regarded as an important source of fibre. We investigated the heritability of eating bread in terms of choice of white and rye bread and use-frequency of bread in female and male twins in Denmark and Finland. The study cohorts included 575 Danish (age range 18–67 years) and 2009 Finnish (age range 22–27 years) adult twin pairs. Self-reported frequency of eating bread was obtained by food frequency questionnaires. Univariate models based on linear structural equations for twin data were used to estimate the relative magnitude of the additive genetic, shared environmental and individual environmental effects on bread eating frequency and choice of bread. The analysis of bread intake frequency demonstrated moderate heritability ranging from 37–40% in the Finnish cohort and 23–26% in the Danish cohort. The genetic influence on intake of white bread was moderate (24–31%), while the genetic influence on intake of rye bread was higher in men (41–45%) than in women (24–33%). Environmental influences shared by the twins were not significant. Consumption of bread as well as choice of bread is influenced by genetic predisposition. Environmental factors shared by the co-twins (e.g., childhood environment) seem to have no significant effects on bread consumption and preference in adulthood.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Files. This article is open access. ; Saturated fat intake has been associated with both cardiovascular disease and cancer risk, and a newly published study found an association between saturated fat intake and a lower sperm concentration in infertile men. ; The objective was to examine the association between dietary fat intake and semen quality among 701 young Danish men from the general population. ; In this cross-sectional study, men were recruited when they were examined to determine their fitness for military service from 2008 to 2010. They delivered a semen sample, underwent a physical examination, and answered a questionnaire comprising a quantitative food-frequency questionnaire to assess food and nutrient intakes. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed with semen variables as outcomes and dietary fat intakes as exposure variables, adjusted for confounders. ; A lower sperm concentration and total sperm count in men with a high intake of saturated fat was found. A significant dose-response association was found, and men in the highest quartile of saturated fat intake had a 38% (95% CI: 0.1%, 61%) lower sperm concentration and a 41% (95% CI: 4%, 64%) lower total sperm count than did men in the lowest quartile. No association between semen quality and intake of other types of fat was found. ; Our findings are of potentially great public interest, because changes in diet over the past decades may be part of the explanation for the recently reported high frequency of subnormal human sperm counts. A reduction in saturated fat intake may be beneficial for both general and reproductive health. ; Danish Council for Strategic Research, Program Commission on Health, Food and Welfare 2101-08-0058 Rigshospitalet 961506336 European Union DEER 212844 Danish Ministry of Health Danish Environmental Protection Agency Kirsten and Freddy ...

Background: Very few comprehensive treatments are currently available for weight loss maintenance (WLM). Research suggests that if interventions are to be effective in promoting sustained health behaviour change they should use theory- and evidence-based techniques. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have the potential for wide reach and low cost interventions, offering attractive tools for the implementation of effective behaviour change techniques. The NoHoW project is a European Union H2020-funded project bringing together leading experts in behaviour change, technology providers, and weight loss/ obesity to develop tools to help people maintain previously lost weight. Aim: NoHoW will carry out a large-scale European randomized controlled trial to test whether different evidence-based and novel behavior change, emotion- and self-regulation techniques delivered via an ICT Toolkit (TK), promote successful WLM. Method/Results: The TK includes a set of web-app tools and inputs from other technologies, such as smart scales and activity trackers, and offers a personalised behaviour modification feed-back system targeting weight, sleep, physical activity, and dietary behaviours. The TK is based on (1) evidence-based state-of-art theories of behaviour change, including techniques associated with self-regulation skills (Self-regulation Theory), building autonomous motivation (Self-Determination Theory), and emotional regulation, (2) web-design expertise, and (3) user-testing. Informed by the guidelines for the development of complex behavior change interventions and principles applied in previous theory-based behavior change interventions, we used a systematic approach to the translation of theory and evidence to ICT intervention components. This includes (1) developing theory-driven logic models of the TK, (2) identifying key theoretical constructs targeted, (3) selecting theory- and evidence-based techniques that are expected to impact on target constructs, and (4) translating these techniques into the ...