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Research

International guidelines recommend multidisciplinary intervention programs for addressing childhood obesity. In Western Australia, community-based healthy lifestyle programs for children and young people are insufficient for demand, especially for those over-represented in obesity statistics relating to prevalence. This protocol outlines the implementation and evaluation of an adapted, evidenced, community-based program in Perth, Western Australia.

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Access to adequate nutrition is a human right. In 2023, 23% of Australian households were severely food insecure, reducing food intake, skipping meals or days of eating. Food insecurity in early childhood is linked to poor health and development. Specifically, breakfast provides children with the necessary nutrients required for sustained attention, memory, and cognitive growth. Australian research has reported that one in three children aged 8–18 years regularly skip breakfast. However, there is little understanding of the prevalence of food insecurity among young children in Australia.

Research

Food retail and food service outlets can be part of a chain, or independently operated. Chain food outlets are likely to have the most influence over community food environments but have not been routinely identified in studies which map and monitor access to food, highlighting an important knowledge gap. This study aimed to identify the food retail and food service outlets present within metropolitan Perth, including presence of chain and independent food outlets; and examine differences across local governments. 

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Food marketing exposure has the potential to influence children's dietary behaviours and health status, however, few studies have identified how 'obesogenic' the outdoor food marketing environment is along public transport (bus and/or train) or walking routes that children take to school.

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Availability and accessibility of nutritious foods can vary according to the food outlets present within a neighbourhood or community. There is increasing evidence that community food environments influence food choice.

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Nutrition education is central to pediatric type 1 diabetes management. Dietary management guidelines for type 1 diabetes are evidence based, but implementation may be challenging and inconsistent. We describe variation in the practice of nutrition education across pediatric diabetes centers globally and explore associations with A1c and BMI.

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Although adolescent dietary patterns tend to be of poor quality, it is unclear whether dietary patterns established in adolescence persist into adulthood. We examined trajectories across adolescence and early adulthood for 2 major dietary patterns and their associations with childhood and parental factors. Using data from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine Study), intakes of 38 food groups were estimated at ages 14, 17, 20 and 22 y in 1414 participants using evaluated FFQs.

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Child obesity is a serious public health challenge affected by both individual choice and societal and environmental factors. The main modifiable risk factors for child obesity are unhealthy eating and low levels of physical activity, both influenced by aspects of the built environment. 

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Cow's milk allergy is rare in exclusively breastfed infants. To support the continuation of breastfeeding an infant after diagnosis with a cow's milk allergy, it is critical to examine the evidence for and against any form of cow's milk elimination diet for lactating mothers. In this narrative review, we highlight the lack of high-quality evidence, hence subsequent controversy, regarding whether the minuscule quantities of cow's milk proteins detectable in human milk cause infant cow's milk allergy symptoms.

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Globally and even in high-income countries where a balanced diet is generally accessible, an inadequate maternal micronutrient status is common