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Wang, Monica

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Wang

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Monica

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Wang, Monica
Author's Publications: search.filters.isAuthorOfPublication.9d59c889-e9bc-41bf-b235-c1ac6765ff57

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    The influence of family, friend, and coworker social support and social undermining on weight gain prevention among adults
    (2014) Wang, Monica; Pbert, Lori; Lemon, Stephenie C.
    Objective: Examine longitudinal associations between sources of social support and social undermining for healthy eating and physical activity and weight change. Design and Methods Data are from 633 employed adults participating in a cluster-randomized multilevel weight gain prevention intervention. Primary predictors included social support and social undermining for two types of behaviors (healthy eating and physical activity) from three sources (family, friends, and coworkers) obtained via self-administered surveys. The primary outcome (weight in kg) was measured by trained staff. Data were collected at baseline, 12 months, and 24 months. Linear multivariable models examined the association of support and social undermining with weight over time, adjusting for intervention status, time, gender, age, education, and clustering of individuals within schools. Results: Adjusting for all primary predictors and covariates, friend support for healthy eating (β=−0.15), coworker support for healthy eating (β=−0.11), and family support for physical activity (β=−0.032) were associated with weight reduction at 24 months (p-values<0.05). Family social undermining for healthy eating was associated with weight gain at 24 months (β=0.12; p=0.0019). Conclusions: Among adult employees, friend and coworker support for healthy eating and family support for physical activity predicted improved weight management. Interventions that help adults navigate family social undermining of healthy eating are warranted.
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    Predictors of Gestational Weight Gain among White and Latina Women and Associations with Birth Weight
    (Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2016) Rosal, Milagros C.; Wang, Monica; Moore Simas, Tiffany A.; Bodenlos, Jamie S.; Crawford, Sybil L.; Leung, Katherine; Sankey, Heather Z.
    This study examined racial/ethnic differences in gestational weight gain (GWG) predictors and association of first-trimester GWG to overall GWG among 271 White women and 300 Latina women. Rates of within-guideline GWG were higher among Latinas than among Whites (28.7% versus 24.4%, p < 0.016). Adjusted odds of above-guideline GWG were higher among prepregnancy overweight (OR = 3.4, CI = 1.8–6.5) and obese (OR = 4.5, CI = 2.3–9.0) women than among healthy weight women and among women with above-guideline first-trimester GWG than among those with within-guideline first-trimester GWG (OR = 4.9, CI = 2.8–8.8). GWG was positively associated with neonate birth size (p < 0.001). Interventions targeting prepregnancy overweight or obese women and those with excessive first-trimester GWG are needed.
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    Fresh Start, a postpartum weight loss intervention for diverse low-income women: design and methods for a randomized clinical trial
    (BioMed Central, 2016) Rosal, Milagros C.; Haughton, Christina F.; Estabrook, Barbara B.; Wang, Monica; Chiriboga, Germán; Nguyen, Oahn H. T.; Person, Sharina D.; Lemon, Stephenie C.
    Background: Overweight and obesity are prevalent among young women and are greater among minority and low-income women. The postpartum period is critical in women’s weight trajectories as many women do not lose their pregnancy weight, and others lose some and then plateau or experience weight gain. Excess weight puts women at greater risk of chronic disease and thus weight loss in the postpartum period may be key to the long-term health of young women. This paper describes the design and methods of a randomized clinical trial of Fresh Start, an innovative narrative-based group intervention aimed at promoting postpartum weight loss among low-income, diverse women. Methods/design Study participants were recruited from the five sites of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program in central Massachusetts. Participants were English-speaking, age ≥ 18 years, 6 weeks to 6 months postpartum, with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 27 kg/m2. The Fresh Start postpartum weight loss intervention, adapted from the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) in collaboration with WIC staff and clients, consisted of an 8-week group-based curriculum followed by nine monthly telephone calls. It included a narrative component (i.e., storytelling), group discussions, print materials and access to exercise facilities. The study is a two-arm randomized controlled trial. The control condition included print materials and access to exercise facilities. In-person assessments were conducted at baseline and at 6 and 12 months following the eight-week intervention phase. Discussion The Fresh Start intervention translated key elements of an evidence-based weight loss protocol into a format that is hypothesized to be relevant, acceptable and effective for the target audience of low-SES postpartum women. This novel intervention was developed in collaboration with WIC to be sustainable within the context of its clinics, which reach approximately 9 million individuals per year across the U.S. via 10,000 clinics. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov NCT02176915. Registered 25 June 2014.
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    Effect of the Planet Health Intervention on Eating Disorder Symptoms in Massachusetts Middle Schools, 2005–2008
    (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012) Austin, Sydney; Spadano-Gasbarro, Jennifer L.; Greaney, Molly L.; Blood, Emily Alice; Hunt, Anne T.; Richmond, Tracy K.; Wang, Monica; Mezgebu, Solomon; Osganian, Stavroula K.; Peterson, Karen
    Introduction: The Planet Health obesity prevention curriculum has prevented purging and abuse of diet pills (disordered weight control behavior [DWCB]) in middle-school girls in randomized trials, but the effects of Planet Health on DWCB when implemented by schools under dissemination conditions are not known. Methods: Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts disseminated Planet Health as part of the 3-year, Healthy Choices obesity prevention program in middle schools. We conducted an evaluation in 45 schools from fall 2005 to spring 2008. We gathered data from school staff to quantify intervention activities, and we gathered anonymous cross-sectional survey data from students on DWCB at baseline and Year 3 follow-up (n = 16,369). Multivariate logistic analyses with generalized estimating equations examined the effect of intervention activities on odds of students reporting DWCB at follow-up. Results: Students in schools reaching a high number of youth with Planet Health lessons on reducing television viewing had lower odds of DWCB at follow-up (odds ratio [OR], 0.80 per 100 lesson-exposures; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74–0.85). In addition, reduced odds of DWCB at follow-up were found in schools with active staff teamwork (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66–0.86) and the presence of programs addressing television viewing goals with staff (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.28–0.53). Conclusion: Combined evidence from efficacy and effectiveness trials and now from dissemination research indicates that appropriately designed obesity prevention programs can achieve DWCB prevention on a large scale.