Energy Balance Research at NCI: Research Initiativest

Energy Balance Research at the National Cancer Institute

Research Resources

Obesity is the result of a complex interplay of many factors including genes, metabolism, behavior, environment, and policy. Effective strategies for preventing and treating obesity must, therefore, encompass a broad program of research topics and disciplines. They also must use new and innovative approaches that foster the ability of investigators to conduct this important research. NCI strives to facilitate and accelerate progress in obesity research to improve public health.

Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS)
http://hints.cancer.gov/

HINTS collects nationally representative data about the American public's use of cancer-related information. HINTS has included energy balance survey items in 2003, 2005, 2007 and the planned next iteration of HINTS. Specifically, HINTS includes survey items that allow researchers to explore questions related to nutrition, physical activity, weight and health information-seeking behaviors, health disparities, risk perception, and health-related knowledge.

Food, Activity, Sleep, Sun-Safety, and Tobacco Behaviors (FASST)

FASST is a new, one-time National Cancer Institute survey that seeks to examine psychosocial, familial dyads (parent/caregiver-adolescent), and environmental correlates of cancer preventive behaviors. FASST will evaluate factors associated with obesity, and subsequently cancer prevention, by examining correlates of cancer preventive behaviors, mainly: diet, physical activity, and sedentary behavior; in addition to sleep, sun-safety, and tobacco use. This project is currently in progress.

Healthy Communities Study (HCS)
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/resources/obesity/pop-studies/hcs.htm

The HCS is a five-year observational study of communities to assess the relationships between programs and policies targeting childhood obesity and children’s Body Mass Index (BMI), diet, and physical activity. The purpose of the study is to support a nationwide scientific assessment of community-level efforts to identify characteristics of community programs and policies that may help reduce childhood obesity rates. NCI staff provide scientific expertise on the HCS Steering Committee.

Measures Registry
http://www.nccor.org/measures/index.html

A product of the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR), this web-based portfolio of more than 700 measures related to diet and physical activity allows researchers to more efficiently find and select measures that are critical to accelerating obesity prevention research. It also will help spur the use of comparable, core measures. NCI staff led the development of the Measures Registry.

Catalogue of Surveillance Systems
http://www.nccor.org/css/index.html

This free online resource, which is a product of the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR), helps researchers and practitioners more easily investigate childhood obesity in America. The Catalogue provides one-stop access for users to review, sort, and compare more than 75 surveillance systems relevant to childhood obesity research and the evaluation of policy and environmental interventions. NCI staff led the development of the Catalogue.

National Survey of Energy Balance-related Care Among Primary Care Physicians
http://outcomes.cancer.gov/surveys/energy

This survey is designed to obtain current, nationally representative data on primary care physicians' characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to services for diet, physical activity, and weight control. The goal is to develop a national baseline on the use of energy balance risk assessment, counseling and referral services in physician practice and to identify the characteristics of physicians who routinely incorporate these activities in patient care.

Policy Research: School Classification Systems
http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/brp/hbrb/data_systems.html

The NCI, working with expert consultants including staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and through contracts with The MayaTech Corporation, developed two systems for classifying state level physical education and recess and school nutrition environment-related policies. This website provides access to the baseline 2003 data and the code books, copies of the policy classification systems, and citations for manuscripts that describe the classification system development process.

Food Attitudes & Behavior Survey
http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/brp/hbrb/dietary_behaviors.html

The purpose of the Food Attitudes and Behaviors (FAB) Survey is to evaluate a variety of factors including knowledge of fruits and vegetables, psychosocial factors, as well as other variables that may be related to fruit and vegetable consumption. Conventional constructs included self-efficacy, barriers, social support, and knowledge of recommendations related to FV consumption. Novel constructs included shopping patterns, taste preferences, views on vegetarianism, intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, and environmental food offerings.

State Physical Education and Recess and School Nutrition Environment Policy Classification Systems and Data
http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/hprb/data_systems.html

Automated Self-administered 24-hour Dietary Recall (ASA24)
http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/tools/instruments/asa24

ASA24 is a software tool that enables automated and self-administered 24-hour dietary recalls. The format and design of ASA24 are based on a modified version of the interviewer-administered Automated Multiple Pass Method (AMPM) 24-hour recall developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). ASA24 consists of a Respondent Website used by study participants to complete recalls and a Researcher Website used by researchers to manage study logistics.

Short Dietary Assessment Instruments
http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/diet/screeners

Short dietary assessment instruments, often called screeners, may be useful in situations that do not require assessment of the total diet or quantitative accuracy in dietary estimates. Recognizing the need for these tools, the NCI Risk Factor Monitoring and Methods Branch has developed several short instruments that assess intake of fruits and vegetables, percentage energy from fat, fiber, added sugars, whole grains, calcium, dairy products, and red and processed meats.

Usual Dietary Intakes – the NCI Method of Estimation
http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/diet/usualintakes/method.html

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and elsewhere have developed a method to estimate usual dietary intakes of foods and nutrients. This method can be used to:

Estimate the distribution of usual intake for a population or subpopulation
Assess the effects of individual covariates on consumption
Predict individual intake for use in a model to assess the relationship between diet and disease or other variable

Measures of the Food Environment Website
https://riskfactor.cancer.gov/mfe/

This website provides a compilation of articles that include community-level measures of the food environment, as well as some of the instruments themselves. The food environment is defined to include food stores, restaurants, schools, and worksites. The goal of the website is to enable access to existing measures of the food environment and stimulate the development of the next generation of tools.

Standardized Questionnaires of Walking and Bicycling Database Website
http://appliedresearch.cancer.gov/tools/paq

This database contains questionnaire items and a list of validation studies for standardized items concerning walking and biking from multiple national and international physical activity questionnaires (PAQs). The purpose of this database is to provide easy access to a large number of items assessing duration and frequency of walking and bicycling in the non-disabled adult population. In addition, the results of validation studies for some of the PAQs are reviewed.

National Health & Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) Web Tutorials
http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/tools/nhanes_tutorial.html

NCI led the development of the dietary tutorial and is currently leading the development of a physical activity tutorial to help users analyze the physical activity data.

SAS Programs to Analyze NHANES Accelerometer Data
http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/tools/nhanes_pam/

This website provides SAS code for analyzing Physical Activity Monitor (PAM) data from the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Eating and Health Module of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS)
http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/studies/atus.html
http://www.bls.gov/tus/

The ATUS, conducted by the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, collects information on how Americans spend their time on work, household chores, child care, recreation and other activities. The NCI Applied Research Program has provided funds to the US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service to support the Eating and Health Module of the ATUS. This module includes questions concerning height, weight, incidental eating, and related questions. NCI staff members are analyzing time use data to explore the social and environmental context of physical activity and relationships between body mass index and time use variables.

Healthy Eating Index (HEI)
http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/tools/hei/

The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is a measure of diet quality that can be used to assess compliance with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans and monitor changes in dietary patterns nationwide. It also is a valuable tool for epidemiologic and economic research and can be used in nutrition interventions and consumer nutrition education programs. Staff in NCI's Applied Research Program and USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion collaborated to revise the HEI, and a new version, the HEI-2005, was published in November 2007.

2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans – Funding Opportunities and Research Resources for Researchers
http://appliedresearch.cancer.gov/funding/pa_guidelines.html

In 2008, the Federal Government issued its first-ever Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. They describe the types and amounts of physical activity that offer substantial health benefits to Americans. Accompanying the guidelines is an Advisory Committee Report that reviewed existing scientific literature to identify evidence to develop the physical activity recommendations. This website presents the Research Recommendations from the Advisory Committee Report. For each topic area, relevant NCI and NIH funding opportunities are highlighted for researchers who wish to explore these remaining gaps in the scientific evidence. Also listed are links to information about surveys, databases, and other NCI and NIH research resources that could help answer specific research questions under several of the topic areas.

California Health Interview Survey (CHIS)
http://appliedresearch.cancer.gov/surveys/chis/

CHIS is a continuous telephone survey that provides population-based, standardized health-related data for adults and children in every county. CHIS provides information including health status, prevalence and management of chronic diseases, and diet and exercise; health insurance coverage, access and barriers to health services; and eligibility for and participation in state health programs. California has the nation's most racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse population. As a result, the health and health care needs of these population groups is an important focus of the survey. NCI provides support for CHIS to field cancer control questions covering risk factors, screening behaviors, and diagnosis. The survey is carried out by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research in collaboration with the California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Health Care Services.

National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Cancer Control Supplement
http://appliedresearch.cancer.gov/surveys/nhis/

NHIS is a continuous, nationwide in-person survey of approximately 35,000 households in the civilian non-institutionalized population. NHIS serves as the main source of data on health and has been used to monitor health patterns and trends and track progress toward national goals. It is conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is administered by the US Census Bureau. NCI periodically co-sponsors a Cancer Control Supplement (CCS) to the NHIS.

ACT24 Web-based Questionnaire
http://dietandhealth.cancer.gov/newsletter_2008.html

Activities Completed over Time in 24 Hours (ACT24) is a web-based diet and physical activity evaluation tool that asks respondents to enter the activities they engaged in during the previous day. It includes user-friendly features such as icons and pictures, audio cues, and an animated character to guide respondents through the questionnaire.