Research Projects
Observational
A Longitudinal Evaluation of Food Insecurity and the Development of Obesity in Young Adults
Food insecurity is a well-recognized risk factor for obesity among women. However there has been limited longitudinal evaluation of this relationship. The goal of this study is to establish the extent to which food insecurity is related to the incidence of obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in young adults. More details
PI: Hilary Seligman
Funding: Hellman Family Award for Early Career Faculty
Endothelial Function and Glucose Tolerance in South Asians
This project aims to bring back the 150 enrolled MASALA study participants for a second clinical visit to measure endothelial function and glucose tolerance. The main aims are to determine whether South Asians have greater endothelial dysfunction than the MESA ethnic groups and whether endothelial function is associated with glucose intolerance and explains some of the higher atherosclerosis prevalence.
PI: Alka Kanaya
Co-Investigators: David Herrington
Funding: American Heart Association
Intergenerational transmission of obesity: the role of life stress
The growing racial disparity in obesity has reached a critical juncture, particularly among black and white females. Obesity is now being perpetuated across generations While there is uncertainty about how best to prevent obesity and the related racial disparities, converging lines of evidence support the influence of stress on obesity. We hypothesize that income and race are associated with higher levels of both objective and perceived stress, which in turn are associated with higher rates of nonhomeostatic eating, a behavior posited to result in an increased rate of obesity. More Details
PI: Barbara Laraia
Co-Investigators: Elissa Epel, David Rehkopf
Funding: Robert Wood Johnson
Maternal Depression and Child Weight Gain in a Latino Cohort
We are evaluating the relationship between maternal prenatal and postnatal depressive symptoms and child weight gain in the first couple years of life in a cohort of Latino mother-child pairs. More details
Principal Investigator: Janet Wojcicki
Collaborators: Melvin B. Heyman, Robert Lustig, Elissa Epel, Ricardo Munoz
Funding: Children's Digestive Health and Nutrition Foundation (CDHNF), the Hellman Family Foundation
Maternal Nutrition Knowledge, Pediatric Overweight and Participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
This study will assess the relationship between maternal attitudes towards diet and feeding using new questions added in the NHANES (2005-6) on label reading and use of nutritional knowledge in relationship to participation in the Women, Infant and Children Program in mothers of children 1-5 years of age. More details
Principal Investigator: Janet Wojcicki
Collaborators: Melvin B. Heyman (Pediatrics, UCSF)
Funding: USDA/UC Davis RIDGE
Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America
The project is a cross-sectional study of a community-based sample of South Asians without clinical cardiovascular disease between the ages of 45 and 84, to investigate the relationship with insulin resistance, body fat depots, and other novel cardiac risk factors with subclinical cardiovascular disease.
PI: Alka Kanaya
Co-Investigators: Morris Schambelan, Steve Hulley, Eric Vittinghoff, David Herrington, Matthew Budoff
Funding: NIH/NHLBI
Migration and Risk for Obesity in Latino School Children in San Francisco and Mexican School Children in Tijuana
To evaluate the role migration (both international and regional) plays in increasing risk for obesity in a sample of Latino school children in the Bay Area and also among school children in Mexico. More details
Principal Investigator: Janet Wojcicki
Collaborators: Melvin B. Heyman, Norah Schwartz (COLEF, Tijuana), Arturo Jimenez-Cruz (UABC - Tijuana), Montserrat Bacardi-Gascon (UABC-Tijuana).
Funding: UC MEXUS
Neighborhoods and Obesity in Pre-adolescent Girls: Part II
Renewal of a previously funded IDEA grant. The original grant added city planning data and direct observations of neighborhood circumstances to incorporate how neighborhoods are designed and how they appear on the ground to an analysis on girls’ diet, physical activity, body mass index, and pubertal maturation. More details
Principal Investigator: Irene Yen
Other Investigators: Nancy Adler, Robert Hiatt, Barbara Laraia
Funding Source: California Breast Cancer Research Program
Funding Period: 9/2/08-8/31/10
Neighborhood Effects on Weight Change and Diabetes Risk Factors
Diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate. Between 1980 and 2004, as obesity increased, the number of Americans with diabetes more than doubled . Individuals from minority, low-income and low education populations are disproportionately affected by diabetes (and by complication of diabetes), and these socioeconomic disparities may be growing. Health disparities are often attributed to differences in medical care or self-care, but data suggest that these individual level factors explain few of the existing disparities. More Details
PI: Barbara Laraia
Co-Investigators: Nancy Adler, Andy Karter (Kaiser Division of Research), Will Dow (UCB), Maggi Kelly (UCB) and Michael Jerrett (UCB)
Obesity, Oxidative Stress, and Diabetes in Older Adults
This project adds measures of oxidative stress to an existing cohort study, the Health, Aging and Body Composition study, to determine whether oxidative stress independently explains the association between adiposity and future diabetes risk in older black and white adults.
PI: Alka Kanaya
Co-Investigators: Myron Gross
Funding: NIH/NIDDK
OurSpace: Neighborhood Database Initiative
The aim of this initiative is to establish a comprehensive contextual database for use by Kaiser 43200A6089 Division of Research (KP-DOR) and UCSF investigators in conjunction with the Research Program in Genes, Environment and Health (RPGEH) and other Kaiser DOR research initiatives . We will compile identified environmental, geographical, socio-economic, administrative, and contextual data in order to permit sophisticated spatial and multilevel analysis of neighborhood-level effects on health behaviors and outcomes. More Details
PI: Barbara Laraia
Co-Investigators: Bob Hiatt, Neil Risch, Nancy Adler, Irene Yen, David Rehkopf, Julie Deardorff, Stephen Vander Eden (Kaiser DOR), Andy Karter (Kaiser DOR), Carol Sumkin (Kaiser DOR), Kathy Schafer (Kaiser DOR), Elize Brown (Kaiser DOR), Maggi Kelly (UCB)
Link to: Neighborhood Effects on Weight Change and Diabetes Risk Factors
Parental Influences on Obesity among Mexican American Children
The prevalence of overweight among children in the United States has increased markedly during the past several decades. Latino children are at particular risk of overweight. Childhood overweight is partially due to behavioral factors, and parental behaviors are thought to be important influences on children’s obesity. However, most studies have examined a narrow range of parental behaviors, and few have focused on Latino children. More Details
Principal Investigator: Jeanne M. Tschann
Co-Investigators: Lauri Pasch, Elena Flores (USF), Louise Greenspan (Kaiser SF), Nancy Butte (Baylor), Steven Gregorich, Mel Heyman, Julianna Deardorff
Funding Source: NIH/NHLBI
Funding Period: 7/15/07 – 4/30/12
Socioenvironmental Influences on Nutrition and Obesity
Obesity rates are increasing in the US, with no signs of slowing; obesity is increasing in all age groups, races and both sexes. It is higher among women of reproductive age and is growing rapidly among children. In order to curtail this complex, global epidemic, it is critical to identify modifiable environmental risk factors—such as food security status; proximity to supermarkets, fast food restaurants and recreational facilities; transportation; neighborhood safety and crime—that contribute to nutrition, health disparities, and obesity risk in these populations. More Details
PI: Barbara Laraia
The Park as our patient: evaluating child physical activity and neighborhood indicators before and after playlot revitalization in Richmond, CA
Two playgrounds in Richmond will be re-designed and renovated in the spring of 2009. This project will conduct assessments of social capital (through a survey of neighborhood residents), crime activity, observations of who visits the playground and what they do there, and accelerometer measures of children’s activity in the playground before and after the renovation work. More details
Principal Investigator: June Tester (Children’s Hospital Research Institute)
Other Investigators: Irene Yen
Funding Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Funding Period: 12/1/08-11/30/09
The Role of Street Vendors in the After-School Food Environment
The proposed study would increase knowledge about the role of street vendors in the after-school eating environment among elementary and middle school children in low-income neighborhoods. Our overall aim is to examine whether mobile vendors are a feasible vehicle for the sales of fresh fruits, vegetables and healthy snacks. We propose an initial formative phase consisting of spatial and observational data, followed by interviews to contextualize street vending near selected elementary and middle schools in Oakland, California. More Details
PI: Barbara Laraia
Co-Investigators: Irene Yen , June Tester (CHORI)
Weight Gain During Pregnancy: How Do Prenatal Providers Approach Counseling?
This is a qualitative, focus group study, consisting of seven focus groups of Bay Area nurse-midwives, obstetricians, and nurse practitioners. The focus groups explore providers' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about weight gain counseling during pregnancy.
PI: Naomi Stotland
Co-Investigators: Barbara Gerbert and Cynthia Harper
Funding: The project is funded by Dr. Stotland's Women's Reproductive Health Research (WRHR) K12 award through the NICHD.
Intervention
Keep Fit - A Video Doctor Intervention to Improve Nutrition and Physical Activity in Pregnancy
Dr. Stotland is a co-investigator in this randomized trial of a computer-based interactive patient counseling tool to aid in patient counseling during pregnancy. The study randomized over 300 women to the intervention or a control arm, at multiple prenatal care practices throughout the Bay Area. We found that the intervention improved women’s knowledge as well as diet and physical activity behaviors compared to the control group. Dr. Stotland plans to test a new version of the intervention to prevent excessive weight gain during pregnancy in high-risk women.
PI: Barbara Gerbert
Co-Investigators: Naomi Stotland, Rebecca Jackson, and Aaron Caughey
Funding: NIDA
Physical Activity to Reduce Disparities in Diabetes Risk
The aims of this project are to: 1) adapt CHAMPS to: a) augment its dietary component; b) meet the needs of our target population, and c) be integrated into the infrastructure of a city and county public health department; and 2) evaluate the effectiveness of an adapted 6-month program (and 6 month maintenance phase) with a 1-yr randomized controlled trial (n=330), and 3) describe costs to health departments of program start-up and provision.
PI: Anita Stewart
Co-Investigators: Alka Kanaya
Funding: NIH/NIDDK
Practicing Restorative Yoga or Stretching for Metabolic Syndrome (PRYSMS) Study
The PRYSMS study is a randomized controlled trial coordinated by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) with two clinical sites, UCSF and UC San Diego, to determine whether Restorative yoga vs. an active stretching program improves the metabolic syndrome (visceral adiposity, insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension) among 142 underactive adults with the metabolic syndrome. Participants will be randomized in two waves of 36 participants at each site for a 48-week trial. Participants in the yoga and stretching groups will participate in group classes twice per week for the first 6 weeks, once per week during weeks 7-12, and twice per month during weeks 13-24. After evaluation at 6 months, both groups will enter a 24-week maintenance phase and undergo a 12-month end-of-trial evaluation.
Principal Investigator: Alka Kanaya, MD
Co-Investigators: Deborah Grady, MD; Eric Vittinghoff, PhD; Elissa Epel, PhD; Roger Cole, PhD
Funding Source: NIH/NCCAM
Funding Period: July 1, 2009 – April 30, 2013
Reducing Pediatric Obesity through After-School Programs
Childhood obesity is of tremendous concern and public health approaches are necessary to address the problem. Existing school-based programs promoting physical activity that have demonstrated appeal for children may provide a cost-effective means of addressing obesity among children of diverse backgrounds. More Details
Principal Investigator : Kristine Madsen, MD, MPH
Other Investigators : Pat Crawford, DrPH, RD (U.C. Berkeley); Charles McCulloch, PhD; Jeanne Tschann, PhD; Elizabeth Ozer, PhD; Hannah Thompson, MPH
Clinical
Diet Glycemic Load in Pregnancy
Dr. Stotland is a co-investigator in this randomized trial of a low-glycemic diet versus a low-fat diet in overweight and obese pregnant women at San Francisco General Hospital. We are studying the effect of diet on insulin resistance and other metabolic parameters during pregnancy.
PI: Janet King (CHORI)
Co-Investigators: Naomi Stotland and Lisa Murphy
Funding: NICHD