Abstrak: Familial aggregation of blood pressure with respect to anthropometric characteristics was investigated among the Lobana (a tribal origin) population in Punjab, a North Indian state. A total of 505 individuals comprised the study sample, constituting 116 families of 3 generations. The study represents a multivariate model analysis, which includes family data with respect to blood pressure phenotypes and other metric measurements such as height, weight, body mass index, waist and hip circumferences, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and 4 skinfold measurements. A higher correlation for almost all sets of anthropometric variables with blood pressure was found among the offspring generation as compared with the parental and grandparental generations. The study confirmed that the familial aggregation of blood pressure with respect to anthropometric measurements is strong in the offspring generation. The findings suggest that sharing a household environment has a significant effect on familial aggregation especially for systolic blood pressure.

Abstrak: Purpose: To examine the application of the transtheoretical model (TTM) to fruit and vegetable consumption among economically disadvantaged African-American adolescents.

Methods: Scales for measuring decisional balance, situational self-efficacy, and processes of change for fruit and vegetable consumption were developed and pretested with 57 economically disadvantaged African-American adolescents. The scales and measures for assessing stages of change, demographic variables, and fruit and vegetable consumption were administered to a separate sample of 262 participants. t-tests for independent samples and analysis of variance were used to examine differences in TTM variables and fruit and vegetable consumption across stages of change.

Results: Two-factor solutions for decisional balance and processes of change and a three-factor solution for situational self-efficacy provided the best fit to the data. Alpha coefficients of reliability for the scales ranged from .77 (experiential change processes) to .91 (pros). Participants in action-maintenance stages evidenced higher pros, self-efficacy, and fruit and vegetable consumption and significantly lower cons than did participants in precontemplation and contemplation-preparation stages. Also, participants in action-maintenance stages used processes of change more frequently than did those in precontemplation-contemplation-preparation stages. The use of experiential and behavioral processes within these stages did not differ significantly, as posited.

Discussion: Observed differences in TTM variables and fruit and vegetable consumption by stage of change in this sample of economically disadvantaged African-American adolescents were consistent with theory and previous applications of the model to fruit and vegetable consumption in adults. With replication studies, the TTM may be appropriate for designing interventions to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among this population.