Kim Bercovitz's research while affiliated with University of Toronto and other places

... Willms et al. (2003) report a west-to-east gradient in childhood obesity prevalence that may be attributable to the higher proportion of rural residents in Atlantic Canada. In a study of Canadian teens attending high schools in Alberta and Ontario, Plotnikoff et al. (2004) found that rural boys and girls had significantly higher prevalence of overweight (18% and 5% respectively) than urban boys and girls (12% and 2% respectively). Childhood obesity rates among rural Appalachian (Crooks, 1999;Demerath et al., 2003), Southern US (Davis et al., 2005), Mexican American (Lacar et al., 2000), and native North American (Gallo et al., 2005;Hanley et al., 2000;Young et al., 2000) populations are among the highest in North America, and point to a shared obesogenic environment that poses significant health risks to rural children and teens. ...

... Numerous studies have explored online social networks across a variety of health conditions [37][38][39][40][41][42][43], and two recent systematic reviews and meta-analysis found that online social networks exert a positive effect on health behavior change [44,45]. To date, studies of online networks specifically for cessation have primarily focused on describing engagement patterns [46], identifying content themes [47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54] and sentiment [55] in posts, and characterizing key network members who act as leaders [48,50,56,57]. These studies provide an important foundation for understanding the impact of online social networks on smoking behavior. ...

... The results of this research show that self-efficacy which is a construct of the socio-cognitive theory, is the most important determinant that physical activity among the students of both genders depends on. And the results of the other studies indicate that self-efficacy indirectly and directly affects the physical activity of young people (DiLorenzo, et al., 1998;Wu, 1999;Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2003;Chang et al., 2004;Petosa et al., 2005;Wu & Jwo, 2005;Pis, 2006;Dowda et al., 2007;Jago et al., 2007;Loucaides et al, 2007;Motl et al., 2007;Sherrick-Escamilla, 2007;Xiong et al., 2017;Rostami et al., 2017;Saeidi et al., 2018). ...

... These findings are consistent with reports among construction workers in the US (Bang and Kim 2001). Studies have shown that efforts to make construction sites smoke-free zones to be highly challenging (Bondy and Bercovitz 2011). We only assessed smoking history but is important to record also other aspects of lifestyle such as alcohol history, diet and exercise and stress levels among these workers as part of their regular health checks. ...

... Furthermore, unlike Australia (Genat, Robinson, & Parker, 2009, Canada's core competencies for public health (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2008) do not explicitly include specific competencies that address Indigenous health, a point of critique from Indigenous health researchers in Canada (Baba & Reading, 2012;Hunt, 2015). In looking at the core competencies for epidemiologists specifically, learning outcomes based on cultural competency and/or culturally appropriate methods for diverse populations are primarily located in competencies for applied epidemiology (Abraham, Gille, Puhan, ter Riet, & von Wyl, 2021; Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008;Bondy, Johnson, Cole, & Bercovitz, 2008;Moser, Ramiah, & Ibrahim, 2008), which demonstrates an opportunity to incorporate Indigenous methods and ways of knowing into both the quantitative competencies for general epidemiology and the cultural competency domain for applied epidemiology. The OHC-NET applied epidemiology training program, which to our knowledge will be the first of its kind in Canada, 3 will be closer in conception to the Institute of Koorie Education and Victorian Consortium of Public Health's MPH program for community-based Indigenous cohorts, which uses Indigenous community-based pedagogies, mixed-mode delivery, and technology provision (Genat, Robinson, & Parker, 2016, p. 9). ...

... In the developmental period of adolescence, the frequency of skipping breakfast is conventionally associated with body dissatisfaction and attempts to lose weight, dieting and other behaviors oriented at significant adults and idols, and at fashion trends imposing images of slim and thin models. Specific dietary preferences and dietary patterns (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and lactose-free, etc.) aimed at weight control [72] may also explain the higher prevalence of this phenomenon in girls [73]. Our findings are consistent with many studies in this field, such as the British study of adolescents aged 11-18 years demonstrating a higher frequency of skipping breakfast among girls and older children. ...

... Our study showed that the prevalence of smoking was lower in Katima urban. This maybe die to exposure of the urban population to electronic media better and tobacco advertisements (28)(29)(30). ...

... 25À28 Previous literature has documented that both BMI-based and perceived weight status of adolescents are positively associated with smoking behavior. 19,20,23,29 Particularly, adolescents who perceive themselves as overweight are more likely to smoke cigarettes, even after adjusting for BMI. 19,29 A recent crosssectional study of an adolescent sample in Texas reported a positive association between self-reported BMI and past 30-day EVP use. ...

... Assessment of the quality and reliability of health information websites has received an enormous amount of attention in the literature, ranging from patient or doctor surveys (e.g., Ahmad et al., 2006;Kerner et al., 2019) and ...