The effects of exercise and dietary intervention on metabolic syndrome (Mets) markers of inactive premenopausal women were investigated. In Study I, early markers of MetS were examined in young, (21.2 ?? 0.3 years), healthy but unfit women (N = 66) consuming a processed food diet. A second aim was to examine the relationship between ethnic influences (European versus Chinese) and early markers of MetS (e.g., hyperinsulinemia). Study II compared the hormonal and metabolic responses to steady state exercise (SSE) and high intensity interval exercise (HIIE) in untrained young women (N = 18, 21.7 ?? 0.8 years). Women were further divided into high and low fasting insulin levels to determine if hyperinsulinemia influenced hormonal and metabolic response to SSE and HIIE. Study III examined the hormonal and metabolic response to a randomized controlled intervention named the Fish oil, Exercise and Mediterranean diet (FEM) trial. The FEM trial was conducted with overweight, inactive young (23.5 ?? 0.6 years) women (N = 56) for 12 weeks. Characteristics of a subset of women (N = 34, 23.5 ?? 0.7 years) in the FEM trial, non-responders (NRES), who did not lose weight (??? 1% loss in mass), were also examined. Metabolic profiles were developed based on body composition, aerobic fitness, blood markers, diet, resting metabolic rate, medical history, blood pressure, and autonomic function. Body composition was measured by skinfolds and girths, bioimpedance (Tanita, Japan), and Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry. Peak oxygen uptake was assessed using an open circuit spirometer, TrueMax 2400 Metabolic Cart. Venepuncture and cannulation techniques were used for collecting blood samples that were also centrifuged and frozen for later analysis. In Study I young women who were physically unfit and consumed a processed food diet possessed high levels of fasting insulin, HOMA-IR (an insulin resistance index), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Insulin, p < .001, and HOMA-IR, p < .05, were significantly greater in Chinese Australians compared to European Australians, whereas plasma CRP levels were significantly, p < .05, lower. Significant differences, p < .05, existed between the groups with the Chinese Australians possessing lower body composition indices. However, ethnic differences still existed for insulin, HOMA-IR, and CRP after adjusting for body composition. Both groups consumed significantly high protein relative to their body mass. Thus, it appears that hyperinsulinemia is one of the earliest markers of MetS in young inactive females of both European and Asian descent who are unfit and consume a high level of dietary protein. In Study II, HIIE compared to SSE proved to be more effective at preventing an increase in insulin levels in the two hours after exercise. Resting respiratory quotient (RQ) was significantly lower, p < .05, following both HIIE and SSE, whereas plasma glycerol levels were higher, p = .06, suggesting greater lipolysis following HIIE. The women were divided by baseline fasting plasma insulin (> 9.98 ??IU/ml) into high insulin (HI) and low insulin groups (LI). The fasting plasma human growth hormone levels of the HI women were significantly lower at baseline compared to that of LI women. Baseline RQ was correlated with baseline glycerol, r = - .54, p < .05. Insulin levels at one hour post HIIE was related to fasting plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) one hour post exercise, r = .52, p < .05. Fasting plasma leptin at one, r = .56, p < .05, and two, r = .53, p < .05, hours post exercise was associated with 2 hour post insulin levels. Interestingly, fasting ACTH was significantly elevated in the 2 hours post exercise in the HI women compared to LI. All diet data between the groups were similar and lipids were in the healthy range with no significant differences between the women possessing high or low fasting plasma insulin. Thus, young women who completed one session of short duration HIIE compared to SSE improved certain aspects of their metabolic profile (e.g., reduced insulin levels) and enhanced their fat oxidation in the immediate two-hour exercise recovery period. Following FEM (a 12-week multi-component lifestyle intervention) overweight women recorded significantly lower, p < .05, body composition (mass, fat mass, percent body fat, waist circumference), insulin, inflammation (CRP), blood pressure, and lipids. The improvements within the Mediterranean diet (Mediet) were related to the reductions in body weight, fat mass, and insulin. Consumption of saturated fats, legumes, meat, poultry, and egg were also significantly decreased, p < .05, following the trial. Adherence to the Mediet and fish oil consumption, measured through a Mediet score, was significantly increased, p < .001, and was associated with reduced levels of fat mass, r = .43, p < .05. Autonomic function (measured by power frequency analysis), aerobic fitness, and fat oxidation were all significantly, p < .05, enhanced. Therefore, an intervention incorporating fish oil consumption, HIIE, and Mediet significantly reduced body fat, fasting insulin, inflammatory markers, and some blood lipids. Interestingly, some women did not lose fat mass following the FEM intervention, despite experiencing significant reductions in insulin, inflammation, waist circumference, blood pressure, and an increase in aerobic power. The major differences between those women who lost fat and those that did not was that the non-responders possessed significantly lower, p < .05, systolic blood pressure, lower resting heart rate, and a higher resting RQ. In summary, in Study I, young, unfit women consuming a processed diet, demonstrated hyperinsulinemia and low grade inflammation. The high levels of fasting insulin suggest that these women are at a higher risk for developing MetS and type 2 diabetes. The results of Study II suggests that one bout of HIIE compared to a longer bout of SSE was more effective at preventing a rise in post-exercise insulin levels. Finally, results of Study III indicate that a 12-week lifestyle intervention, encompassing HIIE, fish oil ingestion, and a Mediet positively influenced early MetS markers (e.g., hyperinsulinemia), aerobic and anaerobic fitness, low grade inflammation, and body composition in young women.

Can we reduce obesity and chronic disease risk factors without "going on a diet?" Appropriate management of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) remains a challenging issue for public health. Interventions demonstrating reductions in weight generally rely on labour-intensive, individualised counselling and usually feature highlyprescriptive diet/exercise plans which are time and cost-intensive to deliver, and potentially unsustainable at the community level. Moreover, there is limited evidence from randomised trials on the importance of active follow-up following initial intervention. This thesis describes the effectiveness of a 1-year randomised controlled trial incorporating an initial 16-week active lifestyle modification program on body composition and cardio-metabolic health.

Swine dysentery (SD) is a severe mucohaemorrhagic colitis resulting from infection with the anaerobic spirochaetal bacterium, Serpulina hyodysenteriae. The disease affects weaner and grower pigs throughout the world, and causes significant financial losses due to mortality, decreased rate of growth, poor feed conversion, and expense of chemotherapy. Previous studies have shown that despite the presence of S. hyodysenteriae in pigs on many farms, clinical signs of SD do not always occur. This study was aimed at investigating the effect of diet on the clinical expression of SD. The ultimate aim was to identify diets that could be used to prevent or control the disease. One hundred and seventy-eight weaner pigs were purchased from specific-pathogen free farms and fed one of 16 diets based on: cooked riceanimal protein, cooked rice-dehulled lupin, wheat-lupin, wheat-animal protein, parboiled rice dehulled lupin, parboiled rice-animal protein, and processed (hammer-milled or steam-flaked) cereal grains (barley, groats, maize, sorghum and wheat) supplemented with animal protein. Eighty four pigs on these diets were slaughtered after one month to measure the influence of the diets on parameters in the large intestine, including organ sizes, and pH, VFA concentrations and dry matter content of the digesta in the caecum, and proximal and distal colon. The cooked rice-animal protein diet caused low levels of microbial fermentation in the large intestine of pigs as indicated by higher pH values, lower VFAs, smaller intestinal organ sizes, and drier contents in the colon and rectum, compared to pigs on the other diets. A limited amount of fermentative substrates from the cooked rice-animal protein diet entered the large intestine, and this led to a low microbial fermentation activity. Pigs fed diets containing cereal grains, parboiled rice and or dehulled lupins had greater fermentative activity in the large intestine. Parboiled rice unexpectedly was not easily digestible. Of the processed cereal grain diets, steam-flaked grains resulted in significantly higher (P<0.05) intestinal pH values than hammer-milled grains. This suggested that steam-flaking process made the nutrients (most likely starch) more available for digestion in the small intestine than did the hammer-milling process. Another 94 pigs fed on the various diets were orally challenged with broth cultures of S, hyodysenteriae and were monitored for faecal excretion of spirochaetes, and for the development of SD. Diseased pigs were slaughtered immediately, and healthy pigs were slaughtered after 4-6 weeks, and changes in the large intestine were recorded. None of 16 challenged pigs fed cooked rice-animal protein developed SD and it was assumed that the reduced fermentation with this diet inhibited colonisation by S. hyodysenteriae, and expression of SD. Disease occurred in varying numbers of pigs fed all the other diets, for example cooked rice-dehulled lupin (83.3%), wheat-dehulled lupin (62.5%) and wheat-animal protein (60%). The diseased pigs developed diarrhoea with blood and mucus, were depressed, lacked appetite and showed gross and microscopic evidence of severe mucohaemorrhagic colitis. When two pigs fed the protective cooked rice-animal protein diet were transferred to the wheat-dehulled lupin diet, one died of acute clostridial enterotoxaemia, whilst the other developed SD. This provided further evidence for the protective effect of the cooked rice-animal protein diet. Of the processed cereal grain types, steam-flaked maize and steam-flaked sorghum diets containing animal protein protected all pigs against SD, although small numbers of animals were used. All cereal-based diets resulted in greater fermentation than the cooked rice-animal protein diets, but fermentation was relatively reduced with steam flaked maize. The protective rice-animal protein diet was fed to pigs on a commercial piggery with SD. It resulted in good growth rate and carcass composition, but unfortunately no disease occurred amongst the control pigs during the experiment, so its efficacy against SD in the field could not be assessed. In conclusion, all protective diets were based on cooked cereal grains which had low levels of non-starch polysaccharides and resistant starch (cooked rice, steam-flaked maize and steam-flaked sorghum) and animal protein. It appears that reducing the availability of such fermentable substrate in the large intestine prevents colonisation by S. hyodysenteriae, and protects pigs from developing SD. This is a major new paradigm for the control of this important disease.

Thesis (M.A.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-103). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.Sc.(Hons.))--University of Wollongong, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 159-167.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Food Science and Human Nutrition, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Mar. 30, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 148-165). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006. / Title from title screen (site viewed May. 20, 2008). PDF text: ix, 104 p. ; 547 K. UMI publication number: AAT 3298148. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. S.)--Industrial Design, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Abir Mullick; Committee Member: Claudia R. Winegarden; Committee Member: Kevin Shankwiler

Thesis (doctoral)--University of Göteborg, 1993. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.