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Thirty females, 55 to 70 years old, participated in an investigation comparing two methods of teaching the diabetic diet. Subjects were required to take the WRAT-R, a test which assessed their reading capabilities. Only those scoring at the seventh grade level or below qualified for this investigation. Following the test, subjects were assigned to one of two groups. Participants in Group 1 received one-on-one instructions of Healthy Food Choices, whereas participants in Group 2 received videotaped instructions of Healthy Food Choices. Healthy Food Choices is a more simplified meal planning tool designed for those that cannot understand the concepts of the Exchange Lists for Meal Planning. Participants were instructed by the researcher, either on videotape or one-on-one. A follow-up visit occurred in a mean of 10.3 days to assess comprehension of the instructions provided. Each participant was contacted again by telephone in a mean of 28.7 days from the follow-up visit to assess long-term retention of the instructions they were provided. The sample menu collected from the two contacts provided data on choice deletions and additions. These data were analyzed by t-tests. There were no statistically significant differences found between diabetic diet instructions done by videotape or one-on-one at either follow-up visit or telephone contact. In this sample, videotaped instructions of the diabetic diet were just as effective as one-on-one instructions. / Master of Science

When the competition is getting stronger and companies must work harder to find new markets, new products and create new needs to reach growth, it appears strange that they overlook an obvious target segment right in front of their eyes. For some years ago, marketers of fashion brands feared that older women would wear their clothes, because it gave bad promotion for the young economically viable target group. Today, older women have difficulties finding clothes with right fit, style and personal taste. They would gratefully accept a brand, they felt were aimed for them. The purpose of this study is to give new ideas to companies in the fashion industry, how to reach this target group, but also be a contributing reason for older women to see the market opening for them. Through interviews with older women and industry specialists and questionnaires, interesting facts are gathered how fashion companies create strategies successfully. It is time to seriously notice the target group and respect them, as a group with great purchasing power. The company first to succeed can expect good returns, loyal customers and perhaps competitive immunity. In the nearest future when the baby boomers are about to retire, there are all reasons to comply with their needs. They have plenty of money they are planning to spend, active lives were they need clothes for different occasions and they will fill their lives with experiences they had no time to do before. With right strategies comes growth – so go out and catch them! / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen magister

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1996.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1996.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2003. / Bibliography: leaves 97-104.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

This thesis project explores social constructions of aging women within Women’s Health magazine. There is limited scholarly literature on representations of aging women within popular health/fitness media, such as magazines. The limited current research which does exist suggests that aging women are subjected to negative stereotypes and gendered myths within our societal and cultural values with respect to aging (Vertinsky, 1994). Media representations are strong and pervasive reflections of societal norms and expectations and may impact the way women view themselves. I therefore undertook a Foucaultian discourse analysis of Women’s Health magazine to examine if/how gendered constructions of aging are functioning within representations of health directed to women of all ages. I found that Women’s Health reproduces aging women as useless, failures, problems to be managed, and other to normative femininity. Women’s Health reinforces that aging can and should be managed through the consumption of anti-aging products, procedures, and surgeries endorsed within the magazine. / v, 125 leaves ; 29 cm

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between urinary incontinence and self-esteem and also social participation. A convenience sample of 25 women 60 years of age and older participated. Forty-eight percent of the women had urinary incontinence at the time of the study. No significant differences were found in the level of self-esteem between those women with urinary incontinence and those women without urinary incontinence. Two subjects with urinary incontinence reported refusing social participation due to urinary incontinence. However, no difference in the overall level of social participation was found when comparing those with to those without urinary incontinence. A nonsignificant correlation was found between self-esteem and the overall level of social participation. In addition, the relationship between self-esteem and the level of social participation for women with urinary incontinence was nonsignificant. Only two of the 12 subjects with urinary incontinence reported receiving treatment.

The primary focus of this study was to determine basal levels of myogenic (MRF4, myogenin, MyoD), proteolytic (FOXO3A, atrogin-1, MuRF-1), myostatin, and mitochondrial (PGC-1α & Tfam) mRNA in elderly women before and after aerobic training. This approach was taken to gain insight into the molecular adaptations associated with our observed increases in whole muscle cross sectional area (CSA) (11%, p<0.05), knee extensor muscle function (25%, p<0.05) and aerobic capacity (30%, p<0.05) with training. Nine elderly women (71±2y) underwent muscle biopsies obtained from the vastus lateralis before and after 12-weeks of aerobic training on a cycle ergometer. Post training biopsy samples were acquired 48 hours after the last exercise session. Aerobic training reduced (p < 0.05) resting levels of MRF4 by 25% while myogenin showed a trend to decrease (p = 0.09) after training. FOXO3A expression was 27% lower (p < 0.05) while atrogin-1 and MuRF-1 were unaltered after training. Additionally, myostatin gene expression was decreased (p < 0.05) by 57% after training. Lastly, aerobic training did not alter PGC-1α or Tfam mRNA. These findings suggest that aerobic training alters basal transcript levels of growth related genes in skeletal muscle of older women. Further, the reductions in FOXO3A and myostatin indicate the aerobic training induced muscle hypertrophy in older women may be due to alterations in proteolytic machinery. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science