The feasibility and outcomes of a 12-week extracurricular family-based intervention led by physical therapists that was designed to increase physical activity (PA) in three Hispanic male middle-school children was examined. This intervention has limited feasibility and may increase physical activity levels for overweight Hispanic middle school children. In a second study, differences in motor proficiency, strength, endurance, and PA among healthy weight, overweight and obese children were examined, and correlations between BMI and physical impairments were explored. Obese children demonstrated impairments in motor proficiency, strength, and endurance when compared to healthy weight children. Among overweight children, higher BMI was associated with more physical impairments. Overweight children were less physically active than healthy weight children. A high proportion of children were not meeting daily step recommendations to maintain a healthy weight. Girls were less active than boys at this crucial stage of development. The findings of this study have important clinical relevance for physical therapists, who are uniquely qualified to assess these identified impairments and activity limitations that may limit a child’s ability to engage in greater levels of physical activity. This information lends support to the role of the physical therapist in addressing current public health recommendations related to the childhood obesity.

Zur Entstehung von Schilddrüsenerkrankungen trägt ein Zusammenspiel aus genetischen, epigene-tischen und umweltbezogenen Faktoren bei. Die vorliegende Querschnittsstudie untersucht den Ein-fluss von Schwangerschaft auf die Prävalenz von Struma und nodulären Schilddrüsenerkrankungen (NTD) in Kombination mit anderen Risikofaktoren bei Frauen in einer Region mit früherem Jod-mangel und aktuell grenzwertig normaler Jodversorgung. Dazu wurde bei 736 in Thüringen und Sachsen lebenden Frauen eine Ultraschalluntersuchung der Schilddrüse durchgeführt. Zusätzlich wurden Alter, BMI sowie zurückliegende Schwangerschaften, Familienanamnese und früherer oder bestehender Nikotinabusus in einem Fragebogen erhoben. Eine Struma lag in 19,1% der Fälle vor, solitäre Knoten wurden bei 21,5% und multiple Knoten bei 23,8% der Frauen gefunden. Eine multivariate Analyse konnte weder Alter noch Schwangerschaft in Korrelation mit Struma oder NTD bringen. Zwischen BMI und Struma beziehungsweise BMI und dem Auftreten multipler Schilddrüsenknoten war ein signifikanter Zusammenhang zu belegen. Eine Struma wurde bei 25,3% der Frauen mit einer positiven Familienanamnese hinsichtlich Schilddrüsen-erkrankungen gefunden, aber nur bei 16,1% bei Frauen ohne Vorgeschichte in der Familie. Weder für Struma noch für NTD konnte ein signifikanter Zusammenhang mit einem Nikotinabusus gesehen werden.

Obesity is a complex and a highly individualized disease and the molecular mechanisms behind this disorder need to be better elucidated. Identification of genes and genetic variants that are involved provide opportunities to establish a genetic understanding of the disease. These findings may also provide more rational approaches to therapy, either by identifying underlying causes or point out the need for different treatments. In addition, the timing and severity of obesity may provide insights into the aetiology of obesity and also identify age-specific determinants of weight gain. Recently, genome-wide association studies have led to a rapid progress in our understanding of the genetic basis of various diseases and candidate genes for obesity have been identified. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the genetic impact on severity of childhood obesity and the associations between obesity and genetic variants in the fat mass and obesity associated gene, FTO, and MGAT1, the gene encoding mannosyl (α-1,3-)-glycoprotein β-1,2-N-acetyl-glucosaminyltransferase. We show that the impact of parental body mass index (BMI) on the severity of obesity in children is strengthened as the child grows older, whereas the age at obesity onset is of limited importance. By association studies, we show that single nucleotide polymorphisms downstream MGAT1 influence susceptibility to obesity. Moreover, these variants affect the levels of unsaturated fatty acids and desaturase indices, variables previously shown to correlate with obesity. Furthermore, one variant in the first intronic region of FTO is associated with obesity among children but not with BMI or other measures of adiposity at older ages. However, this variant shows a weight-dependent association with cognitive function among elderly men. By direct sequencing, we identified novel variants in FTO, affecting glucose homeostasis in a BMI-independent manner. Furthermore, we found gender specific effects for FTO, both regarding obesity susceptibility and related phenotypes.

Body fat, regional body fat and bone mineral mass, are linked to health conditions such as obesity and osteoporosis. The ethnic comparison of body composition may help to explain and understand the difference of health outcomes and health status in different ethnic groups. NZ Chinese is the largest Asian group in New Zealand, however, knowledge about health risks and body composition for NZ Chinese is very limited. Therefore, the aims of this thesis were: 1) To compare the relationships between body mass index (BMI) and percentage body fat (%BF) of European (M29, F37), Maori (M23, F23), Pacific people (M15, F23), and Asian Indian (M29, F25) (existing data) with NZ Chinese aged 30-39 years; 2) To compare fat distribution, appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ApSM), bone mineral density (BMD) and limb bone lengths across these five ethnic groups. A convenience sample of healthy NZ Chinese (M20, F23) was selected by BMI to cover a wide range of body fatness. Total and regional body fat, fat free mass (FFM) and bone mineral content were measured by whole-body Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The main study findings were: • For a fixed BMI, NZ Chinese had a higher %BF than European and less %BF than Asian Indian. At a %BF equivalent to a BMI of 30 kg.m-2 in Europeans (WHO threshold for obesity), BMI values for Asian Indian and NZ Chinese women were 5.8 and 2.2 BMI units lower than European, respectively, and for Asian Indian and NZ Chinese men, 8.2 and 3.0 BMI units lower. • Abdominal-to-thigh fat ratio of NZ Chinese was significantly higher than that of European (P<0.001) and similar to that of Asian Indian. NZ Chinese had a significantly higher central-to-appendicular fat ratio than both Asian Indian and European (P<0.001). NZ Chinese was centrally fatter than European and Asian Indian. • For the same height and weight, NZ Chinese had significantly less FFM (-2.1 kg, P=0.039) and ApSM (-1.4kg, P=0.007) than European. NZ Chinese had significantly more FFM (+3.2 kg, P=0.001) than Asian Indian and similar ApSM to Asian Indian. • For the same weight, NZ Chinese had a similar BMD as European for female and male. NZ Chinese male had a higher BMD (+0.07 g.cm-2, P= 0.001) than Asian Indian male. • Among the five ethnic groups, NZ Chinese had the shortest leg (-1.5cm, P=0.016) and arm bone lengths (-2.3cm, P=0.001) (measured by DEXA) for the same DEXA height. Therefore, the relationship between percent body fat and BMI for Asian Indian and NZ Chinese differs from Europeans and from each other, which indicates that different BMI thresholds for obesity may be required for these Asian ethnic groups. Given the relatively high percentage body fat, low appendicular skeletal muscle mass and high central fat to appendicular fat ratio of NZ Chinese aged 30-39 years demonstrated in this study, promotion of healthy eating and physical activity is needed to be tailored for NZ Chinese. The NZ Chinese community should be advised to keep fit, prevent limited movements in older age, and to prevent obesity and obesity-related diseases.

<p>ABSTRACT</p><p>Overweight and obesity is an increasing problem worldwide although high-income countries take a leed. High BMI during pregnancy and delivery constitute to many risks for both the mother and her outcome. Intervention programmes with the purpose to get the pregnant women to eat healthier and to excercise more are now working out in many different shapes. The effect of these activities varies. The aim of this study was to investigate if interventions during pregnancy, with women who’s BMI are 25 or more, affects health of the mother and her expected child, delivery outcome and self estimated health. The design of this study was quantitative. A total of 163 women participated in this study who took place i two cities in Sweden. All of the women gave birth at the same hospital. 96 of the women participated in the intervention group and 69 in the comparison group. Data was analyzed using SPSS. The results shows that most of the women (60 percent), choose not to participate in water aerobics. The results of the women who used a stepcounter showed that the women were more active during early pregnancy than later on. Results showed that there was a significantly increased risk for complications during delivery if the women had gained more than seven kilograms during pregnancy. Overweight women who had a weight gain of more than seven kilograms also had an increased risk for delivering large babies (more than 4000 gram), compared with those who gained less. There were no difference in self estimated health between the groups. The results of the study shows that a weight gain less than eight kilograms is positively associated with less complications during pregnancy. Women should be helped to get motivated to live a healthy and active life during pregnancy. What motivates pregnant women towards healthier living needs to be examined further.</p>

Diets which emphasize intakes of plant-based foods are recommended to reduce disease risk and for promoting healthy weight. The aim of this study was to examine the association between fruit, vegetables, pulses and nut intake and body mass index (BMI) across countries in adolescents (13-14 years) and children (6-7 years). Data from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood; 77,243 children’s parents and 201,871 adolescents was used to examine the association between dietary intake (Food Frequency Questionnaire) and BMI using general linear models, adjusting for country gross national index. Adolescents who consumed fruit, vegetables, pulses and nuts three or more times a week had a lower BMI than the never or occasional group; eating nuts three or more times a week, was associated with a BMI value of 0.274 kg/m2 lower than the never group (p < 0.001). Compared to children who never or occasionally reported eating vegetables, those reporting that they ate vegetables three or more times per week had a lower BMI of -0.079 kg/m2. In this large global study, an inverse association was observed between BMI and the reported increasing intake of vegetables in 6-7 years old and fruit, vegetables, pulses and nuts in adolescents. This study supports current dietary recommendations which emphasize the consumption of vegetables, nut and pulses, although the effect sizes were small. / Revisión por pares / Revisión por pares

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to corroborate recent research demonstrating that patients with low body mass indexes tend to have worse postoperative survival outcomes compared to normal BMI patients. It also intends to compare survival outcomes and postoperative complications in transcatheter and surgical aortic valve replacement patients to determine which procedure, TAVR or SAVR respectively, is better for this challenging low BMI patient population. METHODS: This is a retrospective, single-center study comparing patient data collected from 2000-2013 at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. Patients were dividing into three groups on the basis of BMI and aortic valve procedure: low BMI SAVR (BMI < 22 kg/m2; n = 148; 20.36%), normal BMI SAVR (22-25 kg/m2; n = 458; 63.00%), and low BMI TAVR (< 22 kg/m2; n = 121; 16.64%). There is a total of 606 SAVR patients and 121 TAVR patients. To corroborate recent research that low BMI patients tend to fare worse than normal BMI patients, an unadjusted comparison were used to compare baseline demographics and postoperative outcomes of 148 low BMI patients who underwent SAVR with 458 normal BMI patients who underwent isolated SAVR. These cohorts were then compared via a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and the log-rank test for 30 days, 6 months, 1 year and 3 years survival outcomes. The 148 low BMI SAVR patients were then compared to 121 low BMI patients who underwent TAVR on baseline demographics and preoperative risk factors. The two cohorts were compared using the Kaplan-Meier analysis and postoperative complications were compared utilizing a multivariable logistic regression after adjustment for age, gender, BMI and STS Scores. RESULTS: The unadjusted analysis of the low BMI and normal BMI SAVR cohorts displayed similar patient demographics and preoperative risk factors. The normal BMI group demonstrated higher EF (55% vs. 51.5%; p = 0.002) and incidence of HLD (47.68% vs. 37.76%; p = 0.038). Conversely, the low BMI cohort had more females (61.49% vs.42.79%; p < 0.001) and individuals with a history of Afib (27.78% vs.16.96%; p = 0.004). As shown in the Kaplan Meier curve, the normal BMI SAVR patients exhibited superior 6 months, 1 year and 3 years survival rates and low BMI was shown to be a significant independent predictor of mortality (HR 2.56; 95% CI: 1.47 – 4.47; p = 0.0009 at 1 year). The two groups had similar postoperative outcomes, however, the low BMI cohort had longer overall hospital stays (8 vs. 6.5 days; p = 0.0003). The low BMI SAVR and TAVR patient cohorts varied significantly on most patient demographics and preoperative risk factors. The low BMI TAVR patients tend to be older (95.04% vs. 55.41% of patients > 75 years old) and had higher STS Scores (10.41 vs. 3.88; p < 0.0001). They also demonstrated significant increases in all the preoperative risk factors excluding DM and prior CVA. The SAVR patients had significantly longer overall hospital stays (8 vs. 6 days; p < 0.0001), more re-exploration for bleeding (5.41% vs. 0.85%; p = 0.0411) and more patients discharged to home (68.24% vs. 50.85%; p = 0.0039) while the TAVR patients demonstrated higher rates of GI bleed (3.39% vs. 0.00%; p = 0.0240) and new PPM (10.17% vs. 0.68%; p = 0.0004). The low BMI SAVR cohort demonstrated better survival rates at 1 year and 3 years and low BMI TAVR was determined to be a significant independent predictor of mortality (HR 0.51; 95% CI: 0.30 – 0.88; p = 0.0146 at 1 year). After controlling for specific covariates in the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the low BMI SAVR had 1.73 times longer ICU stays, 1.90 times longer hospital stays and the odds of being discharged home was 17% less than the TAVR group (p = 0.0005, <0.0001, 0.5665). CONCLUSION: Although the rates of postoperative complications are fairly similar, patients with low BMIs demonstrated worse survival outcomes when compared to the normal BMI SAVR patients. With the current analysis, low BMI TAVR patients had a significantly worse preoperative profile compared to the corresponding SAVR cohort which explains the worse survival and postoperative outcomes. Despite this, the multivariable analysis showed that the low BMI SAVR patients had longer ICU and hospital stays as well as fewer discharges to home. As this is an ongoing study, steps should be made to balance the preoperative profile such that the low BMI SAVR and TAVR groups are comparable prior to survival and postoperative assessment. However, at the current status, TAVR has proven itself to be the preferred treatment for low BMI patients. / 2018-07-13T00:00:00Z

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abstract: Although many studies have looked into the relationship between depression and eating behaviors, most have not looked into the interaction between depressive mood, weight status, and eating behaviors; specifically the consumption of added sugars. This longitudinal study examined the relationship between depressive mood and added sugar consumption among college freshmen, and how weight status play a role in this relationship. A web-based survey assessing depressive mood score and added-sugar foods consumption, and height and weight measurements were obtained. A total of 511 participants (aged 18.5±0.4 years; 70.5% females) were recruited at Arizona State University from August 2015 through January 2016. The main outcomes measured were the relationship between depressive mood score and added sugar consumption (tsp/d) within each participants and between mean weight status groups (underweight & “healthy” weight, overweight, and obese). In the study, the mean added sugar consumption was 19.1±11.87 tsp/d. There were no significant association between depressive mood and added sugar consumption within or between freshman students over time. But overall, there was a slightly positive relationship between depressive mood and added sugar consumption across four time points. No significant interaction was found between BMI, depressive mood, and added sugar consumption within each student, but significant differences in the relationship of depressive mood and added sugar between mean weight status groups (p=0.025). Each individual’s BMI in the previous time points was significantly negatively associated with added sugar consumption in the current time points (beta = -0.70; p=0.010). The results from this study indicates that depressive mood may not affect added sugar intake in this sample. BMI did not have an impact on the relationship within each student, but have an impact between mean weight status groups, so further studies are needed to continue look at how BMI influences the relationship between depressive mood and added sugar consumption. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Nutrition 2017

No description available.