Thesis (MPH)--University of Limpopo, 2010. / Despite an increased focus on adolescents’ diet, nutrition and exercise in South Africa over the past years, their dietary intake remains a major cause for concern, with increasing numbers consuming high fat and high sugar foods on a daily basis. The consumption of these foods may be due to industrialization as processed foods are less expensive, easily accessible and do not require time and energy in their preparation. Health education intervention can play a major role in spreading health messages on prevention and management of non-communicable diseases. Health education should start at school, as many personal habits and life-style choices are made early in life. The objectives of the study were to identify and describe learners’ knowledge and practise of a healthy diet, daily nutritional requirements and the importance of regular exercise. This is a cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. Tswaing High School was used as a study site and the sample comprised all learners who were present on the day of study and who had submitted the consent form from their parents (485 learners or 69.3%). Seventy-seven percent of learners scored under 50% on the test that was administered and only 23% of learners had a satisfactory knowledge of diet, nutrition and physical activity, and 41.3% of the respondents reported that they were sedentary for hours. Learners of Tswaing High School do not possess adequate knowledge of nutrition and diet. The government departments such as education, sports, arts and culture, and health should implement vi programmes that will inform learners about the importance of nutrition, diet and exercise in their lives.

Thesis (M Med (Family Medicine))--University of Limpopo (Medunsa Campus), 2010. / Abundant literature supports the beneficial effects of diet and exercise recommendations for improving and maintaining glycaemic levels of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patient adherence to therapeutic lifestyle measures is notoriously difficult to initiate and sustain; however, reason for non-adherence amongst diabetes population is very complex and multi-faceted in nature. Objectives To determine rates of non-adherence and reasons/barriers for not adhering to diet and exercise recommendations amongst type 2 diabetes mellitus patients attending Extension II clinic in Gaborone, Botswana. Summary of methods Design: descriptive cross-sectional study using self administered questionnaire Setting: Extension II clinic, a public family practice in Gaborone, Botswana. Study population: Consenting adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus, aged 30 years or older, diagnosed 2 or more years and on clinic care. Sample selection: Convenience sampling method was used to select 35 subjects per month, over a period of three successive months and a total of 105 participants were recruited into the study, made up of 44 men and 61 women. Results 104 correctly filled questionnaires were included in the data analysis, of which, 59% were female. Estimated rates of non-adherence to diet and exercise were 37.4%; 95% CI, 27.7 – 46.3% and 52%; 95% CI, 42.4 – 61.6% respectively. The main perceived reasons for non-adherence to diet were granting self-permission (36.5%), lack of information (33.3%), eating out (31.7%), financial constraints (28.8%) and poor self control (26.9%); while the main perceived reasons for non-adherence to exercise were lack of information (65.7%), exercise as potentially exacerbating illness (57.6%), lack of exercise partner (24.0%), specific locations away from home (18.0%), and winter weather (15.4%). The overall reasons for not adhering to diet and exercise include lack of moral and emotional supports from the spouse (54.1%), family members (44.8%), and friends (58.7%). 95% and 67.3% of the participants had reported that diet and exercise respectively could improved and maintained their diabetic control. Conclusion Non-adherence to diet and exercise recommendations amongst type 2 diabetes patients is far more prevalent and no particular single reason could be attributed to poor adherence to either diet or exercise recommendations, rather a combination of many factors.

Thesis (M.S.)--Eastern Illinois University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-107).

Syftet med denna pilotstudie var att studera om man hos pediatriska patienter som lider av sjuklig fetma kan se förändringar i metabolismen genom att ersätta den traditionella kosten med en kost bestående av hög andel fett och låg andel kolhydrater. De frågeställningar som används är om den förändrade kosten leder till en gynnsam förändring av metabola markörer samt hur patientupplevelsen av de nya kostråden är. Studien har både en kvantitativ och kvalitativ design. Totalt ingår 4 barn i åldern 4-17 år. Två av dessa har under fyra veckor ätit en kost bestående av hög andel fett (50-60E%) och låg andel kolhydrater (15-20E%). Efter avslutad intervention undersöktes hur metabola parametrar förändrats (blodprov) samt hur patienterna upplevt kosten (frågeformulär). Resultatet visar på att kostråden leder till en sänkning av triglycerider, glukos, HDL, total kolesterol och ASAT. Bland kontrollpatienterna ser man en ökning av triglycerider, HDL och total kolesterol. Upplevelsen av kostråden beskrivs som positiva, trots att nackdelar finns. Det finns en positiv attityd till att fortsätta med kostråden.

To complete an overweight treatment program is associated with better weight loss. Previous studies have in principle focused on drop-out from the entire program, not individual parts of a program. Factors previously shown to influence the patients´ weight loss results are: frequency of individual meetings with a professional, the lack of social support from family or friends, the lack of motivation and in a few studies vacations. In several studies the drop-out patients have stated that their reasons for drop-out were dissatisfaction with the staff and the program design. Drop-out has also been shown to be connected with difficulties in adherence to the diet. If the primary motive to lose weight is appearance-related, the risk of drop-out increases according to previous studies.

The middle Brazos River, located in east central Texas, is a meandering lowland river that contains many oxbow lakes on its floodplain. Flood dynamics of the Brazos River are aseasonal, and faunal exchange during lateral connections of the main river channel and oxbows is pulse-like and only occurs during floods that may be months or years apart. Patterns of resource use among sympatric gar species (Lepisosteus oculatus, L. osseus, and Atractosteus spatula) associated with river-floodplain connectivity was studied for a period of two years (May 2003 to May 2005). The first year was relatively dry yielding few lateral connections, whereas the second year was relatively wet resulting in more frequent lateral connections. This study focused on habitat and diet partitioning among the three gar species in oxbow habitats with different connection frequencies and an active river channel site. Overall, 684 gars were collected with experimental gillnets: 19 A. spatula (alligator gar), 374 L. oculatus (spotted gar), and 291 L. osseus (longnose gar). There was strong partitioning of habitat between spotted and longnose gars, in which 98% of spotted gars were captured in oxbow habitats and 84% of longnose gars were captured in the river channel. Hydrology did not appear to affect habitat partitioning, although longnose gar abundance significantly increased in oxbows during the wet year. Diet overlap was high between spotted and longnose gars. Temporal variation in diet was significantly influenced by flood pulses that connected oxbows with the river channel, and which allowed predators and their prey to move between habitats.

The burden of obesity and related health conditions is particularly high among African Americans and low-income families. A large body of evidence demonstrates the benefit of following a diet recommended by federal dietary guidelines in reducing obesity risk and promoting overall health. The environment plays an important role in the development of childhood obesity by influencing mechanisms related to dietary behavior patterns. This study used secondary data from a Texas state and national survey of Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participants prior to the implementation of food package changes in 2009. The purpose of the study was to describe diet quality, examine relationships between diet quality and sociodemographic factors, and investigate household environmental influences on fruit and vegetable consumption among African American children. A healthy food indicator with four components indicative of a healthy diet, namely fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk, was used to measure diet quality. African American women and children in this study‘s sample did not meet the standards for a healthy diet. Personal and family characteristics, including age, caregiver education, urbanization, and region of residence, were associated with diet quality in African American women and children. The majority of African American children in this sample did not meet current recommendations for daily fruit and vegetable consumption. Six household environmental factors were associated with fruit and vegetable consumption by African American children, including physical factors (primary caregiver purchase and preparation of fruits and vegetables) and sociocultural factors (primary caregiver fruit and vegetable consumption, perception of child liking fruits and vegetables, fruit and vegetable selection self-efficacy, and self-efficacy for healthful child feeding). The strongest predictor of fruit and vegetable consumption by African American children was the fruit and vegetable consumption by primary caregivers. Health education strategies aimed at improving diets of African Americans need to address a variety of sociodemographic and household factors influencing dietary behavior patterns. Strategies to promote the reduction of childhood obesity through increases in fruit and vegetable consumption must account for the consumption of fruits and vegetables among primary caregivers.

The objective of this experiment was to determine the validity of predicting the diet quality of Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) by exposing a dried fecal sample to light energy (a spectrophotometer). The resulting spectra measured were then compared to the known wet chemistry of the diet to arrive at an equation for forecasting the crude protein (CP) and digestible organic matter (DOM) ingested by the elk. Forages were gathered from western ranges and blended to simulate plant species ingested representing various elk diet qualities at different seasons of the year. Feeding trials were begun during the summer of 1999 using the USDA Forest Service Starkey Unit’s herd of tame elk in northeast Oregon. Additional feeding trials were conducted at Center, Texas and College Station, Texas in the spring of 2000 and the summers of 2000 and 2001, respectively. In all feeding trials, 1 elk was fed 1 diet of known quality, ad libitum, for 8 days with fecal specimens collected on day 7 and day 8 for spectral scanning. Results indicate acceptable predictability (R2 = 0.95, SEC = 1.13 for CP, R2 = 0.80, SEC=1.73 for DOM) in forecasting the diet quality of elk, and thus it is concluded that NIRS is a valuable management tool in monitoring the well-being of captive and free-ranging elk.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2009. / Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until September 1, 2012. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-195)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until September 1, 2012. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-195)