Orientador: Maria Rita Marques de Oliveira / Banca: Vera Mariza Henriques de Miranda Costa / Banca: Telma Maria Braga Costa / Resumo: Apesar de muito estudada, a obesidade continua um tema que requer ainda muitos estudos. Ao classificá-la entre os distúrbios psicossomáticos, abre-se um vasto campo de exploração no sentido de entendê-la como um problema de saúde pública fortemente influenciado pelo meio e pela forma com que o sujeito interage com seu ambiente. O objetivo do trabalho foi caracterizar, a partir de relatos sobre a alimentação, os hábitos de vida, a idade de início e a evolução da obesidade entre mulheres adultas da fila de espera para o tratamento cirúrgico da obesidade pelo Sistema Único de Saúde. Participaram do estudo 35 mulheres com idade média de 39,511,7, variando de 21 a 67 anos, e índice de massa corporal (IMC, em Kg/m2) entre 36,1 e 60,1 kg ∕ m2, recrutadas na Clínica Bariátrica de Piracicaba - SP. Para efeito de análise, as mulheres foram agrupadas segundo o período de início da obesidade: 0 ┤10 anos, 10 ┤20 anos, 20 ┤30 anos e >30 anos. O perfil das candidatas, em termos de massa corporal, tempo de espera na fila para a cirurgia bariátrica, informações pessoais, prevalência de comorbidezes, limitações físicas para execução de tarefas da vida diária, bem como as razões para a procura da cirurgia, foram obtidos a partir de um formulário. A história de vida relativa à alimentação, a atividades físicas e de lazer e a tratamentos realizados para perda ponderal foi levantada com auxílio de instrumento de avaliação cronológica dos eventos, "Linha do tempo", criado para esse fim. A estimativa e a avaliação da adequação do consumo alimentar atual foram realizadas a partir dos dados obtidos em três recordatórios de 24 horas (R24h). Quanto às experiências de vida, não foram percebidas diferenças marcantes entre as mulheres, quando confrontadas conforme o período de início da obesidade. O ambiente obesogênico... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Even though obesity has been extensively studied, it is a theme that still requires extensive investigation. Once it became classified as a psychosomatic disorder, a broad field opened up for exploration, i.e., understanding that obesity is a public health problem that is strongly influenced by the environment and by the way individuals interact with the environment. This study used feeding reports to characterize the life habits, age of onset and progression of obesity in adult women recruited from the waiting list for surgical treatment of obesity of the Unified Health System. The participants included 35 women 39.511.7 mean of age, varying from 21 to 67 years, with a body mass index (BMI in kg/m2) of 36.1 to 60.1 kg/m2 seen at the Bariatric Clinic of Piracicaba, SP. Analysis was performed by grouping the women according to the age of onset of obesity: 0 ┤10 years, 10 ┤20 years, 20 ┤30 years and >30 years. A self-administered questionnaire was used to determine the profile of the participants in terms of body mass, time in the waiting list for bariatric surgery, personal information, prevalence of comorbidities, physical limitations that interfere with daily tasks and activities and reasons for seeking surgery. Their life story regarding feeding habits, physical and leisure activities and weight loss treatments was determined with an instrument that assesses the chronological order of events, "Time Line," created for this purpose. Data obtained from three 24-hour recalls (24HR) were used to estimate and verify the adequacy of actual food intake. Regarding life experiences, there were no marking differences among the women at the onset of obesity. Today's obesogenic environment, product of this new century, was the habitat of every one of those women from childhood, with its effects being manifested especially in adult life. These women sought surgical treatment in 2005... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

The aim of this study was to investigate if the dog’s behaviour and the interactions between the dog and the owner   differ depending on lifestyle, breed or sex of the dog. For this we employed the Strange Situation Procedure, a test inspired from Mary Ainsworth´s study,   which investigated the attachment of human infants to their mothers. There were two breeds, Border collie and Shetland sheepdog and a total of 58 dogs that participated in this study. The two breeds were divided into two lifestyles, competition dogs and pet dogs. A PCA was used to find correlations between the behavioural variables and the factors were then analysed in a Mann Whitney U test to test the differences between breed, sex and lifestyle. In this study no differences in behaviour between the two lifestyles were shown. However, the results showed that there were some differences between the two breeds and between the two sexes in behavioural expressions. The differences between the breeds were quite expected because there are many different breeds today which are selected for various morphology and behavioural traits which could influence their behaviour. The difference in behaviour between the two sexes can be because of evolutionary heredity. Further studies on this subject should have bigger and more even sample size, longer separation time, a more balanced gender distribution of the owners and to also analyze the cortisol levels.

The age of population has been protracting while the age limit for retirement has been increasing. On the one hand there are seniors who live to old age but they are in a relatively good health condition as same as their mental condition and state of mind. On the other hand there are among us the fellow citizens who became ill at a relatively early retirement age of civilization diseases. The aim of this thesis is to map the lifestyle of today´s seniors who lived to old age so that today´s young people and middle-aged people could spend their old age in the best health conditions and leisurely enjoy the retirement age because of its delayed coming. I have chosen qualitative research for ney diploma work. I hawe used the technique af half centrollet interview.

The main focus of this thesis is the lifestyle and value system of seniors. It is based both upon the specialized literature and the related information. I was able to gather. The theoretical part of this thesis deals with the characteristics of the basic concepts {--} the old age and the process of ageing. It looks at different levels of personality which are affected by the process. Periodization of age, lifestyle and value system, risk factors endangering healthy lifestyle, stereotypes and myth about old ages are mentioned. The last part of theory gives an overview of the contemporary senior-care system in the Czech Republic. It divided into two parts {--} healthcare and social welfare. The research part goes deeper into the seniors{\crq} lifestyle aimed at their daily activities and boarding skills. It compares value system of seniors living in family environment in town and those, who live in village. Two hypotheses have been confirmed, one not.

The complex concept of the ageing woman must be viewed in relation to both what it means to be a woman and what it means to age. Both women and the elderly are discriminated against in different respects; therefore it could be argued that the ageing woman is discriminated against in a double sense. This study investigates how women over the age of 50 are portrayed linguistically in fashion and lifestyle magazines with the aim to reveal the underlying attitudes as well as social and cultural ideologies regarding the topic today. Based on Wodak (2001), I employed critical discourse analysis (CDA) methodology, with a particular focus on terms of address and attributes identified in selected fashion and lifestyle magazines. The findings revealed that although the women were addressed mainly in terms of their professional titles, the emphasis was put on them as ageing women by a continuous mentioning of their age, their past and physical consequences from the process of ageing.        Further, personality traits and emotional and physical attributes were evaluated in terms of negative and positive associations, revealing positive attitudes (e.g. happy, curious, experienced) regarding emotions and personality traits, but negative associations (e.g. weight gain, grey hair, old) in relation to their ageing bodies and their appearances.

BACKGROUND. Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours such as physical inactivity are global risk factors for chronic disease. Despite this, a substantial proportion of the UK population fail to achieve the recommended levels of physical activity. This may partly be because the health messages presently disseminated are not sufficiently potent to evoke behaviour change. There has been an exponential growth in the availability of digital health technologies within the consumer marketplace. This influx of technology has allowed people to self-monitor a plethora of health indices, such as their physical activity, in real-time. However, changing movement behaviours is difficult and often predicated on the assumption that individuals are willing to change their lifestyles today to reduce the risk of developing disease years or even decades later. One approach that may help overcome this challenge is to present physiological feedback in parallel with physical activity feedback. In combination, this approach may help people to observe the acute health benefits of being more physically active and subsequently translate that insight into a more physically active lifestyle. AIMS. Study One aimed to review existing studies employing fMRI to examine neurological responses to health messages pertaining to physical activity, sedentary behaviour, smoking, diet and alcohol consumption to assess the capacity for fMRI to assist in evaluating health behaviours. Study Two aimed to use fMRI to evaluate physical activity, sedentary behaviour and glucose feedback obtained through wearable digital health technologies and to explore associations between activated brain regions and subsequent changes in behaviour. Study Three aimed to explore engagement of people at risk of type 2 diabetes using digital health technologies to monitor physical activity and glucose levels. METHODS. Study One was a systematic review of published studies investigating health messages relating to physical activity, sedentary behaviour, diet, smoking or alcohol consumption using fMRI. Study Two asked adults aged 30-60 years to undergo fMRI whilst presented personalised feedback on their physical activity, sedentary behaviour and glucose levels, following a 14-day wear protocol of an accelerometer, inclinometer and flash glucose monitor. Study Three was a six-week, three-armed randomised feasibility trial for individuals at moderate-to-high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study used commercially available wearable physical activity (Fitbit Charge 2) and flash glucose (Freestyle Libre) technologies. Group 1 were offered glucose feedback for 4 weeks followed by glucose plus physical activity feedback for 2 weeks (G4GPA2). Group 2 were offered physical activity feedback for 4 weeks followed by glucose plus physical activity feedback for 2 weeks (PA4GPA2). Group 3 were offered glucose plus physical activity feedback for six weeks (GPA6). The primary outcome for the study was engagement, measured objectively by time spent on the Fitbit app, LibreLink app (companion app for the Freestyle Libre) as well as the frequency of scanning the Freestyle Libre and syncing the Fitbit. RESULTS. For Study One, 18 studies were included in the systematic review and of those, 15 examined neurological responses to smoking related health messages. The remaining three studies examined health messages about diet (k=2) and physical activity (k=1). Areas of the prefrontal cortex and amygdala were most commonly activated with increased activation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex predicting subsequent behaviour (e.g. smoking cessation). Study Two identified that presenting people with personalised feedback relating to interstitial glucose levels resulted in significantly more brain activation when compared with feedback on personalised movement behaviours (P < .001). Activations within regions of the prefrontal cortex were significantly greater for glucose feedback compared with feedback on personalised movement behaviours. Activation in the subgyral area was correlated with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity at follow-up (r=.392, P=.043). In Study Three, time spent on the LibreLink app significantly reduced for G4GPA2 and GPA6 (week 1: 20.2±20 versus week 6: 9.4±14.6min/day, p=.007) and significantly fewer glucose scans were recorded (week 1: 9.2±5.1 versus week 6: 5.9±3.4 scans/day, p=.016). Similarly, Fitbit app usage significantly reduced (week 1: 7.1±3.8 versus week 6: 3.8±2.9min/day p=.003). The number of Fitbit syncs did not change significantly (week 1: 6.9±7.8 versus week 6: 6.5±10.2 syncs/day, p=.752). CONCLUSIONS. Study One highlighted the fact that thus far the field has focused on examining neurological responses to health messages using fMRI for smoking with important knowledge gaps in the neurological evaluation of health messages for other lifestyle behaviours. The prefrontal cortex and amygdala were most commonly activated in response to health messages. Using fMRI, Study Two was able to contribute to the knowledge gaps identified in Study One, with personalised glucose feedback resulting in a greater neurological response than personalised feedback on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. From this, Study Three found that individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes were able to engage with digital health technologies offering real-time feedback on behaviour and physiology, with engagement diminishing over time. Overall, this thesis demonstrates the potential for digital health technologies to play a key role in feedback paradigms relating to chronic disease prevention.

The relationship between lifestyle and metabolic syndrome in college students as well as differences between men and women are analyzed. 970 students (67.4% women, 32.6% men) were randomly selected and assessed on lifestyle (EV), central obesity, and metabolic syndrome(SM). Results showed 4.63% with SM and 36.65% with obesity, women predominated. Predominant EV was good and better in men than women, highest frequency of SM was in bad EV. Relationship between gender, obesity, and SM was significant for the studied population. Differences were found between men and women. / El presente estudio busca analizar la relación entre estilo de vida y el síndrome metabólico en estudiantes universitarios, así como establecer si existen diferencias por sexo. Los participantes fueron 970 estudiantes (67.4% fueron mujeres y 32.6% hombres) seleccionados a partir de un muestreo aleatorio. Se evaluó el Estilo de vida (EV), la Obesidad central y el Síndrome metabólico (SM). Los resultados mostraron SM en 4.63% y obesidad en 36.65%, con mayor frecuencia en las mujeres. El EV predominante fue bueno y mejor en hombres que en mujeres, y la mayor frecuencia del SM fue en el EV malo. La relación entre género, obesidad, y SM fue significativa para la población estudiada. Se encontraron diferencias entre hombres y mujeres.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / Aggressive fiscal and monetary policies by governments of countries and central banks in developed markets could somehow push inflation to some very high level in the long run. Due to the decreasing of pension fund benefits and increasing inflation rate, pension companies are selling inflation-linked products to hedge against inflation risk. Such companies are seriously considering the possible effects of inflation volatility on their investment, and some of them tend to include inflationary allowances in the pension payment plan. In this dissertation we study the management of pension funds of the defined contribution type in the presence of inflation-recession. We study how the fund manager maximizes his fund's wealth when the salaries and stocks are affected by inflation. In this regard, we consider the case of a pension company which invests in a stock, inflation-linked bonds and a money market account, while basing its investment on the contribution of the plan member. We use a benchmarking approach and martingale methods to compute an optimal strategy which maximizes the fund wealth. / South Africa

In diploma thesis is an analysis of the literature to characterize health and healthy lifestyle. The aim of this thesis is to gain an overview of knowledge about health and physical activity, the level of knowledge about health issues of selected group of students at secondary technical schools. The theoretical part focuses on the definition of the term healthy lifestyle. For quantitative research is selected the knowledge test. The practical part presents results from 120 students of the knowledge test relating to issues of health physical activity and also the questionnaire of healthy lifestyle. The research found that the inform and knowledge in the areas of students of Secondary technical colleges (Machinery and Electrical) is average and it is not significantly different from the knowledge level of Secondary grammar school students. The diploma thesis can help to increase the knowledge level of students in the areas of health, an increase in motivation in applying and following a healthy lifestyle in your life.

Lifestyle is called like an approach man to himself, to others and to our environment. By doing so, we affect our health. Self-management uses the personal potential of humans to care for their health carried by more responsibility and be a good manager himself during period of health and illness. Thanks to healthy lifestyle we are able to reduce the load to the body and prevent premature aging. Compliance with the principles of healthy lifestyle and health promotion are important elements in the modern care of the senior´s population. The main theme of this thesis is the orientation of seniors in healthy lifestyle and their ability to take responsibility for their own health. This thesis consists of theoretical and empirical part. The theoretical part deals with old age and healthy lifestyle. There is also a topic that describes the role of nurses in the care of the seniors. The last topic of theoretical part is chapter of activities to promote senior´s health. This chapter is included a topic of self-management as a conscious behavior of the person aimed at encouraging his own health. For processing the empirical part of the thesis were used techniques of qualitative research. Data collection was performed by using semi-structured interviews. The research group consisted of seniors from 65 years old. The information was gathered by technique of interviews. The strategy of purposeful selection of respondents was chosen to obtain additional information necessary for the analysis. The criterion for the selection of respondents was willing to cooperate on research and a minimum age limit of 65 years of research sample consisted of twelve seniors divided into three age groups of four respondents. In each group were two women and two men. The first age group of respondents were aged 65 -70 years, in the second group aged 71 -75 years old and in the third group aged 76 and over. The sample consisted of senior´s citizens from České Budějovice and Tábor, who voluntarily agreed to give an interview and complied the criteria above. Interview contained identification questions, closed questions and open questions that allow individual replies. The aim was to identify attitude of senior people to healthy lifestyles in the timeline of senior´s age. At the beginning of the survey were asked four research questions. Do seniors know the principles of a healthy lifestyle? Are seniors able to follow the principles of healthy lifestyle? Is a medical condition of the seniors observing a healthy lifestyle better than the elderly who do not follow principles of healthy lifestyle? Is experience of self-management to a healthy lifestyle seen differently by women and men? By the interview technique was investigated senior´s attitude to healthy lifestyles, their knowledge of and complying of healthy lifestyle, how to care about health and how self-management is perceived in a healthy lifestyle by gender. The next step was an analysis of the collected data, which was an essential step to transcript of conversations followed by categorization. 11 same categories were created for each age group. For clarity, the selected categories were shown in the diagram. The research revealed that seniors have decent knowledge of the principles of healthy lifestyle. Seniors follow the principles of a healthy lifestyle by limits of their possibilities. They allow some reserves in the care of health and try to solve it. Health is more dependent on their age and their diseases. The question is how they care for their health in the past. The research revealed that women and men perceive self-management to a healthy lifestyle accordingly. Both genders tend to deal with shortcomings in the care of their health. Results of the research can help to analyze the situation of senior´s attitude to their health.