The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of diet and physical activity behaviors on weight status and lipid profiles in low-income women in early postpartum. In addition, the relationship of nutrition knowledge with dietary intakes was evaluated. A convenience sample of low-income mothers was recruited from public health clinics, community centers, and doctor's offices. Inclusion criteria was Hispanic, African American, or Caucasian ethnicity; body mass index (BMI) [greater-than or equal to] 25 kg/m², low-income (annual household income <185% federal poverty line); parity<3 and ability to speak and write English. Demographic, dietary (24-hr recalls and 2 day food intake recalls), psychosocial, anthropometric, serum lipids (LDL, HDL and total cholesterol and triglycerides) and physical activity (pedometer steps) data were collected. For study 1, the Healthy Eating Index-2005 (HEI-2005) scores were computed as a measure of diet quality in a sample of 125 women. Analysis of Covariance and linear regression was performed to determine the relationship between HEI-2005 and serum lipids. The mean total index score of the sample was 51.4 and was associated inversely with BMI ([beta]=-0.117), LDL ([beta]=-.659) and total ([beta]=-.690) and positively with HDL ([beta]=.216) (P<0.05). Less than 20% of the sample failed to meet the recommendations for fruits, total vegetables, whole grains and oil and 60% had overconsumption of solid fats, alcohol and added sugars. In study 2, snacking frequency and choices of 134 postpartum women were evaluated. Influence of snacking frequency on HEI-2005 scores and disparities in snack choices by BMI categories was assessed by performing ANCOVA. A majority of the sample (82%) consumed snacks and the most favored snack group was sweets and desserts. Increase in snacking frequency was associated with higher mean total HEI-2005 scores, and total fruit, dark green vegetables and legumes, total grains, and saturated fat (P<0.05) component scores when adjusted for energy intakes. Snacking frequency was also associated with higher intakes of protein, vitamins A and C, and calcium (P<0.05). In study 3, 66 new mothers participated and completed an 8-week weight loss intervention promoting exercise by using pedometers. Paired t test revealed improvement in physical activity after intervention. Linear regression analysis determined the ability of pedometer steps to predict weight loss ([beta]=0.465), % body fat ([beta]=-0.316), triglycerides ([beta]=-0.549), LDL ([beta]=-0.391) and total cholesterol ([beta]=-0.418). In study 4, a nutrition knowledge scale was developed and validated in new mothers. Knowledge was associated with greater consumption of grains, low fat meats and dairy (P<0.01), fiber (p<0.01), calcium (p<0.001), and iron (p<0.05). Participants appeared to be more cognizant of information about vitamins and minerals and weight management and less of energy nutrients and calorie counting. Hierarchical regression model identified age, education, ethnicity and income as determinants of knowledge. / text

No description available.

A osteoporose é uma doença que afeta o tecido ósseo diminuindo sua resistência, que é determinada pela sua densidade, arquitetura e velocidade de remodelamento. O método padrão atualmente utilizado para seu diagnóstico e monitoramento é a densitometria óssea, que utiliza radiação ionizante, e que, por ser caro, é inacessível à maioria da população de baixa renda. Tem, ainda, o inconveniente de não avaliar adequadamente a massa óssea e nem a sua resistência. Vários estudos têm sido publicados discutindo o uso de técnicas complementares ou alternativas para tornar essa avaliação mais confiável. Uma dessas técnicas é a ultra-sonometria óssea do calcâneo, que se baseia na análise da propagação do ultra-som através do osso traduzindo informações de sua qualidade e, com isso, predizendo o risco de fratura, principalmente do colo do fêmur. Esse método não utiliza radiação ionizante, é de fácil aplicação e de baixo custo. Atualmente é utilizado para rastreamento populacional de indivíduos candidatos à densitometria óssea. Como os resultados desse método têm uma melhor correlação com o indivíduo idoso e na avaliação do colo do fêmur, propôs-se a sua utilização para avaliar pacientes de baixa renda cadastrados em serviços públicos de saúde, a maioria com doenças concomitantes, rastreando-os para que sejam submetidos a programas de prevenção de fraturas do fêmur, conseqüência de maior morbidade e mortalidade da osteoporose. Como método, um grupo de 757 mulheres idosas foi submetido à avaliação pela ultra-sonometria óssea do calcâneo. Destas, 71% foram considerados com risco aumentado de fratura (24% com osteoporose e 47% com osteopenia, de acordo com os critérios da OMS para a densitometria óssea) e 29% normais, dados importantes pelo elevado número de indivíduos em risco. Outros parâmetros também foram analisados em função de um questionário respondido pelas examinadas, que mostrou, entre outras informações, a concomitância de moléstias. / Osteoporosis is a disease which affects the bone tissue reducing its resistance that is determined by its density, architecture and speed of remodeling. Currently, the pattern method used for its diagnosis and monitoring is the bone densitometry which makes use of ionizing radiation and because of its high costs, it is not available to the majority of the low-income population. It also has the inconvenience of neither assessing adequately the bone mass nor its resistance. Several studies have been published discussing the use of complementary or alternative techniques to make this evaluation more reliable. One of these techniques is the bone ultra-sonometry of the calcaneus which is based on the analysis of the ultrasound propagation thought the bone translating information about its quality and therefore predicting mainly the fracture risk in the femoral collum this method do not use ionizing radiation, it is easy to apply and has low costs. Nowadays, it is used for populational screening of individuals who are candidates for bone densitometry. As its results have a better correlation with this method in the old individual and in the assessment of the femoral neck, its utilization its proposed to evaluate low-income patients registered at the public health, most of them suffering from concomitant diseases, screening them in the order to be submitted to preventive programs of femoral fractures, the consequence of increased morbity and mortality related to osteoporosis. As a method, a group of 757 old women was submitted to the evaluation by the bone ultra-sonometry of the calcaneus. 71% or the women were considered with increased fracture risk (24% with osteoporosis and 47% with osteopenia according to the WHO criteria for densitometry) and 29% were normal, important data because of the high number of individuals at risk. Other parameters were also analyzed in terms of a questionnaire answered by the evaluated women showing the concomitance of diseases besides other information. The obtained data are not coincident with those from the literature that observes old individuals who were randomly chosen within the population in general. Such a fact is related to the criterion used for the choice of the studied universe constituted by patients and not simply by individuals who were already registered at the health treatment service. For these reasons, it was concluded that the method in question is valuable to screen low-income old women with the facture risk increased by the reduction of the bone resistance and conduct them to preventive programs of femoral fractures.

The purpose of this research was to examine psychosocial and body weight correlates of dietary behavior in low-income tri-ethnic women. In Study 1, a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed and validated against diet records in 95 college women and 50 low-income postpartum women. Pearson's correlations were 0.42 among college women and 0.45 among low-income women. Cross-classification of participants into quartiles resulted in 76% of college women and 79% of low-income women being classified correctly. These results suggested that the FFQ was valid for dietary assessment among young women in the southwestern United States. In Study 2, approximately 160 mothers were recruited in the hospital 0-1 days following childbirth, and prepregnancy weight and demographic information were obtained. Weight was measured at 6 months and 1 year postpartum; psychosocial factors were assessed at 1 year. Diet during pregnancy and postpartum was assessed via food frequency questionnaires administered at 1.5 months, and at 6 and 12 months postpartum, respectively. From pregnancy to postpartum, % calories from fat (delta = +1.1%, p<0.05) and added sugar (delta = +2.0%, p<0.05) increased. A greater percentage of lactating than non-lactating women (64% vs. 38%, p<0.05) met recommendations for fruits during pregnancy. Mean intakes of calcium, vitamin A and dairy foods were higher in women who had retained <10% of their prepregnancy weight at 1 year postpartum than in those who had gained [greater-than or equal to] 10%. During late postpartum, women in the highest tertile of compliance with dietary recommendations had a more positive body image (p<0.041) than those in the lowest tertile, and less neglect of self-care (p<0.001), weight-related distress (p<0.006), stress (p<0.009), depressive symptoms (p<0.020), and perceived barriers to weight loss (p<0.039). These findings suggest that the transition from pregnancy to postpartum is associated with a negative impact on dietary behavior in low-income women. Intakes of calcium, vitamin A and dairy foods may be associated with lower weight retention in postpartum. Furthermore, psychosocial variables may influence adherence to dietary guidelines during this time. / text

A large and growing body of scholarship has suggested that income poverty has recently decreased in post-apartheid South Africa. Evidence for an overall drop in poverty rates notwithstanding, there has been very little work which has examined the gendered nature of poverty. There have, however, been important changes over the period which might suggest that poverty trends have been gendered. On the one hand, for example, the post-apartheid period has seen the expansion of several grants to support the care-givers of children and the elderly as well as employment growth for women. On the other hand, this same period has been characterised by declining marital rates, rising rates of female unemployment, and women increasingly overrepresented in low-wage work, changes which would be expected to have negative implications for women's economic well-being. This thesis uses nationally representative household survey data from the October Household Surveys (1997 and 1999) and the General Household Surveys (2004 and 2006) to investigate gendered trends in income poverty in several different ways. It examines first, whether females are more likely to live in poor households than males, and whether this has changed over time; and second, how poverty has changed among female- and male-headed households. The thesis also considers why females and female-headed households are more vulnerable to poverty and why the poverty differential between males and females (and female- and male-headed households) may have widened over time. Given the criticism of headship based analyses of income poverty, the thesis also investigates poverty and female headship in greater detail by adopting several alternative definitions of female headship that are commonly used in the literature. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

A osteoporose é uma doença que afeta o tecido ósseo diminuindo sua resistência, que é determinada pela sua densidade, arquitetura e velocidade de remodelamento. O método padrão atualmente utilizado para seu diagnóstico e monitoramento é a densitometria óssea, que utiliza radiação ionizante, e que, por ser caro, é inacessível à maioria da população de baixa renda. Tem, ainda, o inconveniente de não avaliar adequadamente a massa óssea e nem a sua resistência. Vários estudos têm sido publicados discutindo o uso de técnicas complementares ou alternativas para tornar essa avaliação mais confiável. Uma dessas técnicas é a ultra-sonometria óssea do calcâneo, que se baseia na análise da propagação do ultra-som através do osso traduzindo informações de sua qualidade e, com isso, predizendo o risco de fratura, principalmente do colo do fêmur. Esse método não utiliza radiação ionizante, é de fácil aplicação e de baixo custo. Atualmente é utilizado para rastreamento populacional de indivíduos candidatos à densitometria óssea. Como os resultados desse método têm uma melhor correlação com o indivíduo idoso e na avaliação do colo do fêmur, propôs-se a sua utilização para avaliar pacientes de baixa renda cadastrados em serviços públicos de saúde, a maioria com doenças concomitantes, rastreando-os para que sejam submetidos a programas de prevenção de fraturas do fêmur, conseqüência de maior morbidade e mortalidade da osteoporose. Como método, um grupo de 757 mulheres idosas foi submetido à avaliação pela ultra-sonometria óssea do calcâneo. Destas, 71% foram considerados com risco aumentado de fratura (24% com osteoporose e 47% com osteopenia, de acordo com os critérios da OMS para a densitometria óssea) e 29% normais, dados importantes pelo elevado número de indivíduos em risco. Outros parâmetros também foram analisados em função de um questionário respondido pelas examinadas, que mostrou, entre outras informações, a concomitância de moléstias. / Osteoporosis is a disease which affects the bone tissue reducing its resistance that is determined by its density, architecture and speed of remodeling. Currently, the pattern method used for its diagnosis and monitoring is the bone densitometry which makes use of ionizing radiation and because of its high costs, it is not available to the majority of the low-income population. It also has the inconvenience of neither assessing adequately the bone mass nor its resistance. Several studies have been published discussing the use of complementary or alternative techniques to make this evaluation more reliable. One of these techniques is the bone ultra-sonometry of the calcaneus which is based on the analysis of the ultrasound propagation thought the bone translating information about its quality and therefore predicting mainly the fracture risk in the femoral collum this method do not use ionizing radiation, it is easy to apply and has low costs. Nowadays, it is used for populational screening of individuals who are candidates for bone densitometry. As its results have a better correlation with this method in the old individual and in the assessment of the femoral neck, its utilization its proposed to evaluate low-income patients registered at the public health, most of them suffering from concomitant diseases, screening them in the order to be submitted to preventive programs of femoral fractures, the consequence of increased morbity and mortality related to osteoporosis. As a method, a group of 757 old women was submitted to the evaluation by the bone ultra-sonometry of the calcaneus. 71% or the women were considered with increased fracture risk (24% with osteoporosis and 47% with osteopenia according to the WHO criteria for densitometry) and 29% were normal, important data because of the high number of individuals at risk. Other parameters were also analyzed in terms of a questionnaire answered by the evaluated women showing the concomitance of diseases besides other information. The obtained data are not coincident with those from the literature that observes old individuals who were randomly chosen within the population in general. Such a fact is related to the criterion used for the choice of the studied universe constituted by patients and not simply by individuals who were already registered at the health treatment service. For these reasons, it was concluded that the method in question is valuable to screen low-income old women with the facture risk increased by the reduction of the bone resistance and conduct them to preventive programs of femoral fractures.

This longitudinal study examined factors influencing the relationship between sustained partner violence and depression/suicidality among ethnically diverse, low income, community women. The sample at Wave 1 consisted of 303 African American, 273 Euro-American, and 260 Mexican American women in long term relationships with a household income less that twice the poverty threshold. There were no ethnic differences on frequency of partner violence, depression, or suicidality. The moderate relationship between partner violence and women's depression, confirmed previous findings. Frequency, but not recency, of violence predicted depression and suicidal ideation for African Americans and Mexican Americans, even after controlling for earlier depression or ideation. Recent violence did not predict Euro-American's depression or suicidality after controlling for initial scores. Causal and responsibility attributions for partners' violence did not mediate the relationship between violence and depression or suicidality in any ethnic group. However, African American women's attributions of global effects for violence mediated the relationship of violence on depression and suicidal ideation. Poverty level and marital status moderated the relationship between violence and the number of times women seriously considered and actually attempted suicide. Frequent violence was most lethal among the poorest women and marriage provided the least protection for women in the most violent relationships. Specifically, poverty status moderated violence on consideration of suicide for African Americans and Euro-Americans and suicide attempts among Mexican Americans. Marital status moderated partners' violence on suicidal ideation and attempts for Mexican Americans and consideration of suicide for Euro-Americans, but was not a moderator for African Americans' depression or suicidality. Women with different ethnic backgrounds appear to differ in the ways partner violence contributes to their depression and suicidality. Policy implications include the need to offer suicide intervention, particularly for low income women seeking services for violence. Mental health professionals should routinely inquire about partner violence when women present with depression or suicidality. Further, sensitivity to ethnic differences is recommended when confronting women's attributions regarding violence.

No description available.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:57:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Vera Lucia.pdf: 1113255 bytes, checksum: c33a0ac794586066a13b6d297c6be640 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-05-06 / This study aims at understanding the female condition withim an existencial phenomenological perspective from the psychoeducative view. We intended to discuss how the female conditions are lived and faced by a group a low-income women from the outs of the city of São Paulo and the meanings that are attributed by them. The female condition showed in the psychoeducative program, according to their life experiences was approached through a qualitative and hermeneutic method. The psychoeducative program as a room for specialized hearing and attention revealed itself as a locus of warmth and search for reflection for the ones who look for it. The focus in the educational practice, referring to the socializing, development and educational process had its center in the dialogical theory proposed by Paulo Freire and the phenomenological orientation by Hanna Arendt. Generally speaking, the offering of this new proposal of educational practice the psychoeducative program as a locus of specialized hearing, through the narratives of their life stories, contributed to reveal the female condition and the poverty context and violence they face. On the other hand, it was observed that other ways may be found through actions with other people engaged instead of the silence and isolation of their private settings. Other aspects considered in this study were the search of new meanings and senses through the comprehension of the dialogical situation, in the interpersonal changes among people who talked about their experiences and the ones responsible for the research interviews. / Este trabalho propõe-se a compreender a condição feminina numa perspectiva fenomenológica existencial, a partir do plantão psicoeducativo. Pretendeu-se discutir como a condição feminina é vivida pelas mulheres de uma comunidade de baixa renda da periferia de São Paulo e os significados que são atribuídos por elas. A condição feminina desvelada no plantão psicoeducativo pela narrativa das experiências vividas, foi abordada através do método qualitativo e hermenêutico. O plantão psicoeducativo, como um espaço de escuta especializada e de atenção, revelou-se um locus de acolhimento e busca de reflexão para as mulheres que o procuraram. O foco nas práticas educativas referentes aos processos de socialização, criação e educação, teve como eixo a proposta dialógica de Paulo Freire e a orientação fenomenológica de Hanna Arendt. De modo geral, o oferecimento dessa nova proposta de prática educativa, o plantão psicoeducativo, como um espaço de escuta especializada por meio das narrativas de histórias de vida, contribuiu para revelar a condição feminina e o contexto de pobreza e violência no qual se encontram essas mulheres. Por outro lado, mostrou que se pode encontrar saídas contando com ações de outras pessoas e não no silêncio e isolamento da esfera privada. Oportunizou, também, emergir significados e sentidos devido à compreensão, pela reflexividade da situação dialógica, nas trocas intersubjetivas entre as pessoas que trouxeram suas experiências e a pesquisadora plantonista.

No description available.