APPERENCE OF GLUCOSE AND TRIGYCERIDE IN THE BLOOD FOLLOWING CONSUMPTION OF DIFFERENT NUTRITION BARS

M. Stewart1, M. Bredehoft1, K. Ekman1, M. Hanson1, K. Murphy1, A. Nelson1, E. Donovan2, and D.B. Thorp1 1Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA, 2Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ Carbohydrates (CHO) are preferably oxidized when energy turnover occurs at a high rate, so increasing CHO intake may be beneficial during high-intensity exercise when higher rates of energy turnover occur. Higher intakes of triglycerides (TG) have been suggested to increase fat oxidation which could benefit endurance athletes. PURPOSE: To discover how ingestion of two nutrition bars with differing macronutrient content will impact blood TG (BTG) and blood glucose (BG) concentrations. We hypothesize that after ingesting a bar higher in CHO (HC), the BG will be greater, and that BTG will be greater after HF ingestion. METHODS: 6 female and 3 male healthy participants aged 20-22 years arrived fasted for two experimental trial days where they ate either the HC or the HF bar. The order of bar consumption was randomized. Capillary blood samples were obtained via finger stick while fasted and every 15-minutes for 90-minutes following consumption to measure BG and BTG concentrations. Respiratory exchange ratio (RER) was measured via indirect calorimetry for 5-minutes following finger sticks (while fasted and following consumption). The percent change in BG and BTG concentrations from fasted to peak post-consumption values were calculated and compared between bars using a paired t-test. RER throughout was analyzed using a two-way repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Ingestion of both HC and HF bars resulted in significant increases in BG expressed as percent change from fasted to peak post-consumption concentration, with HC (50.5 ± 28.9 %) resulting in a larger increase than HF (32.8 ± 8.8 %), p = 0.05. Similarly, ingestion of both bars resulted in a significant increase in BTG, but there was no difference in percent increase between the two bars; HC (41.7 ± 65.5 %) and HF (72.0 ± 58.8), p = 0.408. There was no impact of the HC (0.83 ± 0.01) and HF (0.83 ± 0.01) on RER following consumption, p = 0.381. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that ingesting a HC bar could be more beneficial for short duration, high intensity workouts. While not statistically significant, the mean data may suggest that ingesting a HF bar could benefit longer duration, low intensity workouts that might benefit from an elevated BTG. Further research should aim to deduce how exercise metabolism is affected after consuming the bars during exercise

Exercise Video Games and Exercise Self-Efficacy in Children

The aim of this article was to investigate the use of exergaming in promoting exercise behavior among children and to examine the impact of the intervention on participants’ exercise self-efficacy, in addition to assessing physiological changes. A sample of 55 children enrolled in the Family Fit program, where participants were categorized into 2 groups: healthy weight and overweight. Measures were taken at baseline, after the 7-week program, at the 12-week follow-up, and at the 24-month follow-up. Positive changes in exercise self-efficacy were significant for the overweight group, while the healthy weight group maintained their exercise self-efficacy. At the 24-month follow-up, 97% children reported being interested in participating in a future fitness program, and 96% children who did not play sports before the intervention started practicing sports. Exercise self-efficacy is a predictor of physical activity, and incorporating exergaming in a structured program may lead to increased self-efficacy in participants

Identification of diamino acids in the Murchison meteorite

Amino acids identified in the Murchison chondritic meteorite by molecular and isotopic analysis are thought to have been delivered to the early Earth by asteroids, comets, and interplanetary dust particles where they may have triggered the appearance of life by assisting in the synthesis of proteins via prebiotic polycondensation reactions [Oró, J. (1961) Nature 190, 389–390; Chyba, C. F. & Sagan, C. (1992) Nature 355, 125–132]. We report the identification of diamino acids in the Murchison meteorite by new enantioselective GC-MS analyses. dl-2,3-diaminopropanoic acid, dl-2,4-diaminobutanoic acid, 4,4′-diaminoisopentanoic acid, 3,3′-diaminoisobutanoic acid, and 2,3-diaminobutanoic acid were detected in the parts per billion range after chemical transformation into N,N-diethoxycarbonyl ethyl ester derivatives. The chiral diamino acids show a racemic ratio. Laboratory data indicate that diamino acids support the formation of polypeptide structures under primitive Earth conditions [Brack, A. & Orgel, L. E. (1975) Nature 256, 383–387] and suggest polycondensation reactions of diamino acids into early peptide nucleic acid material as one feasible pathway for the prebiotic evolution of DNA and RNA genomes [Joyce, G. F. (2002) Nature 418, 214–221]. The results obtained in this study favor the assumption that not only amino acids (as the required monomers of proteins) form in interstellar/circumstellar environments, but also the family of diamino monocarboxylic acids, which might have been relevant in prebiotic chemistry