The Effects of the Yes You Can! Curriculum on the Sexual Knowledge and Intent of Middle School Students

BACKGROUND The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of the “Yes You Can!” (YYC) curriculum on sexual knowledge and behavioral intent of program participants. METHODS Participants included students ages 10‐14 from schools in a northeast US urban area. Yes You Can! program lessons were designed to support healthy relationships. The curriculum was taught by trained instructors. The testing instrument was a 30‐item questionnaire, which included sexual knowledge and intent items. Students completed the questionnaire before program implementation, immediately following intervention, and a third time at follow‐up. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance. Pretest knowledge scores were used as the covariate for the knowledge analyses. Pretest intent scores were used as the covariate for the intent analyses. RESULTS Results showed the intervention group had less intent to engage in sexual intercourse than the control group at post‐test (p \u3c .001) and at follow‐up (p \u3c .001). Similarly, the intervention group had higher knowledge scores than the control group at post‐test (p \u3c .001) and at follow‐up (p \u3c .001). CONCLUSIONS Results indicate that the YYC program had a statistically significant, positive impact on knowledge and sexual intent. These variables are important precursors to actual behavior. Future research should examine the effects of the program on changes in sexual behavior

Energy Expenditure and Physical Activity in Prader–Willi Syndrome Comparison With Obese Subjects

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Butler, Merlin G. et al. “Energy Expenditure and Physical Activity in Prader–Willi Syndrome: Comparison With Obese Subjects.” American journal of medical genetics. Part A 143A.5 (2007): 449–459., which has been published in final form at 10.1002/ajmg.a.31507. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by hypotonia, suck and feeding difficulties, hypogonadism, small hands and feet, developmental delay, hyperphagia and early childhood obesity and a particular facial appearance. The obesity associated with PWS is the result of a chronic imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure (EE) due to hyperphagia, decreased physical activity, reduced metabolic rate and an inability to vomit. EE is affected by body composition as well as exercise. Individuals with PWS have a lower lean body mass (LBM) compared with controls which may contribute to reduced basal level EE. To determine the relationship among body composition, activity levels and metabolic rates, dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and a whole-room respiration chamber were used to measure body composition, total EE (TEE), resting EE (REE), physical activity, and mechanical work (MW) during an 8 hr monitoring period. The chamber consisted of a live-in whole-room indirect calorimeter equipped with a force platform floor to allow simultaneous measurement of EE, physical activity, and work efficiency during spontaneous activities and standardized exercise. Participants with PWS (27 with 15q11–q13 deletion and 21 with maternal disomy 15 with an average age of 23 years) had significantly decreased TEE by 20% and reduced LBM compared to 24 obese subjects. Similarly, REE was significantly reduced by 16% in the individuals with PWS relative to the comparison subjects. Total MW performed during the 8 hr monitoring period was significantly reduced by 35% in the PWS group. The energy cost of physical activity is related to the duration, intensity and type of activity and the metabolic efficiency of the individual. After adjusting group differences in LBM by analysis of variance, TEE and REE were no longer different between the two groups. Our data indicate that there is a significant reduction of EE in individuals with PWS resulting from reduced activity but also from lower energy utilization due to reduced LBM which consists primarily of muscle

Dietary predictors of visceral adiposity in overweight young adults

The purpose of the present study was to determine the dietary predictors of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area in overweight young adults. A total of 109 young adults (fifty males and fifty-nine females) ate ad libitum in a university cafeteria for 14 d. All food and beverages consumed in the cafeteria were measured using observer-recorded weighed plate waste. Food consumption outside the cafeteria (i.e. snacks) was assessed by multiple-pass 24 h recall procedures. VAT was determined using computed tomography. Stepwise regression demonstrated that the best predictor of visceral adiposity in women was total dietary fat (P# 0–05). In men, the model for predicting visceral adiposity included Ca and total dietary fat. We concluded that total dietary fat is the best predictor of VAT area in both men and women. While this relationship was independent in women, in men there was a synergistic relationship between dietary fat consumption and Ca consumption in predicting VAT

Linear/Nonlinear Relations of Activity and Fitness with Children’s Academic Achievement

This is an an accepted manuscript and not the final published version.ABSTRACT: A growing research base suggests the benefits of physical activity (PA) and aerobic fitness for children extend beyond overall health/well-being to include academic achievement (AA). The majority of research studies on relations of PA and fitness with AA have utilized linear-only analytic approaches, thereby precluding the possibility that PA and fitness could have a differing impact on AA for those more/less active or fit. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate both linear and non-linear associations of PA and aerobic fitness with children’s AA among a sample of 687 2nd and 3rd grade students from 17 Midwest schools. STUDY DESIGN: Using baseline data (fall 2011) from a larger 3-year intervention trial, multi-level regression analyses examined the linear and non-linear associations of AA with PA and with PACER laps (i.e., aerobic fitness), controlling for relevant covariates. RESULTS: Fitness, but not PA, had a significant quadratic association with both spelling and math achievement. Results indicate that 22–28 laps on the PACER was the point at which the associated increase in achievement per lap plateaued for spelling and math. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing fitness could potentially have the greatest impact on children’s AA for those below the 50th fitness percentile on the PACER

Diet Quality of Overweight and Obese Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disbilities as Measured by the Healthy Eating Index-2005

BACKGROUND: Little research has been conducted to examine diet quality of overweight and obese adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the United States. The purpose of this study was to determine diet quality, as measured by the Healthy Eating Index-2005 (HEI-2005), of overweight and obese adults with IDD. METHODS: Data were obtained from community-dwelling overweight individuals. 3-day food records were administered and completed with assistance by staff or family members and then reviewed by a dietitian. All records were analyzed and HEI-2005 was calculated using NDSR output. RESULTS: 178 records were analyzed from 70 subjects (28 male, 42 female; mean age 33.9 ±11.5 years). The mean energy intake was 1928 ± 891 kcals and the mean total HEI-2005 score was 46.7± 11.5. Participants scored the lowest in total fruits, whole grains, dark green and orange vegetables, non-hydrogenated vegetable oils, and sodium. Both male and females had diets deficient in fiber, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, folate, and potassium. Additionally men were deficient in vitamin K, and women were deficient in calcium. CONCLUSIONS: Overweight and Obese adults with IDD had a lower HEI-2005 score compared to the general population and are at an increased risk of poor diet quality and nutritional deficiencies that could contribute to the development of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other health complication

Resistance to exercise-induced weight loss: compensatory behavioral adaptations

This is not the published version.In many interventions that are based on an exercise program intended to induce weight loss, the mean weight loss observed is modest and sometimes far less than the individual expected. The individual responses are also widely variable, with some individuals losing a substantial amount of weight, others maintaining weight, and a few actually gaining weight. The media have focused on the sub-population that loses little weight, contributing to a public perception that exercise has limited utility to cause weight loss. The purpose of the symposium was to present recent, novel data that help explain how compensatory behaviors contribute to a wide discrepancy in exercise-induced weight loss. The presentations provide evidence that some individuals adopt compensatory behaviors, i.e. increased energy intake and/or reduced activity, that offset the exercise energy expenditure and limit weight loss. The challenge for both scientists and clinicians is to develop effective tools to identify which individuals are susceptible to such behaviors, and to develop strategies to minimize their impact

Response

This is not the published version.See the article "Resistance to exercise-induced weight loss: compensatory behavioral adaptations" here at http://hdl.handle.net/1808/24571

Reliability of Peak Treadmill Exercise Tests in Mild Alzheimer Disease

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Neuroscience on August 2011, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.3109/00207454.2011.574762.The prevalence of Alzheimer disease (AD) doubles every 5 years after the age of 65, reaching nearly 50% after age 85 (Evans et al., 1989). This, along with an unprecedented growth in the elderly population, is leading to dramatic increases in the incidence of AD. Thus, effective strategies for promoting healthy brain aging and preventing AD are increasingly important. One strategy that appears promising in promoting healthy brain aging is exercise and physical activity. Evidence is accumulating that endurance exercise is beneficial to brain health (Laurin, Verreault, Lindsay, MacPherson, & Rockwood, 2001), and increased cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with increased brain volume in subjects with very mild to mild AD (Burns et al., 2008). While enhancing cardiorespiratory fitness may be a strategy for preventing cognitive decline in AD, there is limited information available on the validity and reliability of cardiorespiratory fitness measures in this population. The gold standard measure of cardiorespiratory fitness is maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) (Frankin, 2001), the highest rate of oxygen uptake attainable during maximal or exhaustive exercise (American College of Sports Medicine, 2005). If the subject becomes exhausted and ends the test prior to reaching the physiologic VO2max, the end of the test is called peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak). It is unknown if advanced age and cognitive difficulties in people with AD would limit their ability to fully participate in a standard graded exercise test to reliably assess VO2max or VO2peak. Treadmill exercise testing has been found to be reliable in subjects with traumatic brain injury and mental retardation, although these subjects were very young (Fernhall, Millar, Tymeson, & Burkett, 1990; Mossberg & Greene, 2005). Traumatic brain injury and mental retardation are different disease processes than AD and would be expected to result in static rather than progressive cognitive symptoms. With AD, memory is impaired as is the ability to follow commands, however patients in the earliest stages of AD would be expected to respond to prompting and reminders to follow testing procedures. To our knowledge, no studies have assessed the reliability of peak treadmill exercise testing in subjects with AD. In our previous research on patients with very mild to mild AD (Burns, et al., 2008), we have found them to be capable of ambulating on a treadmill and completing peak treadmill exercise testing with 3 participants out of 74 (126 total peak exercise tests) identified as having EKG changes during testing. All 3 participants had negative follow-up testing in cardiology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of a graded peak treadmill exercise test in elderly people with early AD

Construct validity of a continuous metabolic syndrome score in children

Objective: The primary purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of a continuous metabolic syndrome score (cMetS) in children. The secondary purpose was to identify a cutpoint value(s) for an adverse cMetS based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Methods: 378 children aged 7 to 9 years were assessed for the metabolic syndrome which was determined by age-modified cutpoints. High-density-lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, the homeostasis assessment model of insulin resistance, mean arterial pressure, and waist circumference were used to create a cMetS for each subject. Results: About half of the subjects did not possess any risk factors while about 5% possessed the metabolic syndrome. There was a graded relationship between the cMetS and the number of adverse risk factors. The cMetS was lowest in the group with no adverse risk factors (-1.59 ± 1.76) and highest in those possessing the metabolic syndrome (≥3 risk factors) (7.05 ± 2.73). The cutoff level yielding the maximal sensitivity and specificity for predicting the presence of the metabolic syndrome was a cMetS of 3.72 (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 93.9%, and the area of the curve = 0.978 (0.957-0.990, 95% confidence intervals). Conclusion: The results demonstrate the construct validity for the cMetS in children. Since there are several drawbacks to identifying a single cut-point value for the cMetS based on this sample, we urge researchers to use the approach herein to validate and create a cMetS that is specific to their study population

Comparison of a reduced carbohydrate and reduced fat diet for LDL, HDL, and VLDL subclasses during 9-months of weight maintenance subsequent to weight loss

Objectives: This study compared LDL, HDL, and VLDL subclasses in overweight or obese adults consuming either a reduced carbohydrate (RC) or reduced fat (RF) weight maintenance diet for 9 months following significant weight loss. Methods: Thirty-five (21 RC; 14 RF) overweight or obese middle-aged adults completed a 1-year weight management clinic. Participants met weekly for the first six months and bi-weekly thereafter. Meetings included instruction for diet, physical activity, and behavior change related to weight management. Additionally, participants followed a liquid very low-energy diet of ~2092 kJ per day for the first three months of the study. Subsequently, participants followed a dietary plan for nine months that targeted a reduced percentage of carbohydrate (~20%) or fat (~30%) intake and an energy intake level calculated to maintain weight loss. Lipid subclasses using NMR spectroscopy were analyzed prior to weight loss and at multiple intervals during weight maintenance. Results: Body weight change was not significantly different within or between groups during weight maintenance (p > 0.05). The RC group showed significant increases in mean LDL size, large LDL, total HDL, large and small HDL, mean VLDL size, and large VLDL during weight maintenance while the RF group showed increases in total HDL, large and small HDL, total VLDL, and large, medium, and small VLDL (p 0.05). Conclusion: Some individual lipid subclasses improved in both dietary groups. Large and medium VLDL subclasses increased to a greater extent across weight maintenance in the RF group