Racial Disparities between the Sex Steroid Milieu and the Metabolic Risk Profile

Aims and Method. The present study examined the relationship between the metabolic risk profile (MRP) and total testosterone (TT) and free testosterone using the free androgen index (FAI) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in 36 Caucasian American (CA) and 30 African-American (AA) women volunteering for a weight loss study. Results. After controlling for age, significant relationships were found between TT and diastolic blood pressure (P = .004 and P = .015 in CA and AA women, resp.). Additionally, total cholesterol (P = .003), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = .004), apolipoprotein B (P = .006), and the total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = .027) were significantly related to TT in AA women only. In CA women, similar measures of glucose/insulin status related to FAI, were also related to SHBG. In both CA and AA women, SHBG was related to waist (P = .031 and P = .022 resp.). Conclusion. Our findings showed racial disparities in the relationship between the sex steroid milieu and the MRP in overweight/obese CA and AA women

The effects of an active-assisted stretching program on functional performance in elderly persons: A pilot study

This study examined the impact of an eight-week active-assisted (AA) stretching program on functionality, mobility, power, and range of motion (ROM) in elderly residents of a residential retirement community. Seventeen volunteers (4 male, 13 female; 88.8 ± 5.36 years) were randomly assigned to an AA or control group. The AA group performed 10 different AA stretches targeting the major joints of the body twice weekly for eight weeks. Controls attended classes requiring limited physical activity. All participants were assessed using four flexibility and six functional tests, one week before and after the eight-week training period. A fully randomized repeated-measures ANCOVA with pretest scores as a covariate was used to detect differences between groups across time. The AA group demonstrated significant increases in ROM for most of the joints evaluated (p < 0.05) and significant increases in all performance measures (p < 0.05). Controls showed no improvements in functional or ROM measures (α = 0.05). Additionally, the AA group showed significantly better performance outcomes across the training period than controls. We conclude that our eight-week flexibility program effectively reduces age-related losses in ROM and improves functional performance in elderly persons with insufficient physical reserves to perform higher-intensity exercises

Racial Disparities between the Sex Steroid Milieu and the Metabolic Risk Profile

Aims and Method. The present study examined the relationship between the metabolic risk profile (MRP) and total testosterone (TT) and free testosterone using the free androgen index (FAI) and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in 36 Caucasian American (CA) and 30 African-American (AA) women volunteering for a weight loss study. Results. After controlling for age, significant relationships were found between TT and diastolic blood pressure (P = .004 and P = .015 in CA and AA women, resp.). Additionally, total cholesterol (P = .003), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = .004), apolipoprotein B (P = .006), and the total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = .027) were significantly related to TT in AA women only. In CA women, similar measures of glucose/insulin status related to FAI, were also related to SHBG. In both CA and AA women, SHBG was related to waist (P = .031 and P = .022 resp.). Conclusion. Our findings showed racial disparities in the relationship between the sex steroid milieu and the MRP in overweight/obese CA and AA women

National Athletic Trainers\u27 Association Position Statement: Safe Weight Loss and Maintenance Practices in Sport and Exercise

Objective: To present athletic trainers with recommendations for safe weight loss and weight maintenance practices for athletes and active clients and to provide athletes, clients, coaches, and parents with safe guidelines that will allow athletes and clients to achieve and maintain weight and body composition goals. Background: Unsafe weight management practices can compromise athletic performance and negatively affect health. Athletes and clients often attempt to lose weight by not eating, limiting caloric or specific nutrients from the diet, engaging in pathogenic weight control behaviors, and restricting fluids. These people often respond to pressures of the sport or activity, coaches, peers, or parents by adopting negative body images and unsafe practices to maintain an ideal body composition for the activity. We provide athletic trainers with recommendations for safe weight loss and weight maintenance in sport and exercise. Although safe weight gain is also a concern for athletic trainers and their athletes and clients, that topic is outside the scope of this position statement. Recommendations: Athletic trainers are often the source of nutrition information for athletes and clients; therefore, they practices, and methods to change body composition. Body composition assessments should be done in the most scientifically appropriate manner possible. Reasonable and individualized weight and body composition goals should be identified by appropriately trained health care personnel (eg, athletic trainers, registered dietitians, physicians). In keeping with the American Dietetics Association (ADA) preferred nomenclature, this document uses the terms registered dietitian or dietician when referring to a food and nutrition expert who has met the academic and professional requirements specified by the ADA\u27s Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education. In some cases, a registered nutritionist may have equivalent credentials and be the commonly used term. All weight management and exercise protocols used to achieve these goals should be safe and based on the most current evidence. Athletes, clients, parents, and coaches should be educated on how to determine safe weight and body composition so that athletes and clients more safely achieve competitive weights that will meet sport and activity requirements while also allowing them to meet their energy and nutritional needs for optimal health and performance

Cardiac performance, biomarkers and gene expression studies in previously sedentary men participating in half-marathon training

BACKGROUND: The mechanisms through which exercise reduces cardiovascular disease are not fully understood. We used echocardiograms, cardiac biomarkers and gene expression to investigate cardiovascular effects associated with exercise training. METHODS: Nineteen sedentary men (22-37 years) completed a 17-week half-marathon training program. Serial measurements of resting heart rate, blood pressure, maximum oxygen consumption, lipids, C-reactive protein, cardiac troponin T, echocardiograms and blood for gene expression were obtained from baseline to peak training. Controls included 22 sedentary men who did not exercise. RESULTS: Among the training group, VO2 max increased from 37.1 to 42.0 ml/kg/min (p \u3c 0.001). Significant changes were seen in left ventricular wall thickness and mass, stroke volume, resting heart rate and blood pressure (p \u3c 0.001). The control group demonstrated no significant changes. Expression profiling in the training group identified 10 significantly over-expressed and 53 significantly under-expressed loci involved in inflammatory pathways. Dividing the training group into high and low responders based on percent change in VO2 max identified loci that differentiated these two groups at baseline and after training. CONCLUSION: Intensive exercise training leads to significant increase in cardiac and hemodynamic performance, and significant changes in expression of genes involved in immune and inflammatory response.

The Impact of Total Caloric and Macronutrient Consumption on Strength and Power During an Off-Season Training Program in Collegiate Volleyball Players

Adequate caloric and carbohydrate intakes are necessary for positive adaptations to exercise training, yet there is limited research examining dietary intake in relation to strength and power in female athletes. The purpose of this study was to determine 1) whether there were significant changes in weekly total caloric and macronutrient consumption, strength, and power, and 2) whether total caloric and macronutrient consumption significantly and positively contributed to changes in strength and power across a controlled eight-week, off-season resistance training program. Eleven collegiate-level female volleyball players were examined on macronutrient consumption, strength, and power at two-week intervals using three-day food logs, 3-repetition maximum bench press and back squat, and vertical jump, respectively. Five assessments were conducted on each subject. Alpha level was set at r < 0.05. Paired samples t-tests showed improvements in body mass index, lean body mass, percent body fat, and lower body strength and power following eight weeks of training (r < .05) despite no significant changes in total calories or macronutrients. Results of a weighted regression analysis indicated that both total caloric consumption and carbohydrate intake influenced lower body power after training (r < .05). However, nutrient intake did not impact strength or power at any of the two-week intervals. We believe these findings are related to the neuromuscular adaptations that occur early in training. A longer resistance training program resulting in gains in muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) may be necessary to further examine the contribution of calories and macronutrients to performance-related variables