A Review of Weight Control Strategies and Their Effects on the Regulation of Hormonal Balance

The estimated prevalence of obesity in the USA is 72.5 million adults with costs attributed to obesity more than 147 billion dollars per year. Though caloric restriction has been used extensively in weight control studies, short-term success has been difficult to achieve, with long-term success of weight control being even more elusive. Therefore, novel approaches are needed to control the rates of obesity that are occurring globally. The purpose of this paper is to provide a synopsis of how exercise, sleep, psychological stress, and meal frequency and composition affect levels of ghrelin, cortisol, insulin GLP-1, and leptin and weight control. We will provide information regarding how hormones respond to various lifestyle factors which may affect appetite control, hunger, satiety, and weight control

Cardiorespiratory Responses during Aquatic Treadmill Exercise and Land Treadmill Exercise in Adults with Diabetes

The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of aquatic treadmill (ATM) exercise to land treadmill (LTM) exercise in adults with type 2 diabetes. Five participants with type 2 diabetes (T2D group; 4 females, 1 male; age = 51±6 years; height = 170±7 cm; weight = 96±24 kg; body fat = 31.6±2.2%) and five participants without type 2 diabetes (control group; 4 females, 1 male; age = 51±6 years; height = 170±6 cm; weight = 71±15 kg; body fat = 26.8±4.6%) completed the study. Protocols for both ATM exercise and LTM exercise began at 2 mph with 0% grade and increased by 1 mph after 5 minutes at each stage. Termination occurred after participants completed the protocol or reached 85% of heart rate reserve. Heart rate, absolute and relative VO2, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured at rest and during steady-state exercise at each intensity. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was calculated. A 2 x 2 x 3 Mixed Factorial ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test with a significance level of .0125 were used. There was a significant difference (p2 of the two groups at 4 mph while performing the land treadmill exercise (T2D: 14.1±1.4 ml/kg/min vs. control: 18.4±1.6 ml/kg/min, p2 between participant groups or modes of exercise. Those with type 2 diabetes had an increased MAP versus those without type 2 diabetes while performing the land treadmill exercise at 2 mph (T2D: 93±3 mmHg vs. control: 81±5 mmHg, p2, and MAP respond similarly in both groups during ATM and LTM exercise at most treadmill speeds

Changes in Health and Physical Fitness Parameters After 6 Months of High-intensity Group Exercise in Firefighters: Preliminary Data

The physical demands of firefighting require the men and women employed in this profession to be in optimal physical condition to perform their jobs proficiently, as well as to mitigate the risk of injury. Every year, the city of Addison, TX, budgets many thousands of dollars to the compensation plan for first responders. Most of the funding is used for rehabilitation services due to work related injuries. PURPOSE: While many of these injuries are unavoidable due to the inherent risks of the profession, ensuring proper physical fitness is one of the most effective methods to reduce many of these impairments. The purpose of this preliminary study was to characterize health and fitness parameters in 18 professional firefighters from the city of Addison, TX, prior to a 6-month training program. METHODS: Upon arrival, all participants underwent testing in the following order: body composition, range of motion, anaerobic power, muscular endurance, and cardiorespiratory fitness. All participants also completed a detailed health history questionnaire and answered questions specifically addressing chronic low back pain. RESULTS: The following values were attained from testing: total body fat: 30.1±9.7%; flexibility: 24.9±6.3 cm; peak power: 1068.7±272.9 W; mean power: 636.9±143.4 W; time to peak power 0.57±0.35 sec; pushup: 28.8±14.9; curl up: 22.1±15.8; VO2max: 34.1±5.1 ml/kg/min. CONCLUSION: Based off the comparison of reported means and ACSM’s fitness norms, it can be concluded that improvements are necessary in body composition, muscular endurance, range of motion and cardiorespiratory fitness. With improvements in these physiological variables, tactical performance may be optimally performed in a safer manner

The Effects of Blue Light Exposure on Measures of Lower-Body Strength and Power

Recently blue light exposure at night has received negative attention due to its ability to interrupt the sleep-wake cycle through reducing melatonin production and increasing alertness. However, when individuals are exposed to blue light in the morning a number of positive benefits have been observed such as; decreases in depressive symptoms, increases in cognitive function, decreases in reaction time, and increases in alertness. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine if blue light exposure in the early morning was capable of increasing measures of lower-body strength and power. METHODS: A repeated measures crossover design was used to determine differences in performance. Nineteen participants completed all data collection. Nine male (age = 20.3 ± 0.8 yrs., height = 174 ± 2.2 cm, weight = 71.6 ± 5.7 kg) and ten female (age = 21.4 ± 0.5 yrs., height = 166.2 ± 2.3 cm, weight = 69.5 ± 5.6 kg) participants completed 2 trials with a minimum of 72 hours between each trial. Participants arrived to the laboratory between 0600 and 0900 within 30 minutes of waking for each trial. For each trial, participants completed a 30-minute warmup period consisting of 15 minutes of passive rest and 15 minutes of cycling. The treatment trial received blue light exposure during the entirety (30 minutes) of the warm up while the control trial was exposed to minimal florescent lighting. Blue light exposure was in the form of glasses that emit 100 lux at approximately 468 nm wavelength of blue light. Following the warm up, researchers measured dynamic knee extensor torque (10 repetitions of isokinetic knee extension and flexion at 180 and 300° / sec) and peak isometric knee extensor strength with an isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex Medical Systems Inc. Shirley, NY). Countermovement vertical jump (Jump USA Vertec, Sunnyvale CA) was also measured following the completion of dynamometer testing with participants completing 3 maximal efforts with 1 minute of rest between each. A repeated measures MANOVA was conducted to analyze lower-body performance measures. RESULTS: While blue light exposure resulted in increases in performance for each measured variable (peak torque 180°/sec - 100.8 ± 8.3 vs. 94.4 ± 8.6 N*m; peak torque 300°/sec - 82.2 ± 6.7 vs 76.2 ± 7.4 N*m; vertical jump 50.89 ± 2.46 vs. 48.12 ± 2.4 cm), no significant (p \u3e 0.05) differences were observed between the blue light trial and the control trial. CONCLUSION: Recent research has hypothesized a potential benefit of blue light exposure with regard to performance finding mixed results. Although increases in performance were found, results from this study were unable to find significant increases in lower body strength and power. Future research may focus on individuals who habitually exercise in the early morning, or athletes who are accustomed to performing under less than ideal circumstances

Acute Supplementation with Cannabidiol Does Not Attenuate Inflammation or Improve Measures of Performance following Strenuous Exercise

Supplementation with cannabidiol (CBD) may expedite recovery when consumed after exercise. The purpose of this study was to determine if supplementation with CBD reduces inflammation and enhances performance following strenuous eccentric exercise in collegiate athletes. Twenty-four well-trained females (age = 21.2 ± 1.8 years, height = 166.4 ± 8 cm, weight = 64.9 ± 9.1 kg) completed 100 repetitions of unilateral eccentric leg extension to induce muscle damage. In this crossover design, participants were randomized to receive 5 mg/kg of CBD in pill form or a placebo 2 h prior to, immediately following, and 10 h following muscle damage. Blood was collected, and performance and fatigue were measured prior to, and 4 h, 24 h, and 48 h following the muscle damage. Approximately 28 days separated treatment administration to control for the menstrual cycle. No significant differences were observed between the treatments for inflammation, muscle damage, or subjective fatigue. Peak torque at 60°/s (p = 0.001) and peak isometric torque (p = 0.02) were significantly lower 24 h following muscle damage, but no difference in performance was observed between treatments at any timepoint. Cannabidiol supplementation was unable to reduce fatigue, limit inflammation, or restore performance in well-trained female athletes