Integrating isotopes and documentary evidence : dietary patterns in a late medieval and early modern mining community, Sweden

We would like to thank the Archaeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm University, Sweden and the Tandem Laboratory (Ångström Laboratory), Uppsala University, Sweden, for undertaking the analyses of stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes in both human and animal collagen samples. Also, thanks to Elin Ahlin Sundman for providing the δ13C and δ15N values for animal references from Västerås. This research (Bäckström’s PhD employment at Lund University, Sweden) was supported by the Berit Wallenberg Foundation (BWS 2010.0176) and Jakob and Johan Söderberg’s foundation. The ‘Sala project’ (excavations and analyses) has been funded by Riksens Clenodium, Jernkontoret, Birgit and Gad Rausing’s Foundation, SAU’s Research Foundation, the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund, Berit Wallenbergs Foundation, Åke Wibergs Foundation, Lars Hiertas Memory, Helge Ax:son Johnson’s Foundation and The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Excess Body Weight Loss is Associated with Nonpathological Gait Patterns in Women 4 to 5 Years After Bariatric Surgery

BACKGROUND: This study examined relationships between excess body weight (EBW) loss and current gait and functional status in women 5 years after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. METHODS: Gait data were analyzed in nine female bariatric patients for relationships with longitudinal changes in weight, body composition, and physical function assessed by the Short Musculoskeletal Functional Assessment (SMFA) questionnaire and the timed “get-up-and-go” (TGUG) test. Gait characteristics in the bariatric sample were also compared to an age- and BMI-matched nonsurgical reference sample from the Fels Longitudinal Study. RESULTS: Bariatric patients lost an average of 36.4 kg (61.1 %) of EBW between preoperative and 5-year follow-up visits (P <0.01); SMFA function index scores and TGUG times also decreased (both P <0.01). Degree of EBW loss was correlated with less time spent in initial double support and more time in single support (both P =0.02), and for all gait variables, the bariatric sample fell within the 95 % confidence intervals of gait/EBW relationships in the reference sample. CONCLUSIONS: Gait and function 5 years after bariatric surgery were characteristic of current weight, not preoperative obesity, suggesting that substantial, sustained recovery of physical function is possible with rapid surgical weight loss

Ethnic differences in resting metabolic rate, respiratory quotient and body temperature: a comparison of Africans and European Australians

Purpose: A comparison of resting metabolic rate (RMR), respiratory quotient (RQ) and body temperature between adults of African and European descent. Method: Twenty-nine sub-Saharan Africans (SSA; 13 men and 16 women) and thirty-two Australians of European descent (EUR; eight men and 24 women) had RMR and RQ measured by indirect calorimetry. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to determine fat mass (FM), fat-free mass, bone mineral content (BMC), appendicular lean tissue mass and non-appendicular lean tissue mass. Total skeletal muscle mass (SMM) was predicted. Residual mass (RM) was the difference between body weight and the sum of FM, SMM and BMC. The short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to determine habitual physical activity (PA). Tympanic in the ear temperature (IET) and forearm to fingertip temperature gradients (FFG) were monitored throughout the protocol. Results: The unadjusted RMR of SSA was significantly lower compared to EUR. Adjusted for age, sex, season, PA, FM, BMC, SMM and RM, this difference in RMR was still evident (mean ± SE, SSA: 4880 ± 161 kJ/d vs. EUR: 5979 ± 111, P &lt; 0.005). The same model of adjustment also uncovered a significantly lower adjusted IET (SSA: 35.26 °C ± 0.133 vs. EUR: 35.60 ± 0.091, P &lt; 0.05), a higher adjusted RQ (SSA: 0.86 ± 0.014 vs. EUR: 0.83 ± 0.010, P &lt; 0.05) but no difference in adjusted FFG. Conclusions: In this study, SSA had a lower RMR, higher RQ and lower IET relative to EUR Australians