Obesity, perceived weight discrimination, and psychological well-being in older adults in England

Objective To examine whether the adverse effect of obesity on psychological well-being can be explained by weight discrimination. Methods The study sample included 5056 older (≥50 y) men and women living in England and participating in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Participants reported experiences of weight discrimination in everyday life and completed measures of quality of life (CASP-19 scale), life satisfaction (Satisfaction With Life Scale), and depressive symptoms (eight-item CES-D scale). Height and weight were objectively measured, with obesity defined as BMI ≥30 kg/m2. Mediation analyses were used to test the role of perceived weight discrimination in the relationship between obesity and each psychological factor. Results Obesity, weight discrimination, and psychological well-being were all significantly inter-related. Mediation models revealed significant indirect effects of obesity through perceived weight discrimination on quality of life (β = −0.072, SE = 0.008), life satisfaction (β = −0.038, SE = 0.008), and depressive symptoms (β = 0.057, SE = 0.008), with perceived weight discrimination explaining approximately 40% (range: 39.5-44.1%) of the total association between obesity and psychological well-being. Conclusions Perceived weight discrimination explains a substantial proportion of the association between obesity and psychological well-being in English older adults. Efforts to reduce weight stigma in society could help to reduce the psychological burden of obesity

Four-year stability of anthropometric and cardio-metabolic parameters in a prospective cohort of older adults

Aim: To examine the medium-term stability of anthropometric and cardio-metabolic parameters in the general population. Materials & methods: Participants were 5160 men and women from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (age ≥50 years) assessed in 2004 and 2008. Anthropometric data included height, weight, BMI and waist circumference. Cardio-metabolic parameters included blood pressure, serum lipids (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides), hemoglobin, fasting glucose, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein. Results: Stability of anthropometric variables was high (all intraclass correlations >0.92), although mean values changed slightly (-0.01 kg weight, +1.33 cm waist). Cardio-metabolic parameters showed more variation: correlations ranged from 0.43 (glucose) to 0.81 (HDL). The majority of participants (71–97%) remained in the same grouping relative to established clinical cut-offs. Conclusion: Over a 4-year period, anthropometric and cardio-metabolic parameters showed good stability. These findings suggest that when no means to obtain more recent data exist, a one-time sample will give a reasonable approximation to average levels over the medium-term, although reliability is reduced

The inflated radii of M-dwarfs in the Pleiades

Rotation periods obtained with the Kepler satellite have been combined with precise measurements of projected rotation velocity from the WIYN 3.5-m telescope to determine the distribution of projected radii for several hundred low-mass (0.1 6 M/M⊙ 6 0.8), fastrotating members of the Pleiades cluster. A maximum likelihood modelling technique, that takes account of observational uncertainties, selection effects and censored data, and considers the effects of differential rotation and unresolved binarity, has been used to find that the average radius of these stars is 14 ± 2 per cent larger at a given luminosity than predicted by the evolutionary models of Dotter et al. (2008) and Baraffe et al. (2015). The same models are a reasonable match to the interferometric radii of older, magnetically inactive field M-dwarfs, suggesting that the over-radius may be associated with the young, magnetically active nature of the Pleiades objects. No evidence is found for any change in this over-radius above and below the boundary marking the transition to full convection. Published evolutionary models that incorporate either the effects of magnetic inhibition of convection or the blocking of flux by dark starspots do not individually explain the radius inflation, but a combination of the two effects might. The distribution of projected radii is consistent with the adopted hypothesis of a random spatial orientation of spin axes; strong alignments of the spin vectors into cones with an opening semi-angle < 30◦ can be ruled out. Any plausible but weaker alignment would increase the inferred over-radius

The dynamics of the γ Vel cluster and nearby Vela OB2 association

The kinematics of low-mass stars in nearby OB associations can provide clues about their origins and evolution. Combining the precise positions, proper motions, and parallaxes given in the second Gaia Data Release with radial-velocity measurements obtained with the Hermes spectrograph at the Anglo-Australian Telescope, we have an opportunity to study in detail the kinematics of low-mass stars belonging to the nearby γ Vel cluster and the Vela OB2 association it is projected against. The presence of lithium is used to confirm the youth of our targets. We separate our sample into the cluster and association populations based on the Gaia-ESO Survey membership probabilities their parallaxes, and kinematics. We find strong evidence for expansion in the OB association population with at least 4σ significance along all three axes, though the expansion is notably anisotropic. We discuss these results in the context of cluster and association dispersal theories

The effects of rotation on the lithium depletion of G- and K-dwarfs in Messier 35

New fibre spectroscopy and radial velocities from the WIYN telescope are used to measure photospheric lithium in 242 high-probability, zero-age-main-sequence (ZAMS) F- to K-type members of the rich cluster M35. Combining these with published rotation periods, the connection between lithium depletion and rotation is studied in unprecedented detail. At $T_{\rm eff}<5500$ K there is a strong relationship between faster rotation and less Li depletion, although with a dispersion larger than measurement uncertainties. Components of photometrically identified binary systems follow the same relationship. A correlation is also established between faster rotation rate (or smaller Rossby number), decreased Li depletion and larger stellar radius at a given $T_{\rm eff}$. These results support models where starspots and interior magnetic fields lead to inflated radii and reduced Li depletion during the pre main sequence (PMS) phase for the fastest rotators. However, the data are also consistent with the idea that all stars suffered lower levels of Li depletion than predicted by standard PMS models, perhaps because of deficiencies in those models or because saturated levels of magnetic activity suppress Li depletion equally in PMS stars of similar $T_{\rm eff}$ regardless of rotation rate, and that slower rotators subsequently experience more mixing and post-PMS Li depletion

The impact of a cancer diagnosis on health and well-being: a prospective, population-based study

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the trajectory of health and well-being from before to after a cancer diagnosis. This study aimed to examine changes in health and well-being across three time points (0-2 years before a cancer diagnosis, 0-2 years post-diagnosis and 2-4 years post-diagnosis) in individuals receiving a new cancer diagnosis, and at matched time points in a cancer-free comparison group. METHODS: Data were from waves 1-6 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to examine differences in self-rated health, mobility impairments, activities of daily living impairments, quality of life, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction by group and time, and group-by-time interactions. RESULTS: Of the 4565 participants with data from three time points, 444 (9.7%) reported a new cancer diagnosis. Those in the cancer group reported poorer self-rated health (p < .001), quality of life (p < .001) and life satisfaction (p < .01) than participants in the comparison group, and a higher proportion reported depressive symptoms (p < .001) and impairments in mobility (p < .001) and activities of daily living (p < .001). All markers of health and well-being worsened significantly over time. The group-by-time interaction was significant for self-rated health (p < .001), with a greater decline in health over time in the cancer group. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer survivors in this sample had poorer health and well-being than those with no diagnosis, and self-rated health deteriorated more rapidly following a cancer diagnosis. Screening for these factors around the time of a cancer diagnosis could allow for interventions to be targeted effectively and improve the health and well-being of cancer survivors. © 2015 The Authors. Psycho-Oncology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

The impact of a health professional recommendation on weight loss attempts in overweight and obese British adults: a cross-sectional analysis

Objectives: To examine the effect that health professional (HP) advice to lose weight has on overweight and obese adults ’ motivation to lose weight and attempts to lose weight. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Great Britain. Participants: 810 overweight or obese (body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m 2 ) adults. Main outcome measures: Participants were asked if they had ever received HP advice to lose weight and reported their desire to weigh less (ideal weight ≤ 95% of current weight) and whether they were attempting to lose weight. Results: Only 17% of overweight and 42% of obese respondents recalled ever having received HP advice to lose weight. HP advice was associated with wanting to weigh less (89% vs 61% among those not receiving advice) and attempting to lose weight (68% vs 37%). In multivariable analyses, HP advice to lose weight was associated with increased odds of wanting to weigh less (OR=3.71, 95% CI 2.10 to 6.55) and attempting to lose weight (OR=3.53, 95% CI 2.44 to 5.10) independent of demographic characteristics and weight status. Conclusions: HP advice to lose weight appears to increase motivation to lose weight and weight loss behaviour, but only a minority of overweight or obese adults receive such advice. Better training for HPs in delivering brief weight counselling could offer an opportunity to improve obese patients ’ motivation to lose weight