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The Nutrition Assistance Landscape In Afterschool Programs: Understanding The Gap Between Research, Policy, And Practice, Falon Elizabet Tilley

Theses and Dissertations

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) aims to increase children’s access to healthful foods in out-of-home care. Approximately half of the 10.2 million children enrolled in afterschool programs (ASPs) are eligible for nutrition assistance through programs like CACFP. Despite awareness of its potential impact on the nutritional status of millions of children, CACFP is underutilized among ASPs and notably understudied in comparison to other federal nutrition assistance programs.

This dissertation addresses key gaps in CACFP research and provides a deeper understanding of the nutrition assistance landscape in afterschool programs by (1) assessing the type of afterschool snacks served …

The Role Of Exercise Dose On Ghrelin Concentration In Postmenopausal Women, Kimberly Bowyer

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: As obesity continues to be a major public health concern, exercise is continually at the forefront of combating this epidemic. This thesis aims to examine how two different doses of exercise may affect the “hunger hormone”, ghrelin; in postmenopausal, non-obese women. Methods: 54 non-obese postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to either a higher dose (energy expenditure = 14 kilocalories/per kilogram of body weight/per week) or lower dose (energy expenditure = 8 kcal/kg/week) aerobic exercise training group for 16 weeks. Fasting blood samples were taken at baseline and at post intervention for analysis of ghrelin via multiplex immunoassay. Results: Only …

Muscle Inflammatory Signaling Regulates Eccentric Contraction-Induced Protein Synthesis During Cancer Cachexia, Justin Perry Hardee

Theses and Dissertations

Cancer-related cachexia is a complex metabolic syndrome that involves the unintentional loss of skeletal muscle mass that cannot be reversed by standard nutritional intervention. Skeletal muscle mass depletion directly impacts patient survival and life quality, and therefore treatments that preserve muscle mass and function may have significant implications for cancer patient treatment and survival. Systemic and muscle inflammation has been implicated in the regulation of skeletal muscle homeostasis, and the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) and muscle gp130 receptor signaling have established roles in cancer-induced muscle wasting. Resistance exercise is a nonpharmacological treatment that can improve physical function and metabolic health in …

Maternal Physical Activity And Cardiorespiratory Fitness During Pregnancy And Its Relation To Infant Size, Samantha M. Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations

Recent evidence indicates that U.S.-born infants are larger today compared to 20 years ago. A strong determinant of neonatal size is maternal body mass, where larger mothers deliver larger infants. Consistent evidence indicates that higher levels of maternal physical activity (PA) during pregnancy reduce the risk of delivering a larger infant. However, this protective effect has only been demonstrated in normal weight pregnant women. Little is known about the relationship between maternal PA and neonatal size in overweight or obese pregnant women. Moreover, no studies have examined the association between maternal cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), an indicator of habitual PA, on …

The Regulation Of Glycoprotein130 Dependent Inflammatory Cytokines One Basal And Mechanical Stimuli Induced Protein Synthesis In Myotubes And Skeletal Muscles, Song Gao

Theses and Dissertations

Maintaining skeletal muscle mass has a well-documented role in health and quality of life. Two members of IL-6 family of cytokines, IL-6 and LIF, and have a paradoxical role in skeletal muscle mass regulation: short term elevation of IL-6 and LIF plays a key role in mechanical stimuli induced muscle growth and muscle hypertrophy, while the long term elevated IL-6 and LIF regulate muscle wasting during cancer cachexia by disrupting muscle protein turnover regulation. The regulation of muscle protein synthesis is an important determinant of mechanical stimuli induced muscle hypertrophy and muscle wasting during cancer cachexia. IL-6 family of cytokines …

Children’S Obesogenic Behaviors During Summer Versus School, Keith Brazendale

Theses and Dissertations

Emerging evidence shows children gain 3-5 times the amount of weight and lose cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) during summer compared to the 9-months of the school year. Notably, this trend is more pronounced in children who are already overweight or obese going into summer and/or from low-income ethnic minority households. There is little evidence to investigating the underlying mechanisms driving the pronounced occurrence of these negative health outcomes during summer.

The purpose of this dissertation as a whole was to investigate children’s obesogenic behaviors (physical activity, sedentary/ screen time, sleep, and diet) during summer versus school, and compare any differences in …

The Addition Of A Concurrent Bimanual Task Influences Postural Sway And Walking Speed Performance And Prioritization Across All Ages, Derek Matthew Liuzzo

Theses and Dissertations

As individuals age, there is an increase in attentional demands, a heavier reliance on vision, reduction in efficiency of both tasks, and longer processing intervals causing greater dual task interference on postural sway and walking speed. While cognitive-motor interference has been investigated, the impact of adding a functional, manual task while balancing or during gait is poorly understood across all ages. The overall purpose was to examine the relationship between age and task automaticity in dual-task conditions with a functional bimanual task, and describe how age influences attentional prioritization strategies. Older adults demonstrated differences in single and dual task performance …

Identifying Associations Between Religious Commitment And Preventive Health Behaviors In A Southeastern Rural County, Nathan A. Peters

Theses and Dissertations

Health disparities within the United States (US) are continuing to impact ethnic minorities living in rural areas nationwide. In response, there is growing interest in using faith-based settings as vehicles to deliver much needed disease prevention interventions. However, few studies have identified the relationship between private and public religious commitment, individually, and the behaviors or risk factors associated with chronic disease. The purpose of this study was to observe the association between religious commitment, both private (i.e., time spent trying to grow in one’s religious understanding) and public (i.e., frequency of attendance, time spent in fellowship with others) individually, and …

The Association Of Changes In Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Changes In Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Leanna Marie Ross

Theses and Dissertations

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is well established as having a strong inverse association with numerous cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and mortality. As CVD remains the number one cause of death in America, the detrimental effects of low CRF present a substantial health threat. The studies presented in this dissertation syndicate both epidemiologic and clinical data that will enrich the knowledge base regarding the magnitude of change in CRF in relation to CVD risk factors.

Recently, the American Heart Association established a new construct termed ideal cardiovascular health (CVH), which is characterized by seven metrics known as Life’s Simple 7. The …

The Effects Of A Game Simulation On Muscle Activation And Knee Kinematics In Females, Geoffrey Collins

Theses and Dissertations

Intro: Female athletes experience non-contact ACL injuries at 5 times the rate of male athletes. These injuries occur more frequently at the end of halves and may be associated with exercise-induced fatigue causing knee instability. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the effect of strenuous exercise on lateral knee movement during the landing phase of a jump. Methods: Ten subjects completed both the exercise and the control trial consisting of two 25-min game simulations on a treadmill or on a separate day the equivalent rest. Before, at half time, and immediately following the interventions subjects performed sets …

The Effect Of Energy-Matched Exercise Intensity On Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor And Motor Learning, Jessica F. Baird

Theses and Dissertations

Brain plasticity is important to motor learning, and is a critical component of motor rehabilitation. Exercise prior to motor training may facilitate plasticity by increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). However, many studies that have investigated exercise-enhanced plasticity have assessed motor skill performance on tasks involving single finger button presses or small movements of a joystick, results that may not relate to more complex, real-world movements. Additionally, while high-intensity exercise has been shown to benefit motor learning, the effects of low-intensity exercise have yet to be fully investigated. A bout of low-intensity exercise, when completed at an energy expenditure that is …

Patterns Of Participation And Performance In Youth Baseball Players, Amanda Arnold

Theses and Dissertations

Baseball is a popular sport to play in the United States, with approximately 13-17 million athletes participating across all levels of competition. Youth (9-12 years) and adolescent (13-18 years) players comprise the majority of this population playing at the club and high school levels, yet less than 10% of research studies include athletes <18 years old. Despite increased awareness of the risks surrounding sports participation, youth and adolescent baseball players continue to report overuse injuries at alarming rates.

The lack of high-quality research describing athletic performance and injury risk factors, such as sport specialization, in young athlete populations poses a significant knowledge gap in the literature. The current investigation sought to establish the incidence of upper extremity (UE) injuries while examining population-specific risk factors in …