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Relation Between Weight Status, Gender, Ethnicity And The Food And Activity Choices Of Adolescents, Heather Leanne Curtiss

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the relationship between the variables weight status (expected weight, overweight), ethnicity, and gender and the dependent variables dietary intake and physical activity behaviors among adolescents. The data presented in this study were collected using the Nutrition Questionnaire for High School Students, which was completed by 199 adolescents in a high school in southwest Florida in February of 2004. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to identify differences in dietary intake and physical activity behaviors between weight status groups.

The primary questions in this study related to interactions and main effects between the variables weight category, …

Body Mass Index And Soft Drink Consumption Among Adolescents, Olivia Love Mccord

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: To determine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and soft drink consumption among adolescents. It is hypothesized that soft drink consumption contributes to overweight and obesity among adolescents.

Background: Research examining the relationship between body mass index and soft drink consumption is inconsistent. Several studies have found a negative association between total sugar intake and BMI; however, others have found a link between sugar-sweetened drinks and obesity. There are no known studies that have controlled for physical activity.

Data and Methods: Data on approximately 225 adolescents were used. Frequency of soft drink consumption, type of milk, and calcium …

Lifestyle Intervention Program With Calcium Supplementation To Promote Weight Loss And Body Fat Reduction In Overweight Individuals., Candee Meredith Spence

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference in weight loss, body fat, waist circumference, or diet quality among participants taking calcium or placebo supplements in a lifestyle intervention program. Three participants ages 52-55 completed the 14 week program. Two participants took 1,000 milligrams calcium while one participant took a placebo. Changes in diet were analyzed by Nutribase IV and self perception. Anthropometrics were analyzed by analysis of variance, alpha level 0.05. There was significant decrease in weight and waist circumference for the calcium group and decrease in bioelectrical impedance for the placebo group; …

A Longitudinal Analysis Of Socioeconomic Differences In Obesity And Weight Change During The Early Adult Years, Young-Taek Kim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in American society. However, not enough attention has been given to weight change by temporal and dynamic detailed social characteristics, controlled for unobserved heterogeneities nested in county and state. Using the National Longitudinal Survey Youth (NLSY79), this study examined weight change and its development into unhealthy conditions like being overweight or obese, in relation to change in social characteristics including life course events. This study also examined the social characteristics of remaining at a normal weight through all time intervals over a 19-year period. Using hierarchical linear multilevel analysis, this study found that changes in …

The Prevalence Of Low Back Pain And Its Association With Body Mass Index, Lance Beebout

Theses and Graduate Projects

The Prevalence of Low Back Pain and its Association with Body Mass Index Background: The question of whether obesity is a risk factor for the development of low back pain (LBP) has been the subject of considerable research. To date no clear consensus has been made concerning this highly debated issue. The purpose of this study is to determine whether overweight individuals, BMI > 25, reported higher incidences of LBP over the course of one year while accounting for other known risk factors for the development of LBP. Methods; This non-experimental study design utilized an eleven question survey to gather data …

Thinking Beyond Health To Motivate Dietary Change: Piloting A Vegan Healthy Eating Program For Obesity Management, Mark Alan Berman

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

This pilot study assessed the feasibility, acceptability and efficacy of a novel approach to facilitating dietary change and weight loss in obese adults by presenting vegan environmental, health and farm animal treatment information in a 6 week, group-based, educational nutrition program (called a vegan healthy eating program). Twenty-nine (29) medically stable, obese adults were recruited from 3 ambulatory care clinics at UCSF and enrolled using partial randomization into one of two serially occurring intervention groups (Group 1 n=14, followed by Group 2 n=15). A delayed intervention control group (n=9) was used, consisting of participants enrolled in Group 2 who were …

Walkable Communities Of Salinas, California, Jessica Hunt

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Obesity has become an increasing problem for the past twenty years. Currently we are seeing the negative health and financial effects that obesity has on the United States. One method of reducing obesity is physical exercise, for example walking. A survey was done in Salinas, California in October/November 2003 to ask if people are walking and/or why they are not walking. If people are not walking, is there something that can be done to make Salinas a more walkable community.

Life Without Gpr7, The Neuropeptide W1 Receptor: Regulation Of Energy Homeostasis By Gpr7 And Its Endogenous Neuropeptide Ligands, Makoto Ishii

Student Theses and Dissertations

Classic lesion experiments from the 1940s have established the hypothalamus as playing an essential role in controlling energy homeostasis. Gold-thioglucose (GTG) induces lesions in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) resulting in hyperphagia and obesity. To identify genes involved in the hypothalamic regulation of energy homeostasis, we employed a screen to search for genes that were dysregulated in GTG induced obese mice. In this screen, GPR7, the endogenous G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) for the recently identified ligands neuropeptide B (NPB) and neuropeptide W (NPW), was found to be specifically down-regulated after GTG treatment. The physiological role of GPR7 was …

Association Between The Frequency Of Physical Education Classes And The Prevalence Of Overweight/Obesity In Adolescents, Collin N. Rice

Theses and Dissertations

Background/Objective: Overweight and obesity has been steadily on the rise in the United States for all groups. The prevalence of obesity for adolescents has tripled since 1980. The purpose of this study is to determine an association between the frequency of physical education classes and the prevalence of overweight/obesity in adolescents in the United States.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that used the 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) of the Center for Disease Control. The outcome variable for the study was Body Mass Index (BMI). A BMI of 25 or greater was considered overweight or obese. The main independent …

Obesity And Health Status Among Urban Vs. Suburban Elderly In Philadelphia And Surrounding Counties, Ockidde Dufayne Harris

Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is a dangerous health condition affecting approximately 30% of all Americans and can be attributed to 300,000 deaths a year. Obesity has been found to disproportionately affect Blacks, Latinos, and those with lower SES. Although obesity is a problem for all age groups, its prevalence is highest among those 60-74 years of age. Studies have shown that there is an association between obesity and chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, arthritis, cancers, and type-2 diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control, chronic health conditions affect 80% of all elderly persons, many times limiting function and decreasing quality of …

Body Image And Attitudes Toward Obesity In College Students, Sarah Rebecca Goodwin

Theses and Dissertations

The current study was conducted in order to examine the impact of ethnicity on gender differences in body type preferences and perceptions and add to the literature examining racial differences in body type preferences and perceptions. The current study was an expansion of one by Gipson et al conducted at a historically Black university in 2004, in which responses and BMI measurements of 191 college students were examined for associations between BMI and gender, and body image and attitudes toward obesity. For the current study the sample of 176 college students enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University, an ethnically diverse institution, …

Effects Of Gp130 Cytokines On Adipocytes, Sanjin Zvonic

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Members of the gp130 cytokine family are known for their pleiotropic roles in various cell types. Our work has focused on their actions in adipocytes. CNTF administration has been shown to ameliorate most complications associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes through an unknown mechanism. In this study CNTF is shown to activate JAK/STAT and MAPK signaling, both in vitro and in vivo. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes, chronic CNTF also regulates the expression of SREBP-1, FAS, IRS-1 and GLUT4. Acute CNTF administration enhances the activation of IRS-1 and Akt by insulin. Our data also demonstrate that the expression of CNTF-specific receptor, …