Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Racial And Socioeconomic Disparities Influencing Obesity Amongst Middle-Aged Women, Morgan Woods

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Many studies have examined the effects of racial and socioeconomic differences on health-related disparities involving obesity but, few have examined the mental and physical well-being intersection. Obesity is a disease that affects many Americans and has become an epidemic affecting the American population. Obesity, especially morbid obesity, is a risk factor for many other obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and more. Using the 2018 Healthcare Avoidance Study, differences were found between two racial groups, Caucasian and African-American women. Race was found as a significant factor for both level of physical activity and ideal body image perception

From The Democratic Republic Of The Congo To North Carolina: An Examination Of Chronic Disease Risk, Lauren R. Sastre Dr.

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

Refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are one of the largest refugee groups globally and in the US, however, there is limited research with this group. Therefore, objectives of this study were to examine: 1) obesity and hypertension rates, 2) diet and lifestyle behavior changes, and 3) diet, lifestyle and social factors of obesity and hypertension risk of Congolese refugees in the US. This cross-sectional data collection utilized a survey developed specifically for this project. Clinical and anthropometric measures including height, weight and blood pressure were also obtained. Data analysis included descriptive and regression analysis. Participants (n=48, >18 …

"We Didn't Know": An Examination Of Health And Nutrition Knowledge, Behaviors And Clinical Risk Factors To Guide A Pilot Health Education Intervention For Refugees From Burma, Elizabeth B. Smith, Lauren R. Sastre

Journal of Refugee & Global Health

No abstract provided.

How Useful Is Gsv As An Environmental Observation Tool? An Analysis Of The Evidence So Far., Katherine Nesse, Leah Airt

SPU Works

Researchers in many disciplines have turned to Google Street View to replace pedestrian- or carbased in-person observation of streetscapes. It is most prevalent within the research literature on the relationship between neighborhood environments and public health but has been used as diverse as disaster recovery, ecology and wildlife habitat, and urban design. Evaluations of the tool have found that the results of GSV-based observation are similar to the results from in-person observation although the similarity depends on the type of characteristic being observed. Larger, permanent and discrete features showed more consistency between the two methods and smaller, transient and judgmental …

The Sixty-Six Percent, Natalie Abruzzo

Capstones

The Sixty-Six Percent represent the percentage of women in the U.S. who are overweight. They are regarded as full-figured or “plus” size in the world of women’s apparel. Even though more than half of American women wear a “plus” size - size 14 and up - designs for these women account for a fraction of women’s apparel - Only 37% of women's wear is plus-size.

The Sixty-Six Percent is coming at an important time in a broader conversation about de-stigmatizing what it means to be a plus-size woman in America. Fat shaming has become taboo and mainstream media as well …

Current Dietetic Practices Of Obesity Management In Saudi Arabia And Comparison With Australian Practices And Best Practice Criteria, A. Almajwal, P. Williams, Marijka Batterham

Dr Marijka Batterham

Objective: To describe the dietetic practices of the treatment of obesity in Saudi Arabia and compare this with best practice criteria and the practice in Australia. Methods: Anonymous questionnaires were completed by dietitians in Saudi Arabia. The topics included barriers to obesity management, demand and level of service and strategies and approaches used for weight management. Best practice scores were based on those used to assess Australian dietitians. Results: 253 dietitians participated in the survey. Of these, 175 (69 %) were involved in the management of obesity. The best practice score for Australian dietitians was slightly but significantly greater than …

Examination Of Obesity Risk-Reduction Behaviors In Chinese Americans, Yeon Bai, Kathleen D. Bauer, Doreen Liou

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works

The purpose of this survey research was to examine the psychosocial characteristics of obesity risk-reduction behaviors in Chinese Americans. Obesity risk-reduction behaviors and psychosocial variables derived from the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Health Belief Model were measured. A questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 300 young adult Chinese Americans residing in the New York metropolitan area. Results suggest that when communicating messages to low adopters of health behaviors, promoting positive attitudes and social influences for healthful eating should be emphasized. High behavior adopters may benefit from strategies to maintain self-efficacy to enact health-related behaviors conducive to …

Table For One, Food For Two: A Socio-Economic Perspective On American Obesity, Celestina Victoria Brunetti

Honors Theses - Providence Campus

Research indicates that obesity is linked to socio-economic factors and genetics. Both have an impact on whether a person is or becomes obese. The paper focuses on the impact of the change in food supply along with socio-economic factors, specifically access, time, and cost, and how these factors have affected the American obesity epidemic. This was assessed in part through a case study of the Smith Hill area of Providence, Rhode Island, a food desert that is comprised mainly of Americans near the poverty line, and the Wellspring La Jolla camp—a camp for overweight children from upper-middle class families. The …

Histamine H1 Receptor Agonist And Control Of Olanzapine-Induced Obesity, Jiamei Lian, Xu-Feng Huang, N Pai, C Deng

Xu-Feng Huang

No abstract provided.

Ventromedial Hypothalamic Npy Y2 Receptor In The Maintenance Of Body Weight In Diet-Induced Obesity In Mice, Yulin Li, Xu-Feng Huang, Chao Deng, Qing Wang, Timothy South, Yinghua Yu

Xu-Feng Huang

This study examined changes in neuropeptide Y (NPY) Y2 receptor binding in the brains of C57BL/6 mice in response to different levels of high-fat diets via three dietary intervention methods: high-fat diet, switching from high- to low-fat diet and finally, energy restricted high-fat diet. Forty-five C57Bl/6 male mice were fed a high-fat diet for 8 weeks and then classified as diet-induced obese (DIO) or diet-resistant (DR) mice according to the highest and lowest body weight gainers, respectively. The DIO and DR mice were then randomly divided into three groups each and either continued on their high-fat diet ad libitum (DIO-H …

A Link Between Chronic Sleep Restriction And Obesity: Methodological Considerations, Christopher Magee, Donald Iverson, Xu-Feng Huang, Peter Caputi

Xu-Feng Huang

Emerging evidence suggests that chronicsleeprestriction contributes to obesity. Targeting short sleep duration may therefore offer a novel and effective method of preventing and treating obesity. However, this area of research is only in its infancy, and a complete understanding of how chronicsleeprestriction and obesity are linked is currently lacking. The aim of this paper is to briefly review epidemiological evidence for an association between chronicsleeprestriction and obesity in adults, and outline the key methodological limitations of these studies. Particular attention is paid to the methods used to measure sleep and obesity, as well as the need to control for potential …

Effects Of Diets High In Whey, Soy, Red Meat And Milk Protein On Body Weight Maintenance In Diet-Induced Obesity In Mice, Xu-Feng Huang, Y Liu, Gita Rahardjo, Peter Mclennan, Linda Tapsell, William Buttemer

Xu-Feng Huang

This study examined the effects of different food sources of protein on energy intake, body weight maintenance, and on the responses of plasma leptin, insulin and adiponectin in chronic high-fat diet-induced obese mice. Obesity was induced in 47 mice with a high-fat diet for 20 weeks. They were divided into five diet groups to test the effects of a higher protein proportion (30% energy), achieved at the expense of carbohydrate. For the next eight weeks, four of the groups were fed diets of chow formulated with whey, soy, red meat or milk while the control group continued on their high-fat …

Examining The Pathways Linking Chronic Sleep Restriction To Obesity, Christopher A. Magee, Xu-Feng Huang, Donald C. Iverson, Peter Caputi

Xu-Feng Huang

A growing number of studies have identified chronic sleep restriction as a potential risk factor for obesity. This could have important implications for how obesity is prevented and managed, but current understanding of the processes linking chronic sleep restriction to obesity is incomplete. In this paper, we examined some of the pathways that could underlie the relationship between chronic sleep restriction and obesity. This involved exploring some of the potential environmental, health, behavioral, and sociodemographic determinants of chronic sleep restriction, which require further investigation in this context. Three pathways that could potentially link chronic sleep restriction to obesity were then …

Temporal And Site-Specific Brain Alterations In Cb1 Receptor Binding In High Fat Diet-Induced Obesity In C57bl/6 Mice, Xu-Feng Huang, Timothy South

Xu-Feng Huang

The cannabinoid CB1 receptor has been implicated in the regulation of appetite and the consumption of palatable foods. This experiment aimed to explore the involvement of the CB1 receptor in the early and late stages of high fat diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6 mice. The C57Bl/6 mice were placed on a high fat (HF) or low fat/high carbohydrate (LF) diet for 3 or 20 weeks. Quantitative autoradiography revealed that binding of [3H] CP-55,940 (CB1 receptor ligand) was elevated following 3 weeks of HF feeding in areas including the medial/ventral anterior olfactory nucleus (22.1%), agranular insular cortex (24.0%) and the hypothalamus (31.5%) …

G Protein-Coupled Receptor 12 Deficiency Results In Decreased Energy Expenditure, Dyslipidemia And Obesity In Mice, L. Svensson, Xu-Feng Huang, M Jonnson, M Bjursell, M Boholooly, J Tornell, V Surve, A Gerdin

Xu-Feng Huang

No abstract provided.

Differential Expression Of Dopamine D2 And D4 Receptor And Tyrosine Hydroxylase Mrna In Mice Prone, Or Resistant, To Chronic High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity, Xu-Feng Huang, Yinghua Yu, Katerina Zavitsanou, Mei Han, Leonard Storlien

Xu-Feng Huang

The present study examined brain dopamine D2 and D4 receptor and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) mRNA expression in chronic high-fat diet-induced obese (cDIO) and obese-resistant (cDR) mice. Twenty-eight mice were fed a high-fat diet (HF: 40% of calories from fat) for 6 weeks and then classified as cDIO (n = 8) or cDR (n = 8) mice according to the highest and lowest body weight gainers, respectively. Seven mice were fed a low-fat diet (LF: 10% of calories from fat) and used as controls. After 20 weeks of feeding, visceral fat per gram of initial body weight was significantly higher in …

Diets High In Oat-Derived Beta-Glucan Promote Negative Energy Regulatory Pathway Of Hypothalamic Npy System In Chronic Diet-Induced Obesity In Mice, Xu-Feng Huang, Timothy South, Eleanor Beck, Marijka Batterham, K. Grinter, Linda Tapsell

Xu-Feng Huang

No abstract provided.

Dopamine Transporter And D2 Receptor Densities In Mice Prone Or Resistant To Chronic High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity, Xu-Feng Huang, F Chen, A Lawrence, Katerina Zavitsanou, Chao Deng, Hong-Qin Wang, Yinghua Yu

Xu-Feng Huang

No abstract provided.

Fat In Food And The Obesity Epidemic, Linda C. Tapsell

L. C. Tapsell

Dietary fat is strongly implicated in the development of insulin resistance and obesity, both major public health problems today. While the amount of dietary fat is relevant, the type of fat is important in fuel utilisation, storage and appetite regulatory mechanisms. Human calorimetry research confirms the importance of dietary fat in energy balance, but more work needs to be done to uncover the impact of type of dietary fat in weight control. Population and intervention research confirm the importance of fat in dietary interventions, bearing in mind the contribution of physical activity to energy balance. The food industry has an …

Is Sleep Duration Associated With Obesity In Older Australian Adults?, Christopher A. Magee, Peter Caputi, Don C. Iverson

Don C. Iverson

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between sleep duration and obesity in older Australian adults. Method: Self-reported health data were collected through the 45 and Up Study. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to test the relationship between sleep duration and body mass index, controlling for a range of demographic and health-related variables. Results: The sample included 45,325 Australian adults aged 55 to 95 years. The regression models demonstrated that short and long sleep were associated with obesity in 55- to 64-year-olds but not in those aged 65 years and above. Discussion: The present results suggest that the relationships between sleep …

A Link Between Chronic Sleep Restriction And Obesity: Methodological Considerations, Christopher Magee, Donald Iverson, Xu-Feng Huang, Peter Caputi

Don C. Iverson

Emerging evidence suggests that chronicsleeprestriction contributes to obesity. Targeting short sleep duration may therefore offer a novel and effective method of preventing and treating obesity. However, this area of research is only in its infancy, and a complete understanding of how chronicsleeprestriction and obesity are linked is currently lacking. The aim of this paper is to briefly review epidemiological evidence for an association between chronicsleeprestriction and obesity in adults, and outline the key methodological limitations of these studies. Particular attention is paid to the methods used to measure sleep and obesity, as well as the need to control for potential …

Sleep Duration And Obesity In Middle-Aged Australian Adults, Christopher A. Magee, Donald C. Iverson, Peter Caputi

Don C. Iverson

The present study examined the association between sleep duration and obesity in 40,834 middle-aged Australian adults. Multinomial logistic regression was used to test the relationship between sleep duration and obesity while controlling for important demographic and health covariates; separate models were tested for males and females. Short sleep (i.e., <7 h a night) was found to be independently associated with obesity in males and females. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report an association between short sleep and obesity in Australian adults. Although more research is required, interventions targeting short sleep could aid obesity treatment and prevention.

Family Practice Residents' Identification And Management Of Obesity, R Mcartor, Donald Iverson, D Benken, L Dennis

Don C. Iverson

This study, involving 25 family practice residents and 2746 patients in a family practice residency programme, addressed four hypotheses regarding the identification and management of obesity in the primary care setting: (i) the physician-identified prevalence of obesity is significantly lower than the actual prevalence in the population, (ii) obesity is more likely to be addressed with management actions when it is recorded on the medical record problem list than when it is not recorded, (iii) physician actions dealing with obesity are influenced by the patient's age, sex, level of motivation, and body mass index (BMI) value, and (iv) the type …

Examining The Pathways Linking Chronic Sleep Restriction To Obesity, Christopher A. Magee, Xu-Feng Huang, Donald C. Iverson, Peter Caputi

Don C. Iverson

A growing number of studies have identified chronic sleep restriction as a potential risk factor for obesity. This could have important implications for how obesity is prevented and managed, but current understanding of the processes linking chronic sleep restriction to obesity is incomplete. In this paper, we examined some of the pathways that could underlie the relationship between chronic sleep restriction and obesity. This involved exploring some of the potential environmental, health, behavioral, and sociodemographic determinants of chronic sleep restriction, which require further investigation in this context. Three pathways that could potentially link chronic sleep restriction to obesity were then …

The Change Program: Comparing An Interactive Versus Prescriptive Obesity Intervention On University Students' Self-Esteem And Functional Health Status, Erin Pearson, Jennifer Irwin, Don Morrow

Donald Morrow

Background: Previous studies incorporating Motivational Interviewing administered via Co‐Active Life Coaching tools (MI‐via‐CALC) have elicited positive results among adults with obesity. However, there is a paucity of this research that includes sufficient power and a comparison group. This study's purpose was to compare MI‐via‐CALC with a validated obesity intervention among university students. Methods: Participants (n = 45) were randomised to either a telephone‐based 12‐week: (a) MI‐via‐CALC program whereby a certified coach worked with subjects to achieve goals through dialogue; or (b) lifestyle modification treatment following the LEARN Program for Weight Management. Participants completed the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale and Short Form …

The Change Program: Comparing An Interactive Versus Prescriptive Obesity Intervention On University Students’ Self-Esteem And Quality Of Life, Don Morrow, Erin Pearson, Jennifer Irwin, Hall Craig

Donald Morrow

Previous studies incorporating Motivational Interviewing administered via Co-Active Life Coaching tools (MI-via-CALC) have elicited positive results among adults with obesity. However, there is a paucity of this research that includes sufficient power and a comparison group. This study’s purpose was to compare MI-via-CALC with a validated obesity intervention among university students. Methods: Participants (n = 45) were randomised to either a telephone-based 12-week: (a) MI-via-CALC program whereby a certified coach worked with subjects to achieve goals through dialogue; or (b) lifestyle modification treatment following the LEARN Program for Weight Management. Participants completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Short Form Functional …

Big Five Personality Factors, Obesity And 2-Year Weight Gain In Australian Adults, Christopher A. Magee, Patrick C. L Heaven

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The objective of this paper was to examine whether the Big-Five Personality factors were associated with obesity and 2-year weight gain in Australian adults. The sample included 5265 Australian adults aged 25– 65 years. Binary logistic regression models indicated that Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism were cross-sectionally associated with obesity, with Conscientiousness inversely associated with obesity. The longitudinal analyses indicated that Extraversion predicted 2-year weight gain. The relationships between personality and obesity/weight gain were not moderated by age or sex. These results have potentially important implications for developing more effective treatment and prevention strategies for obesity.

Histamine H1 Receptor Agonist And Control Of Olanzapine-Induced Obesity, Jiamei Lian, Xu-Feng Huang, N Pai, C Deng

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

Examining The Pathways Linking Chronic Sleep Restriction To Obesity, Christopher A. Magee, Xu-Feng Huang, Donald C. Iverson, Peter Caputi

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

A growing number of studies have identified chronic sleep restriction as a potential risk factor for obesity. This could have important implications for how obesity is prevented and managed, but current understanding of the processes linking chronic sleep restriction to obesity is incomplete. In this paper, we examined some of the pathways that could underlie the relationship between chronic sleep restriction and obesity. This involved exploring some of the potential environmental, health, behavioral, and sociodemographic determinants of chronic sleep restriction, which require further investigation in this context. Three pathways that could potentially link chronic sleep restriction to obesity were then …

Sleep Duration And Obesity In Middle-Aged Australian Adults, Christopher A. Magee, Donald C. Iverson, Peter Caputi

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The present study examined the association between sleep duration and obesity in 40,834 middle-aged Australian adults. Multinomial logistic regression was used to test the relationship between sleep duration and obesity while controlling for important demographic and health covariates; separate models were tested for males and females. Short sleep (i.e., <7 h a night) was found to be independently associated with obesity in males and females. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report an association between short sleep and obesity in Australian adults. Although more research is required, interventions targeting short sleep could aid obesity treatment and prevention.