Nutrition Commons^™

Spatial Distribution Of High Obesity Rates In South Carolina, Tom Bennett

Earth and Environmental Sciences Presentations

In 2015, the rate of adult obesity in South Carolina was nearly 32%, which places South Carolina as the 13th worst state when it comes to the prevalence of adult obesity. Along with overall rates of adult obesity, South Carolina has the 8th highest high school student obesity rate with 16.3% of high school students being obese. These statistics are troubling because obesity is a primary cause of Type II Diabetes, high blood pressure, and many other negative health effects. These health care issues then affect supply and demand for health care, advertising, physical exercise, and many other market segments, …

Household, Psychosocial, And Individual-Level Factors Associated With Fruit, Vegetable, And Fiber Intake Among Low-Income Urban African American Youth., Angela Cristina Bizzotto Trude, Anna Yevgenyevna Kharmats, Kristen Marie Hurley, Elizabeth Anderson Steeves, Sameera A Talegawkar, Joel Gittelsohn

Exercise and Nutrition Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity, one of the greatest challenges to public health, disproportionately affects low-income urban minority populations. Fruits and vegetables (FV) are nutrient dense foods that may be inversely associated with excessive weight gain. We aimed to identify the individual characteristic, psychosocial, and household factors influencing FV and fiber consumption in low-income African-American (AA) youth in Baltimore, MD.

METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of data collected from 285 low-income AA caregiver-youth (age range: 10-14 y) dyads participating in the baseline evaluation of the B'More Healthy Communities for Kids obesity prevention trial. The Kid's Block FFQ was used to estimate daily intakes of …

Decomposing Trends In Adult Body Mass Index, Obesity, And Morbid Obesity, 1971-2012, Ashley Wendell Kranjac, Robert L. Wagmiller

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Trends in adult obesity have been used to motivate key public health policies in the United States. While these analyses provide important insights into the broad historical contours of the obesity epidemic in the U.S., they shed less light on the proximate mechanisms that have generated these changes and that will ultimately determine the long-term course and pace of change in obesity rates. We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), Glenn Firebaugh's linear decomposition technique, and Kitagawa's algebraic decomposition method to decompose change in body mass index (BMI), obesity, and morbid obesity from 1971 through …

Long-Term Supplementation With Leucine Does Not Prevent Development Of Obesity In Rats Fed A High-Fat Diet, Dameon Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Excess dietary fat consumption has been implicated in the development of obesity and diabetes. Obesity can be characterized by a disproportionate increase in fat mass compared to lean body mass. However, if muscle mass can be increased or maintained in obesity, this may facilitate weight loss by increasing the body’s overall metabolic capacity. Historically, supplementation with the branched-chain amino acid leucine has been shown to increase muscle protein synthesis via the protein kinase mTORC1. Recent studies suggest that supplementation with leucine also has the potential to reduce weight gain and fat deposition in high-fat fed, obese mice. The objective of …

Obesity Over The Life Course: Perspectives In Health And Mortality, Noura E. Insolera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation seeks to examine obesity in different contexts throughout the life course. Through empirical analyses, separate stages of the life course are considered: namely childhood through adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood. By using a life course perspective, it is possible to consider longitudinal and intergenerational approaches to these questions, which will update and inform the current debates surrounding obesity.

Beginning with children, the intergenerational transmission of diet disease knowledge, socioeconomic status, and child health behaviors are considered in their associations with the outcomes of child diet in 2002, and in turn their associations with child obesity in 2007. Information …

Na/K-Atpase Amplification Of Oxidant Stress; A Universal But Unrecognized Clinical Target?, Joseph I. Shapiro Md

Joseph I Shapiro MD

Schematic showing Na/K‐ATPase as reactive oxygen species (ROS) amplifier system. CTS‐cardiotonic steroids, Orange dimer is Na/K‐ATPase. pNaKtide refers to peptide formed from epitope of Na/K‐ATPase a1 subunit known to bind Src tyrosine kinase fused with TAT leader sequence.

Artificial Sweeteners And Weight Gain: Fighting Or Feeding The Obesity Epidemic?, Shanna Frisch

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Our world has developed an obsession with weight control and, as a result, has begun replacing high calorie foods with low-fat and non-caloric substitutes. Artificial sweeteners are a widely used solution to this growing problem. Though the intention when using artificial sweeteners is to lose weight, studies have shown that the opposite sometimes occurs. Researchers attempt to explain this surprising phenomenon with multiple hypotheses. Lack of appetite suppression and reward response may cause individuals to search for more food and to consume more calories. Artificial sweeteners can also have negative affects on biological mechanisms such as resting metabolic rate, as …

Comparison Of Quick Methods For Determining Body Composition In Female Collegiate Athletes And Obese Females, Mandee E. Martin

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a tool used broadly by public health agencies to assess weight in populations. However, when differentiating between fat mass and fat free mass the formula (BMI = weight in kilograms/height in meters2) is not applicable. Research suggests that evaluating body fat percentage and adipose tissue deposition may provide a nuanced indication of overall health, making it more accurate on an individual basis. This study evaluated four methods (Body Mass Index, waist circumference, A Body Shape Index, and Waist to Stature Index) that assess body composition and their ability to predict body fat percentage in …

Promoting Healthy Eating And Physical Activity: A Qualitative Examination Of Community-Based Obesity Interventions In Rural Kentucky, Brooke F. Butterworth

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

Rural Americans are medically underserved groups and are at greater risk of becoming obese than urban Americans. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the perceived causes of obesity in six counties of rural Kentucky and to determine how to customize strategies to reduce obesity in these areas. University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Agents formed coalitions in each of the six counties to assess their communities’ needs and assets to inform plans for implementing evidence-based obesity interventions. Between February and August of 2015, the coalitions were convened for a total of 11 meetings. Each of the coalition …

Regulation Of Obesity And Metabolic Complications By Gamma And Delta Tocotrienols, Lu Zhao, Xiefan Fang, Maurice R. Marshall, Soonkyu Chung

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Tocotrienols (T3s) are a subclass of unsaturated vitamin E that have been extensively studied for their anti-proliferative, anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties in numerous cancer studies. Recently, T3s have received increasing attention due to their previously unrecognized property to attenuate obesity and its associated metabolic complications. In this review, we comprehensively evaluated the recent published scientific literature about the influence of T3s on obesity, with a particular emphasis on the signaling pathways involved. T3s have been demonstrated in animal models or human subjects to reduce fat mass, body weight, plasma concentrations of free fatty acid, triglycerides and cholesterol, as well as …

Suppression Of Nlrp3 Inflammasome By Γ-Tocotrienol Ameliorates Type 2 Diabetes, Yongeun Kim, Wei Wang, Meshail Okla, Inhae Kang, Regis Moreau, Soonkyu Chung

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

The Nod-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is an intracellular sensor that sets off the innate immune system in response to microbial-derived and endogenous metabolic danger signals. We previously reported that γ-tocotrienol (γT3) attenuated adipose tissue inflammation and insulin resistance in diet-induced obesity, but the underlying mechanism remained elusive. Here, we investigated the effects of γT3 on NLRP3 inflammasome activation and attendant consequences on type 2 diabetes. γT3 repressed inflammasome activation, caspase-1 cleavage, and interleukin (IL) 1β secretion in murine macrophages, implicating the inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome in the anti-inflammatory and antipyroptotic properties of γT3. Furthermore, supplementation of leptin-receptor KO mice …

Influence Of Overweight, Obesity, Social Support, And Self-Efficacy On Breastfeeding Outcomes Among African-American Women, Elizabeth Hoo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Breastfeeding reduces morbidity and mortality among mothers and children, yet African-American women breastfeed at lower rates than women of other racial and ethnic groups do. Higher rates of overweight, obesity, and low socioeconomic status may be contributing factors in this population; however, limited research exists regarding the roles of maternal overweight and obesity on breastfeeding outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine whether social support and self-efficacy positively influence breastfeeding outcomes among overweight and obese African American women. Self-efficacy and social support theories provided the theoretical framework for the study. Research questions examined whether (a) maternal overweight and …

Autophagy Regulation After Diet And Exercise In Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Megan Elizabeth Rosa

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Along with the rise in obesity, rates of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have also increased. NAFLD may begin with fat accumulation in the liver, but can progress to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis, and eventual cirrhosis. With no pharmacological treatment for NASH, lifestyle interventions appear vital to maintaining liver health. Previous work has shown aberrant mitochondrial content/quality and autophagy in models of NAFLD. Exercise is known to improve mitochondrial health and possibly autophagy, thus autophagy may be a key regulatory factor for treatment of obesity induced-NAFLD. PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to examine how weight loss from diet …