Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of A Tool For Rating Popular Diet Books, L. Williams, P. G. Williams

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire for use by nutrition professionals to enable evaluation of popular diet books.

Design A questionnaire was developed incorporating quantified criteria based on current authoritative nutrition guidelines. Twenty two questions were included, relating to nutritional adequacy, daily energy allowance, recommended rate of weight loss, flexibility and sustainability, physical activity advice, use of supplements, claims, author’s credentials, and scientific evidence. The questionnaire was used to rate 35 diets in 20 popular diet books sold in Australia in 2001, in order to test its practicality, validity and sensitivity. A computerised dietary analysis …

Predictors Of Large Women's Satisfaction With Health Care, Virginia M. Koutsouros

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This cross-sectional observational study identifies specific predictors of large women's satisfaction with health care and participation in preventive care as measured by pelvic screening examinations. A total of 87 large adult women completed a survey, including measures of self-objectification, affective experience, satisfaction with health care, and health care locus of control. Multiple regression analysis was employed to analyze results. The hypotheses of this study were as follows: (1) BMI, self-objectification, negative affect and locus of control will predict satisfaction with medical care; (2) pelvic screening examinations and patient satisfaction with medical care will be positively related (3) self-objectification and negative …

Mediators Of Weight Loss In An Internet-Based Intervention For African American Adolescent Girls, Marney A. White

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary aim of this study was to assess the process variables involved in a weight loss program for African-American adolescent girls. This internet-based intervention compared a behavioral treatment program to an educational treatment program; it was hypothesized that participants randomized to the behavioral condition would lose more weight at 6 months than those in the educational condition. Several process variables have been identified as affecting success in in vivo weight loss programs for adults and children, including program adherence, self-efficacy, and social support. The current study sought to broaden the understanding of these process variables as they pertain to …

Psychosocial Predictors Of Visceral Adiposity, Paula C. Rhode

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Psychosocial factors are thought to influence health through primarily direct physiological mechanisms or the alteration of health related behaviors. Three factors hypothesized to negatively impact health include arousal, life stress, and depressive symptomatology. One recent theorist suggests that the interaction between psychological stress and stress hormones on the neuroendocrine system may result in adverse changes to body composition, most notably the increased deposition of visceral adipose tissue (Bjorntorp, 1993). The current study prospectively examined the relationship between self-reported stressful life events, depressive symptoms and trait arousal on the deposition of visceral fat, as measured by computerized tomography (CT). Subjects were …

Obesity And The Development Of Complications Across The Life Span: Is There A Relationship Between Obesity And Poverty, Mildred D. Fennal

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship between the development of obesity in children ages five to ten years, and poverty (the socio-economic status of the family). Because of the associated complications of obesity such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and hypertension, this research aimed to determine if obesity, a precursor of these diseases, was related to poverty.

The rate of the development of hypertension and diabetes in children and young adults has been steadily increasing over the past ten years (Hines, Fishman, Green, 1999). Therefore, there is an urgent need for continued investigation exploring the multiple …

A Path Analysis Of Binge Eating And Obesity In African Americans: Acculturation, Racism, Emotional Distress, Binge Eating, Body Dissatisfaction, Attitudes Towards Obesity, Dietary Restraint, Dietary Fat Intake, And Physical Activity, Joy Rose Kohlmaier

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to test a general stress-related health behavior model as it applied to binge eating and obesity in African Americans using path analysis. Acculturation, racism, emotional distress, binge eating, and obesity were among the variables related to this theory, and included in the model. Other variables that have been implicated in the study of obesity in African Americans were also included, such as; lack of body dissatisfaction, accepting attitudes towards obesity, decreased dietary restraint, increased dietary fat intake and decreased physical activity. The study sample was 325 African Americans, including 187 females with a mean …