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Full-Text Articles in Psychology
Relationship Of Stress, Sleep, Physical Activity, And Food Insecurity On Eating Behaviors And Obesity, Amy Lee Richards
Relationship Of Stress, Sleep, Physical Activity, And Food Insecurity On Eating Behaviors And Obesity, Amy Lee Richards
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
There is an urgent need to find effective interventions to prevent and reduce obesity as it is associated with chronic disease and decreased quality of life. Gaining a better understanding of how modifiable variables such as stress, sleep, physical activity, and food insecurity are related to eating behaviors associated with obesity is essential to guide the direction of future interventions and research. Interventions that hold promise need to be tested to determine if they have merit or not. This dissertation presents three papers. Two papers are cross-sectional studies evaluating associations between eating behaviors, obesity, and modifiable variables (stress, sleep, physical …
Figure Rating Scales: A Novel Measure Of Weight Bias, Joseph Mitchell Magness
Figure Rating Scales: A Novel Measure Of Weight Bias, Joseph Mitchell Magness
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The obesity epidemic in the United States has grown in epic proportions over past decades. People who are obese experience weight bias, which is defined as any attitude that negatively influences obese individuals. Weight bias has also been documented in many areas of life. Furthermore, cultural differences in attitudes toward weight are salient in the conceptualization and maintenance of this phenomenon. Body dissatisfaction has also been linked to excess weight through negative views of fatness. One traditional measure of body dissatisfaction is figure rating scales. For this study, it was hypothesized that figure ratings presented with pictures of obese individuals …
Nurses’ Perceptions Of Self As Role Models Of Health, Shelia Hurley
Nurses’ Perceptions Of Self As Role Models Of Health, Shelia Hurley
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Given the sad state of obesity and lifestyle-related illnesses in the US, nurses, as the largest and most trusted health profession, must take the cause of health promotion seriously and personally. This study seeks to close the gap in knowledge of nurses’ perception of self as a role model of health and personal healthy lifestyle behaviors. This study focuses on four specific behaviors that lead to a healthy lifestyle: limit alcohol, avoid tobacco, improve nutrition, and engage in physical activity. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between nurses’ health practices and their perceptions of self as …
Comparing Anthropometric Methods To Quantify Relations Between Adiposity And Headache, Vanessa Lee Moynahan
Comparing Anthropometric Methods To Quantify Relations Between Adiposity And Headache, Vanessa Lee Moynahan
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Obesity is associated with increased risk for chronic migraine and migraine progression, but associations with episodic migraine (em) and episodic tension-type headache (tth) are unclear. Most studies have relied on bmi as an indicator of adiposity. More accurate anthropometric measures that distinguish adipose tissue from other body tissue are critical to examine adiposity-headache associations, including validated measures of abdominal adiposity and established measurement formulas such as body adiposity index (bai) and body composition equations developed by Peterson et al. (2003) and Garcia et al. (2005). The present study explored adiposity-headache associations by employing established anthropometric measures of adiposity and comparing …
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome And Neuropsychological Dysfunction: Understanding The Impact Of Obesity, Chelsea A. Hilsendager
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome And Neuropsychological Dysfunction: Understanding The Impact Of Obesity, Chelsea A. Hilsendager
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Obesity is the largest risk factor for the development of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), which is a common sleep-related breathing disorder that is associated with cognitive dysfunction. A growing body of literature suggests that obesity is related to negative neuropsychological outcomes independent of other health problems known to impact cognitive functioning (e.g., type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease). The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of obesity on the cognitive functioning of individuals with OSAS. Specifically, this study aimed to examine whether or not differences existed between obese and non-obese persons with OSAS on a battery of …
Obesity Related Perturbations On Cardiovascular, Immune And Endocrine Response To Active And Passive Stress, Ashley Elizabeth Burch
Obesity Related Perturbations On Cardiovascular, Immune And Endocrine Response To Active And Passive Stress, Ashley Elizabeth Burch
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
As the obesity epidemic increases, the prevalence of obesity-related diseases grows simultaneously. The internal environment of chronic low-grade inflammation, which characterizes obesity, leaves individuals vulnerable to disease. Cardiovascular dysfunction represents a consequential effect of obesity. An early indicator of cardiovascular disease is an impaired stress response. Further, the type of stress (active versus passive) may be differentially affected representing additional distinctions in impairment. In the present study, we have used two types of stress (active and passive) to investigate obesity-instigated alterations in cardiovascular, immune and endocrine response to stress. In addition, we have evaluated how these systems may overlap to …
The Relationship Between Middle School Students' Perceptions Of Physical Activity, Student Engagement, And Academic Achievement, Jeremy D. Moretti
The Relationship Between Middle School Students' Perceptions Of Physical Activity, Student Engagement, And Academic Achievement, Jeremy D. Moretti
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Physical activity is important, and many adolescents are not meeting the recommendation that youth participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week (CDC, 2011). Physical inactivity among middle school students is on the rise and may be a contributing factor to a decline in academic performance. Prior research has focused primarily on bodily health; however, growing evidence supports the benefits of physical activity for academic achievement (Chomitz et al., 2009). This study examined the relationship between middle school students' perceptions of physical activity and student engagement they relate to academic achievement among 179 middle …
Friends On The Playground: Associations With Physical Activity Levels In A Preschool Sample, Kevin Francis Karl
Friends On The Playground: Associations With Physical Activity Levels In A Preschool Sample, Kevin Francis Karl
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Child obesity rates have reached an all-time high in the United States; with rates doubling over the past 30 years for children ages 2-5 (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2004). This increase in obesity rates has led to increased research directed at understanding the causes in order to begin to reverse the trend and prevent our children from becoming obese. The literature shows that several key variables, including child physical activity level, parent physical activity level, and peer influences on the playground are related to childhood obesity (Epstein, 2005; Salvy, 2008; Trost, et al., 2003). Much of this …
Evaluating An Online Personalized Family-Based Intervention To Promote Healthy Lifestyle Changes, Sharon Hayes
Evaluating An Online Personalized Family-Based Intervention To Promote Healthy Lifestyle Changes, Sharon Hayes
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The current study evaluated the initial feasibility, efficacy, and acceptability of a motivationally-tailored family-based intervention designed to promote the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors associated with physical activity and nutrition. Parents (N=132) of children 6 to 11 years old were randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition, and they completed a series of online questionnaires. Intervention participants (n=61) received a single motivationally-tailored feedback report via e-mail. Control participants (n=71) completed measures and immediately received information about a free online resource that provides information about healthy lifestyle behaviors (www.mypyramid.gov). Feasibility data indicate that an online feedback program has high dissemination …
Psychosocial Concerns And Childhood Overweight In Pediatric Primary Care Clinics Serving Rural Appalachia., Suzanne Allen
Psychosocial Concerns And Childhood Overweight In Pediatric Primary Care Clinics Serving Rural Appalachia., Suzanne Allen
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Objective: To examine the prevalence of psychosocial concerns presenting in 3 pediatric primary care clinics serving rural Appalachia. The association between pediatric weight status and psychosocial concerns was examined. Methods: Caregivers of children presenting in one of 3 pediatric primary care facilities completed a demographic questionnaire and the Pediatric Symptom Checklist. Results: Approximately 21.4% of children were identified as having a clinically significant behavioral health concern. Among children with available weight status data, ~53% of the children were identified as overweight. Children identified having significant behavioral concerns were more likely to have a lower weight status than those with nonsignificant …
Food For Thought: The Relationship Between Thought Suppression And Weight Control, Rachel Peterson
Food For Thought: The Relationship Between Thought Suppression And Weight Control, Rachel Peterson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The current study assessed the relationship between individuals' tendency to suppress thoughts, particularly related to food and body weight/shape, and outcomes such as weight loss maintenance and diet sabotaging experiences (e.g., binge eating). Community and university individuals (N = 347) who are or previously were overweight completed self-report measures of thought suppression, weight history, and eating behaviors. Suppression of specific thoughts about food/weight/shape was related to weight cycling, binge eating, and food cravings. Participants who believed thoughts of food lead to eating were more likely to attempt suppression of food-related thoughts. Results have implications for improving weight loss maintenance and …
The Role Of Expectancies In Binge Eating Behavior, Jessica Larose
The Role Of Expectancies In Binge Eating Behavior, Jessica Larose
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The central aim of the present study was to examine the role of expectancies in binge eating behavior. Two distinct statistical techniques were used to accomplish this goal. First, regression analyses were conducted using variables previously identified in the literature, as well as eating expectancies as measured by the Eating Expectancy Inventory (EEI). For both females and males, regression equations including expectancies accounted for a substantial portion of the variance in binge eating behavior. Second, memory modeling techniques were used to model the probable organization of eating expectancies. Memory modeling of hypothetical expectancy networks has lead to successful interventions in …