A qualitative evaluation of remote training to develop a fitness surveillance system.

Objectives: In the USA, 18% of school-aged young people are classified as obese, and rural populations appear to be particularly at risk. Achieving high levels of fitness reduces the risk of obesity and underlying health conditions. To better understand youth obesity trends and fitness levels, annual fitness testing ([FT], that is, surveillance) in schools has been recommended.

Development of a Fitness Surveillance System to Track and Evaluate Obesity in North Idaho.

Background: Internationally 18% of youth are obese. Fitness testing can be used to establish fitness surveillance, which can inform policy and targeted interventions aimed at addressing obesity. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and low fitness in Idaho school-aged youth through a pilot study.

Association of Physical Educators' Socialization Experiences and Confidence with Respect to Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program Implementation.

Comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs) are recommended to support physical education (PE) and increase the amount of physical activity (PA) youth receive each day. However, adoption of CSPAPs in the United States is low. PE teachers are well positioned to lead the implementation of CSPAPs, but research is needed to better understand (a) PE teachers' confidence to assume the multiple roles involved with CSPAP implementation and (b) the factors that are associated with such confidence.

Energy intake and season interact to influence physiological stress load among midlife women.

Allostatic load (AL) is an index that measures physiologic stress associated with chronic disease risk. One factor that may influence overall physiologic stress load and AL is energy consumption, but whether this association differs across different seasons is unknown. We tested whether energy consumption interacted with the season to influence AL in 52 mid-life (40-60 years) women from the Life in All Seasons Study.

Cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of the active commuting behaviors of U.S. Department of the Interior employees.

Background: Despite evolving evidence of the health and economic benefits of active transportation (AT) to work, few studies have examined the determinants of AT in large organizations with multiple worksites nor how trends in commuting change over time.

Methods: The data were obtained from the U.S.

Understanding the Nature of Measurement Error When Estimating Energy Expenditure and Physical Activity via Physical Activity Recall.

Background: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey physical activity questionnaire (PAQ) is used to estimate activity energy expenditure (AEE) and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Bias and variance in estimates of AEE and MVPA from the PAQ have not been described, nor the impact of measurement error when utilizing the PAQ to predict biomarkers and categorize individuals.

Methods: The PAQ was administered to 385 adults to estimate AEE (AEE:PAQ) and MVPA (MVPA:PAQ), while simultaneously measuring AEE with doubly labeled water (DLW; AEE:DLW) and MVPA with an accelerometer (MVPA:A).

Seasonal temperature acclimatization in a semi-fossorial mammal and the role of burrows as thermal refuges.

Small mammals in habitats with strong seasonal variation in the thermal environment often exhibit physiological and behavioral adaptations for coping with thermal extremes and reducing thermoregulatory costs. Burrows are especially important for providing thermal refuge when above-ground temperatures require high regulatory costs (e.g.

The Relationships Between Depressive Symptoms, Functional Health Status, Physical Activity, and the Availability of Recreational Facilities: a Rural-Urban Comparison in Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Adults.

Purpose: This study drew upon the ecological system theory to demonstrate rural-urban differences in the relationships between the availability of recreational facilities, physical activity (PA), functional health status, and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older Chinese adults.

Methods: Nationally representative data (n = 5949) from the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011-2013) were examined using the multigroup structural equation modeling approach.

Results: The results suggest that higher availability of recreational facilities in the urban communities was associated with higher levels of leisure time physical activity (LTPA), better functional capacity, and less occurrence of depressive symptoms among urban participants.

The Impact of Low Accelerometer Wear Time on the Estimates and Application of Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity Data in Adults.

Background: This investigation sought to determine how accelerometer wear (1) biased estimates of sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA), (2) affected misclassifications for meeting the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, and (3) impacted the results of regression models examining the association between moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and a clinically relevant health outcome.

Methods: A total of 100 participants [age: 20.6 (7.

Developing a statewide childhood body mass index surveillance program.

Background: Several states have implemented childhood obesity surveillance programs supported by legislation. Representatives from Idaho wished to develop a model for childhood obesity surveillance without the support of state legislation, and subsequently report predictors of overweight and obesity in the state.

Methods: A coalition comprised of the Idaho State Department of Education and 4 universities identified a randomized cluster sample of schools.

Determinants of Variance in the Habitual Physical Activity of Overweight Adults.

Background: The number of days of data and number of subjects necessary to estimate total physical activity (TPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) requires an understanding of within- and between-subject variances, and the influence of sex, body composition, and age.

Methods: Seventy-one adults wore accelerometers for 7-day intervals over 6 consecutive months.

Results: Body fat and sex influenced TPA and MVPA.

The metabolizable energy of dietary resistant maltodextrin is variable and alters fecal microbiota composition in adult men.

Resistant maltodextrin (RM) is a novel soluble, nonviscous dietary fiber. Its metabolizable energy (ME) and net energy (NE) values derived from nutrient balance studies are unknown, as is the effect of RM on fecal microbiota. A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover study was conducted (n = 14 men) to determine the ME and NE of RM and its influence on fecal excretion of macronutrients and microbiota.

Associations of objectively measured sedentary behavior, light activity, and markers of cardiometabolic health in young women.

Purpose: To investigate the associations among objectively measured sedentary behavior, light physical activity, and markers of cardiometabolic health in young women.

Methods: Cardiovascular disease risk factors, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), lipid accumulation product, and inflammatory markers were measured in 50 young, adult women. Accelerometers were worn over 7 days to assess sedentary time (<150 counts min(-1)), light physical activity (150-2,689 counts min(-1)), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA; ≥2,690 counts min(-1)).

Whey protein but not soy protein supplementation alters body weight and composition in free-living overweight and obese adults.

A double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted to determine the effect of consumption of supplemental whey protein (WP), soy protein (SP), and an isoenergetic amount of carbohydrate (CHO) on body weight and composition in free-living overweight and obese but otherwise healthy participants. Ninety overweight and obese participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups for 23 wk: 1) WP; 2) SP (each providing ~56 g/d of protein and 1670 kJ/d); or 3) an isoenergetic amount of CHO. Supplements were consumed as a beverage twice daily.

The US Department of Agriculture Automated Multiple-Pass Method reduces bias in the collection of energy intakes.

Background: The US Department of Agriculture Automated Multiple-Pass Method (AMPM) is used for collecting 24-h dietary recalls in What We Eat In America, the dietary interview component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Because the data have important program and policy applications, it is essential that the validity of the method be tested.

Objective: The accuracy of the AMPM was evaluated by comparing reported energy intake (EI) with total energy expenditure (TEE) by using the doubly labeled water (DLW) technique.

Estimates of adherence and error analysis of physical activity data collected via accelerometry in a large study of free-living adults.

Background: Activity monitors (AM) are small, electronic devices used to quantify the amount and intensity of physical activity (PA). Unfortunately, it has been demonstrated that data loss that occurs when AMs are not worn by subjects (removals during sleeping and waking hours) tend to result in biased estimates of PA and total energy expenditure (TEE). No study has reported the degree of data loss in a large study of adults, and/or the degree to which the estimates of PA and TEE are affected.

Comparison of two different physical activity monitors.

Background: Understanding the relationships between physical activity (PA) and disease has become a major area of research interest. Activity monitors, devices that quantify free-living PA for prolonged periods of time (days or weeks), are increasingly being used to estimate PA. A range of different activity monitors brands are available for investigators to use, but little is known about how they respond to different levels of PA in the field, nor if data conversion between brands is possible.

A controlled trial of reduced meal frequency without caloric restriction in healthy, normal-weight, middle-aged adults.

Background: Although consumption of 3 meals/d is the most common pattern of eating in industrialized countries, a scientific rationale for this meal frequency with respect to optimal health is lacking. A diet with less meal frequency can improve the health and extend the lifespan of laboratory animals, but its effect on humans has never been tested.

Objective: A pilot study was conducted to establish the effects of a reduced-meal-frequency diet on health indicators in healthy, normal-weight adults.

Validation of a food frequency questionnaire by direct measurement of habitual ad libitum food intake.

Food frequency questionnaires are commonly used to assess habitual food intake. Although food frequency questionnaires are known to produce measurement error, the amount of error and effectiveness of correction methods are poorly understood. Twelve men from the Baltimore, MD/Washington, DC, area consumed an ad libitum diet for 16 weeks during the spring of 2001.

Preprandial ghrelin is not affected by macronutrient intake, energy intake or energy expenditure.

Background: Ghrelin, a peptide secreted by endocrine cells in the gastrointestinal tract, is a hormone purported to have a significant effect on food intake and energy balance in humans. The influence of factors related to energy balance on ghrelin, such as daily energy expenditure, energy intake, and macronutrient intake, have not been reported. Secondly, the effect of ghrelin on food intake has not been quantified under free-living conditions over a prolonged period of time.

Dietary composition influences short-term endurance training-induced adaptations of substrate partitioning during exercise.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the influence of dietary composition on short-term endurance training-induced adaptations of substrate partitioning and time trial exercise performance. Eight untrained males cycled for 90 min at approximately 54% aerobic capacity while being infused with [6,6(2)H]glucose before and after two 10-d experimental phases separated by a 2-week washout period. Time trial performance was measured after the 90-min exercise trials before and after the 2nd experimental phase.

Effects of the interaction of sex and food intake on the relation between energy expenditure and body composition.

Background: The relation between physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) and percentage body fat (%BF) is not very strong in the general population. It is possible that variables such as sex, food intake, or both may in part explain this poor coupling.

Objective: This study was designed to show the relation between PAEE and %BF and to determine whether sex, food intake, or both influence the strength of the relation.

Black tea consumption reduces total and LDL cholesterol in mildly hypercholesterolemic adults.

Despite epidemiological evidence that tea consumption is associated with the reduced risk of coronary heart disease, experimental studies designed to show that tea affects oxidative stress or blood cholesterol concentration have been unsuccessful. We assessed the effects of black tea consumption on lipid and lipoprotein concentrations in mildly hypercholesterolemic adults. Tea and other beverages were included in a carefully controlled weight-maintaining diet.