bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Physical Activity, Socioeconomic Status, and Ethnicity on the Weight Status of Adolescents
Authors: McMurray Robert G. , Harrell Joanne S. , Deng Shibing , Bradley Chyrise B. , Cox Lori M. , Bangdiwala Shrikant I. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: This study examined the effects of physical activity, television viewing, video game play, socioeconomic status (SES), and ethnicity on body mass index (BMI).Research Methods and Procedures: The sample was 2389 adolescents, 10 to 16 years of age (12.7 ± 1.0 years); 1240 (52%) females and 1149 (48%) males; 77% white and 23% African American; from rural (77%) and urban (23%) settings. BMI and skinfolds were directly assessed. All other data were obtained from questionnaires.Results: Watching television on non‐school days was related to being overweight (p < 0.005). However, when BMI analyses were adjusted for ethnicity and SES, there were no significant effects of television viewing on BMI (p > 0.061). Increased hours of video game play enhanced the risk of being overweight for both genders when analyses were adjusted for ethnicity and SES (p < 0.019). In males, participation in as little as one high‐intensity physical activity 3 to 5 days a week decreased the ethnic‐ and SES‐adjusted relative risk of being overweight (RR = 0.646; CI: 0.427 to 0.977). For females, the ethnic‐ and SES‐adjusted relative risk for being overweight was not significantly altered by physical activity. The logistic analyses further indicated the influence of low SES and African American ethnicity overshadowed any direct effect of television or videos.Discussion: Because weight status of male adolescents appears to be more related to exercise habits than to television or video game habits, increased participation in high‐intensity exercise appears to be important. For females, neither videos nor exercise habits appear to be related to risk of being overweight. However, ethnicity and SES may be important factors that can influence body weight status, while television viewing may be of some importance. Thus, programs to reduce obesity in female adolescent should focus their efforts in lower SES communities.
Evidence of Pleiotropic Loci for Fasting Insulin, Total Fat Mass, and Abdominal Visceral Fat in a Sedentary Population: The HERITAGE Family Study
Authors: Hong Yuling , Després Jean‐Pierre , Rice Treva , Nadeau André , Province Michael A. , Gagnon Jacques , Leon Arthur S. , Skinner James S. , Wilmore Jack H. , Bouchard Claude , Rao D. C. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective:To examine whether there is a major gene effect on fasting insulin and pleiotropic loci for fasting insulin, total fat mass (FM), and abdominal visceral fat (AVF).Research Methods and Procedures:A major gene hypothesis for fasting plasma insulin levels was assessed using segregation analyses of data on 495 members in 98 normolipidemic sedentary families of white descent who participated in the HERITAGE Family Study.Results:Segregation analyses were performed on insulin adjusted for age, on insulin adjusted for age and FM, and on insulin adjusted for age and AVF. Before adjustment for AVF and FM, a major gene effect on fasting insulin levels was indicated. The putative locus accounted for 54% of the variance under a recessive inheritance pattern, affecting 11% of the sample (i.e., allele frequency = 0.33). However, after adjusting for the effects of AVF or FM, neither a major effect alone nor a multifactorial component alone could be rejected, and support for a major gene was equivocal, i.e., neither the hypothesis of Mendelian τ values or that of the equal τs were rejected and the equal τ model fit the data better than the Mendelian τ model. This pattern (i.e., major gene evidence for insulin before but not after adjustment for AVF or FM) suggests that there is a putative locus with pleiotropic effects on both insulin and FM and another pleiotropic locus for both insulin and AVF.Discussion:Although these data do not directly support an additional major gene for insulin independent of AVF and FM, such support cannot be ruled out because there is still a significant major effect on FM‐ or AVF‐adjusted insulin (albeit the Mendelian nature of this effect is ambiguous).
The Effects of Drugs Used to Treat Obesity on the Autonomic Nervous System
Authors: Hirsch Jules , Mackintosh Ronald M. , Aronne Louis J. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective:Body fatness is partly under hypothalamic control with effector limbs, which include the endocrine system and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). In previous studies we have shown, in both obese and never‐obese subjects, that weight increase leads to increased sympathetic and decreased parasympathetic activity, whereas weight decrease leads to decreased sympathetic and increased parasympathetic activity. We now report on the involvement of such ANS mechanisms in the action of anti‐obesity drugs, independent of change in weight.Research Methods and Procedures:Normal weight males (ages 22 to 38 years) were fed a solid food diet, carefully measured to maintain body weight, for at least 2 weeks, as inpatients at the Rockefeller University General Clinical Research Center. In a single‐blind, placebo/drug/placebo design, eight subjects received dexfenfluramine, seven phentermine (PHE), and seven sibutramine (SIB). ANS measures of parasympathetic and sympathetic activity included: determination of amount of parasympathetic control (PC) and sympathetic control (SC) of heart period (interbeat interval), using sequential pharmacological blockade by intravenous administration of atropine and esmolol. These autonomic controls of heart period are used to estimate the overall level of parasympathetic and sympathetic activities. Norepinephrine, dopamine, and epinephrine levels in 24‐hour urine collections were measured and also resting metabolic rate (RMR).Results:Sufficient food intake maintained constant body weight in all groups. PHE and SIB produced significant increases in SC but no change in PC or in RMR. In contrast, dexfenfluramine produced marked decreases in SC, PC, and RMR. For all three drugs, the effects on urine catecholamines directly paralleled changes in cardiac measures of SC.Discussion:ANS responses to PHE and SIB were anticipated. The large, and unanticipated, response to dexfenfluramine suggests further study to determine whether there could be any relation of these ANS changes to the adverse cardiovascular effects of treatment with dexfenfluramine.
The Relationship of Childhood Adiposity to Parent Body Mass Index and Eating Behavior
Authors: Whitaker Robert C. , Deeks Cindy M. , Baughcum Amy E. , Specker Bonny L. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: To better understand risk factors for the development of obesity in early childhood, we examined the association between children's adiposity and their parents' eating behavior and body mass index (BMI).Research Methods and Procedures: Parents of 85 white children 36 months of age (49 boys and 36 girls) completed the Three‐Factor Eating Questionnaire measuring three dimensions of parent eating behavior: disinhibited eating, cognitive restraint of eating, and susceptibility to hunger. Parent BMI (kg/m2) was calculated using self‐reported height and weight. The children's percentage body fat was assessed by dual energy X‐ray absorptiometry analysis.Results: Twenty‐six percent of parents were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). Both maternal and paternal BMI were associated with higher scores for disinhibition (r = 0.69 and r = 0.68, p < 0.001), and maternal BMI was also associated with higher scores for hunger (r = 0.51, p < 0.001). There were no significant relationships between children's percentage body fat and parent eating scores, and the correlation between children's percentage body fat and parent BMI was significant only between mothers and daughters (r = 0.35, p = 0.04). Obese parents were no more likely to have a child who was fatter (upper quintile of percentage body fat for gender).Discussion: Among 36 month‐old white children, parent eating behavior was related to parent BMI, but not to children's adiposity. There was only a weak relationship between parent BMI and child adiposity. Despite the aggregation of adiposity within families due to shared genes and environments, children may not express differences in susceptibility to obesity by 3 years of age.
Overweight, Obesity, and Blood Pressure: The Effects of Modest Weight Reduction
Authors: Mertens Ilse L. , van Gaal Luc F. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractSeveral large epidemiological studies have shown an association between body mass index and blood pressure in normal weight and overweight patients. Weight gain in adult life especially seems to be an important risk factor for the development of hypertension. Weight loss has been recommended for the obese hypertensive patient and has been shown to be the most effective nonpharmacological treatment approach. However, long‐term results of weight loss programs are disappointing with people often regaining most of the weight initially lost. In recent years, a modest weight loss, defined as a weight loss of 5% to 10% of baseline weight, has received increasing attention as a new treatment strategy for overweight and obese patients. A more gradual and moderate weight loss is more likely to be maintained over a longer period of time. Several studies have confirmed the blood pressure‐lowering effect of a modest weight loss in both hypertensive and nonhypertensive patients. A modest weight loss can normalize blood pressure levels even without reaching ideal weight. In patients taking antihypertensive medication, a modest weight loss has been shown to lower or even discontinue the need for antihypertensive medication. In patients with high normal blood pressure, a modest weight loss can prevent the onset of frank hypertension. The blood pressure‐lowering effect of weight loss is most likely a result of an improvement in insulin sensitivity and a decrease in sympathetic nervous system activity and occurs independent of salt restriction. In conclusion, a modest weight loss that can be maintained over a longer period of time is a valuable treatment goal in hypertensive patients.
Fibrinogen, Other Putative Markers of Inflammation, and Weight Gain in Middle‐aged Adults—The ARIC Study
Authors: Duncan Bruce B. , Schmidt Maria Ines , Chambless Lloyd E. , Folsom Aaron R. , Carpenter Myra , Heiss Gerardo ,   for the ARIC Investigators
Published: April 2008

AbstractPurpose: Weight gain is an important risk factor for the development of the metabolic syndrome, and inflammatory mediators are strongly associated with this syndrome. Our aim was to investigate whether inflammation predicts the development of weight gain in populations.Research Methods and Procedures: We investigated selected markers of inflammation in the prediction of weight gain over an approximately 3‐year period in a biethnic cohort of 13,017 men and women, 45 to 64 years of age, using multiple linear and logistic regression modeling.Results: In adjusted models, those in the highest quartile of fibrinogen gained, during the first 3 years of follow‐up, an estimated 0.23 kg/year more than those in the lowest quartile (p < 0.001). Adjusted odds of a large (greater than the 90th percentile) weight gain for those in the highest quartile of fibrinogen were 1.65 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.38 to 1.97) times those in the lowest quartile. Similarly adjusted odds ratios for a large weight gain for those with high levels of white blood cell count, factor VIII, and von Willebrand factor were 1.38 (1.14 to 1.67), 1.28 (1.08 to 1.53), and 1.28 (1.08 to 1.51), respectively.Discussion: Fibrinogen and other putative markers of inflammation predict weight gain in middle‐aged adults. Given the known links between the inflammatory response and intermediary metabolism and the methodological strengths of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort, these findings, though without immediate clinical applicability, suggest that inflammatory processes play a role in the development of the metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease in part through stimulation of weight gain.
Visceral Adipose Tissue and Markers of the Insulin Resistance Syndrome in Obese Black and White Teenagers
Authors: Owens Scott , Gutin Bernard , Barbeau Paule , Litaker Mark , Allison Jerry , Humphries Matthew , Okuyama Tomoki , Le Ngoc‐Anh 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: To determine the relationships between visceral and general adiposity, cardiovascular fitness, and markers of the insulin resistance syndrome in obese black and white teenagers.Research Methods and Procedures: Cross‐sectional survey of 81 obese 13‐ to 16‐year‐old youths. Visceral adipose tissue was measured with magnetic resonance imaging, and percentage body fat was measured with dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry. Cardiovascular fitness was assessed with a submaximal treadmill test. Fasting blood samples were analyzed for lipids/lipoproteins and insulin. Resting blood pressure was obtained using an automated cuff.Results: Visceral adipose tissue was significantly correlated with unfavorable levels of: triacylglycerol (r = 0.27, p < 0.05), total cholesterol (r = 0.27, p < 0.05), high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = −0.26, p < 0.05), the ratio of total cholesterol/high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = 0.42, p < 0.01), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (r = 0.27, p < 0.05), apolipoprotein B (r = 0.38, p < 0.01), and systolic blood pressure (r = 0.30, p < 0.01). Multiple regression analyses revealed that visceral adipose tissue was more powerful than percentage body fat for explaining variance in lipoproteins (e.g., for the ratio of total cholesterol/high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, r2 = 0.13, p < 0.01, and for systolic blood pressure, r2 = 0.07, p < 0.05). Ethnicity was the most powerful of the demographic predictors for blood lipids (r2 = 0.15 for triacylglycerol with lower levels in blacks; r2 = 0.10 for high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol with higher levels in blacks; r2 = 0.06 for the ratio of total cholesterol/high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol with lower levels in blacks). Cardiovascular fitness was not retained as a significant predictor of markers of the insulin resistance syndrome.Discussion: Some of the deleterious relationships between visceral adiposity and markers for the insulin resistance syndrome seen in adults were already present in these obese young people.
Effects of Sibutramine Plus Orlistat in Obese Women Following 1 Year of Treatment by Sibutramine Alone: A Placebo‐Controlled Trial
Authors: Wadden Thomas A. , Berkowitz Robert I. , Womble Leslie G. , Sarwer David B. , Arnold Marjorie E. , Steinberg Carrie M. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: This study assessed whether adding orlistat to sibutramine would induce further weight loss in patients who previously had lost weight while taking sibutramine alone.Research Methods and Procedures: Patients were 34 women with a mean age of 44.1 ± 10.4 years, weight of 89.4 ± 13.8 kg, and body mass index (BMI) of 33.9 ± 4.9 kg/m2 who had lost an average of 11.6 ± 9.2% of initial weight during the prior 1 year of treatment by sibutramine combined with lifestyle modification. Patients were randomly assigned, in double‐blind fashion, to sibutramine plus orlistat or sibutramine plus placebo. In addition to medication, participants were provided five brief lifestyle modification visits during the 16‐week continuation trial.Results: Mean body weight did not change significantly in either treatment condition during the 16 weeks. The addition of orlistat to sibutramine did not induce further weight loss as compared with treatment by sibutramine alone (mean changes = +0.1 ± 4.1 kg vs. +0.5 ± 2.1 kg, respectively).Discussion: These results must be interpreted with caution because of the study's small sample size. The findings, however, suggest that the combination of sibutramine and orlistat is unlikely to have additive effects that will yield mean losses ≥15% of initial weight, as desired by many obese individuals.
Differential Expression of Leptin Receptor in High‐ and Low‐Fat‐Fed Osborne‐Mendel and S5B/Pl Rats
Authors: Madiehe Abram M. , Schaffhauser Andrea O. , Braymer Douglas H. , Bray George A. , York David A. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: The regulation of body weight and body composition involves input from genes and the environment. This interaction is demonstrated by the different susceptibility of Osborne‐Mendel (OM) and S5B/P1 rat strains to obesity when offered a high‐fat diet. In animals and humans, diet‐induced obesity has been characterized by hyperleptinemia, which has been interpreted as evidence for leptin resistance. This investigation determined if altered expression of leptin receptors (ObR) in the hypothalamus could potentially contribute to altered sensitivity to diet‐induced obesity between OM and S5B/Pl rats.Research Methods and Procedures: OM and S5B/Pl rats were fed high‐fat (HF) or low‐fat (LF) diets for 14 days. Ribonuclease protection assays and Western blotting were used to assay the levels of mRNA and protein, respectively, for short (ObR‐S) and long (ObR‐L) forms of the leptin receptor in the hypothalamus.Results: The mRNA encoding ObR‐L, the predominant signaling form of the receptor, was higher in OM rats than in S5B/P1 rats (p < 0.01) both on HF and LF diets. No changes in ObR‐L mRNA expression were observed in OM rats with diet, but, S5B/P1 rats showed a slight increase in the ObR‐L on the LF diet. On the contrary, there were no changes in ObR‐S mRNA expression due to diet or strain. Western blots showed that both the short and long forms of the receptor were increased on the LF diet, but there were no strain differences. OM and S5B/Pl rats had comparable leptin levels after maintenance on a LF diet (6.20 ± 0.63 and 4.81 ± 0.82 ng/mL, respectively). Serum leptin levels in OM rats were increased by the HF diet and were elevated 2‐fold over those of their S5B/Pl counterparts.Discussion: These results suggest that a decrease in the levels of both the long form and short form of the receptor may contribute to the leptin resistance seen in HF‐fed rats. These effects appear to be post‐transcriptional, because equivalent changes were not observed in the expression of ObR‐L and ObR‐S mRNAs. They may be related to the increase in circulating leptin levels, suggesting that high serum leptin levels contribute to increased leptin resistance and subsequently lead to obesity. We conclude that down‐regulation of receptor protein levels is associated with hypothalamic leptin resistance of HF‐fed rats.
Associations of Fat Distribution and Obesity with Hypertension in a Bi‐ethnic Population: The ARIC Study
Authors: Harris Margaret M. , Stevens June , Thomas Neal , Schreiner Pam , Folsom Aaron R. 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: To examine associations of hypertension with obesity and fat distribution among African American and white men and women.Research Methods and Procedures: The analysis sample included 15,063 African American and white men and women between the ages of 45 and 64 years who were participants in the 1987 through 1989 examination of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC). Odds ratios and adjusted prevalences of hypertension were calculated across sexspecific quintiles of body mass index (BMI), waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR), waist circumference, and waist‐to‐height ratio (waist/height) and adjusted for age, research center, smoking, education, physical activity, alcohol consumption, hormone replacement therapy, and menopausal status.Results: The prevalence of hypertension was higher among African Americans than whites. In the lowest quintile of BMI, 41% of African American women and 43% of African American men had hypertension compared with 14% of white women and 19% of white men. Elevated BMI, WHR, waist circumference, and waist/height were associated with increased odds of hypertension in African American and white men and women. In women, but not in men, there were significant interactions between ethnicity and the anthropometric variables studied here. The direction of the interaction indicated larger odds ratios for hypertension with increasing levels of anthropometric indices in white compared with African American women.Discussion: Obesity and abdominal fat preponderance were associated with increased prevalence of hypertension in African American and white men and women. Associations were similar among African American and white men, but obesity and fat patterning were less strongly associated with hypertension in African American than in white women.
Relationship Between Birth Weight and Body Composition, Energy Metabolism, and Sympathetic Nervous System Activity Later in Life
Authors: Weyer Christian , Pratley Richard E. , Lindsay Robert S. , Tataranni P. Antonio 
Published: April 2008

AbstractObjective: Epidemiological studies suggest that high birth weight might be associated with an increased risk of obesity later in life. Programming of metabolic, endocrine, and/or autonomic pathways during intrauterine development has been proposed to explain this association.Research Methods and Procedures: To determine the relationship between birth weight and body composition and energy metabolism later in life, we measured fat mass and fat‐free mass (hydrodensitometry or double‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry), 24‐hour energy expenditure, sleeping metabolic rate, and 24‐hour respiratory quotient (respiratory chamber) in 272 adult nondiabetic Pima Indians (161 males/111 females, age 25 ± 5 years, mean ± SD). In these subjects, birth weight varied over a wide range (2000 to 5000 g). Individuals known to be offspring of diabetic pregnancies were excluded. In 44 of the 272 subjects, muscle sympathetic nerve activity was assessed by microneurography.Results: Birth weight was positively correlated with adult height (r = 0.20, p < 0.001) and fat‐free mass (r = 0.21, p < 0.001), but not with fat mass (r = 0.01, not significant). Sleeping metabolic rate, adjusted for age, sex, fat‐free mass, and fat mass, was negatively related to birth weight (r = −0.13, p < 0.05), whereas adjusted 24‐hour energy expenditure (r = 0.07, not significant) and 24‐hour respiratory quotient (r = −0.09, not significant) were not. There was no relationship between birth weight and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (r = 0.12, not significant, n = 44).Discussion: In Pima Indians who are not offspring of diabetic pregnancies, high birth weight is associated with increased height and lean body mass, but not with increased adiposity later in life. Although high birth weight may be associated with relatively low resting energy expenditure, it is not associated with major abnormalities in 24‐hour energy metabolism or with low muscle sympathetic nerve activity later in life.