Which is the best anthropometric technique to identify obesity: body mass index, waist circumference or waist-hip ratio?

This study was designed to define the most suitable anthropometric technique among body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-hip ratio (WHR) as indices of obesity in adult people living in Adana, a Southern province of Turkey. A random sample design was used. A total of 900 individuals (men and non-pregnant women aged 25-65 years) were enrolled in the study. Of subjects, 50.9% were females. Anthropometric measurements were performed. Data were analysed using statistical package program. The prevalence of obesity among adults living in Adana was 20.8% 28.4% when defined using BMI, 30.5% by WC and 15.8% 42.0% by WHR. Truncal obesity and gynoid obesity showed similar prevalence with 26.6%, in the same age group. Waist circumference, BMI and WHR identified different proportions of the population, as measured for obesity prevalence. The most common methods for diagnosing overweight and obesity are based on BMI (kg/m2). However, BMI is suboptimal marker for total body fat percentage and even less suitable to assess body fat distribution. WHR is the most useful measure of obesity and the best simple anthropometric index in predicting a wide range of risk factors and related health conditions.     

How is a seita fitted to the body?

A seita is a carrier frame for backpacking used in Nishiki-cho, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. In this mountainous district, people make their living by agriculture and forestry and carry everything on their backs with seita. In this study, we investigated the relationships between the sizes of a body and the dimensions of a seita. This survey was conducted on 30 subjects (mean +/- SD; 68.1 +/- 9.0 years old) at three mountain villages. We measured some anthropometric sizes and seita dimensions and found that the correlation between height and sum of shoulder-lumbar-nuki distance (back length of a seita) and shoulder strap length is significant. In additional surveys, we took photographs with some markers on iliocristale, trochanterion, and so on, when the subjects carried seita in two load conditions. The photographs indicate that the load-supporting points in 16 of 23 subjects were between the iliocristale and trochanterion (i.e., on the sacrum). It is important to note that nobody showed that point above the iliocristale (i.e., on the lumbar vertebra). These data lead to the conclusion that when people in Nishik-icho carry loads with seita, they support loads not on the lumbar vertebrae but on the sacrum, and that they adjust the perimeter consisting of the back part and shoulder strap of the seita.     

Does handling reduce the winter body mass of the European hare?

Winter body mass of the European hare Lepus europaeus Pallas 1778 was analyzed with a special focus on changes induced by handling. Data were obtained from large scale translocation (net catchments) during 1960–1980 in Poland. The influence of handling was compared using the mass of first-time captured and repeatedly-captured hares, and, in case of repeated capture, individuals’ mass changes were investigated. The average body mass ranged from 2.1 kg to 5.0 kg. Generally, fewer factors influenced the hare’s body mass than expected. Body mass was related to age and winter precipitation, while the date of catching, sex and temperature did not have an effect. Body mass of first-captured hares were significantly higher than the re-captured ones (3.99±0.42 vs. 3.88±0.48, mean ±SD). Body mass change between captures was related to the date of the first capture, and the duration between the first capture and re-capture. Following the initial capture, a slight (2.8±2.6), but significant decrease in body weight occurred. Thus, the handling of hares should be used with caution during studies or management of the species.     

Overweight and poor? On the relationship between income and the body mass index

Contrary to conventional wisdom, NHANES data indicate that the poor have never had a statistically significant higher prevalence of overweight status at any time in the last 35 years. Despite this empirical evidence, the view that the poor are less healthy in terms of excess accumulation of fat persists. This paper provides evidence that conventional wisdom is reflecting important differences in the relationship between income and the body mass index. The first finding is based on distribution-sensitive measures of overweight which indicates that the severity of overweight has been higher for the poor than the nonpoor throughout the last 35 years. The second finding is from a newly introduced estimator, unconditional quantile regression (UQR), which provides a measure of the income-gradient in BMI at different points on the unconditional BMI distribution. The UQR estimator indicates that the strongest relationship between income and BMI is observed at the tails of the distribution. There is a statistically significant negative income gradient in BMI at the obesity threshold and some evidence of a positive gradient at the underweight threshold. Both of these UQR estimates imply that for those at the tails of the BMI distribution, increases in income are correlated with healthier BMI values.     

Obesity and the rate of time preference: is there a connection?

It is hypothesized that recent trends in US and worldwide obesity are, in part, related to an increase in the marginal rate of time preference, where time preference refers to the rate at which people are willing to trade current benefit for future benefit. The higher the rate of time preference, the larger is the factor by which individuals discount the future health risks associated with current consumption. Data from the United States, as well as international evidence, suggest that a relationship between these two variables is plausible. The authors encourage researchers to explore the possible link between obesity and time preference, as important insights are likely to result.     

Are time preference and body mass index associated?: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth

The prevalence of obesity among both adults and children in the U.S. has risen to all time highs in the past two decades. We propose that an increase in the marginal rate of time preference has contributed to increasing obesity. More people are consuming more calories than they expend because they have become less willing to trade current pleasure for potential future health benefits. Accordingly, this paper explores the association between body mass index (BMI) and time preference. We use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) to test our hypothesis that time preference and BMI are positively related. We find some evidence that there is such a positive association among black and Hispanic men and black women.     

Cardioprotective effect of hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women: is the evidence biased?

OBJECTIVE--To quantify the effect of selection of relatively healthy women in studies reporting reduced relative risk for cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women taking hormone replacement therapy. DESIGN--Review of the follow up studies reported in three recent meta-analyses to determine the effect of oestrogen therapy on both total cancer and cardiovascular disease. The same standard statistical methods as in the original analyses were used. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Relative risks of total cancer and cardiovascular disease. RESULTS--In most of the follow up studies the relative risk for total cancer was below 1. The studies that showed the largest reduction in cardiovascular disease also showed the largest reduction in cancer, indicating a healthy cohort effect. Although heterogeneity within the studies prevented pooling, the best estimate for the protective effect on total cancer was a relative risk of 0.83 among women taking oestrogen (95% confidence interval 0.71 to 0.96), while in the same studies the relative risk for cardiovascular disease was 0.57 (0.50 to 0.64). CONCLUSIONS--Unintended selection of relatively healthy women for oestrogen therapy may have influenced the reported beneficial effect of oestrogen therapy on cardiovascular disease. It is unclear how much of the cardioprotection is due to this selection. Universal preventive hormonal replacement therapy for postmenopausal women is unwarranted at present.     

Assessing the intensity of sexual selection on male body mass and antler length in roe deer Capreolus capreolus: is bigger better in a weakly dimorphic species?

Little is known about traits under sexual selection in territorial mammals with low sexual size dimorphism. We examined the potential for sexual selection on male body mass and antler length in the European roe deer Capreolus capreolus, a territorial ungulate in which males are less than 10% heavier than females. Independently, both body mass and antler length (irrespective of age) had a positive effect on male yearly breeding success. However, when corrected for body mass, antler length at a given mass only had a slight effect on male breeding success. This suggests that: (1) ‘bigger is better’ and (2) sexual selection is responsible for at least part of the observed variation in body mass and antler length in roe deer. High body mass and large antlers may be advantageous to males for two reasons: (1) they enhance fighting ability and dominance, so allowing males to defend better their territory and hence access mates, and (2) they attract females because they are honest signals of male phenotypic quality. This suggests that, even in weakly dimorphic ungulate species, sexual selection may lead to a marked influence of body mass on male breeding success, as long as body mass is also strongly selected in females.     

What is the real value of chitosan's surface energy?

Because of conflicting reports and unrealistic literature values, a systematic study of the surface energy of chitin, chitosan, and their respective monomeric counterparts was carried out using contact angle measurements on films and pellets, before and after different purification procedures. All the commercial samples of these polymers were shown to contain nonpolar impurities that gave rise to enormous errors in the determination of the polar component of their surface energy. After their thorough removal, the value of the total surface energy (gamma(s)), and particularly of its polar component, increased considerably and reached the classical polysaccharide figures of gamma(s)d approximately 30 and gamma(s)p approximately 30 mJ/m2. The characterization of the impurities by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis indicated the presence of significant amounts of higher alkanes, fatty acids, and alcohols and sterols.     

Perioperative management of pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma: is there a state of the art?

Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma are rare tumors of sympathetic or parasympathetic origin, presenting with a highly variable clinical picture. Rarity, as well as biological, clinical, and genetic heterogeneity are barriers to initiate prospective studies that help to establish clinical guidelines. The best management of these patients relies on the experience of a multidisciplinary team. The ultimate outcome can benefit from adequate pre-surgical evaluation and treatment as well as an accurate post-surgical follow-up. Long-term follow-up is mandatory in all patients, but is particularly important in specific familial cases such as those with an SDHB mutation where the risks of recurrence are higher. The surgical approach varies depending on tumor size, location, and surgeon's personal attitude and experience. In this paper, we summarize recommendations, based mostly on authors' and other experts' personal experiences, for the best possible management of patients prior, during and after surgery, as well as when pheochromocytoma is diagnosed during pregnancy.     

Semi-intact CHO and endothelial cells: a tool to probe the control of integrin activity?

An in vitro assay has been developed using semi-intact cells, made with the bacterial toxin streptolysin O, in order to measure integrin activity in relation to the cytosol environment. In this assay, the cytosolic content can easily be modified while the receptor binding activity is measured by monitoring the interaction of specific radiolabeled substrates with the cell surface. Using two different cell types, i.e., wild-type Chinese hamster ovary cells and human endothelial cells in culture, it has been shown that the binding activities of the fibronectin and fibrinogen receptors become cytosol-dependent on perforated cells. Furthermore, this control depends on micromolar concentrations of intracellular calcium, suggesting that calcium or calcium binding protein(s) may play a key role in controlling integrin activity.     

Transport of tools and mental representation: is capuchin monkey tool behaviour a useful model of Plio-Pleistocene hominid technology?

Capuchin monkeys display greatly developed tool-using capacities, performing successfully a variety of tool-tasks. Impressed by their achievements in this respect, some investigators have suggested that capuchin tool-using behaviour could be used as a model of the tool behaviour of the first hominids. The transport of tools, a task requiring complex cognitive capabilities, is an essential ingredient in the technological behaviour of the first hominids. In this way, to qualify as another source for modelling hominid behavioural evolution, capuchins had to exhibit proficiency in the transport of tools. We investigated this problem through experiments designed to elicit the transport of objects. The results showed that the monkeys were able to transport food to be processed with the use of tools, but failed when the tools themselves had to be transported. Our hypothesis is that a limited capacity for abstract representation, together with the lack of a regulatory system ensuring that the food would not be lost and consumed by another individual during the search for and transport of the tools, were responsible for such a failure. We conclude that the tool-using behaviour of capuchins presents no functional analogy with the tool behaviour of the Plio-Pleistocene hominids, and that capuchin monkeys are a very inadequate source for modelling Plio-Pleistocene hominid's technological behaviour.     

Is the body the self? Women and body image

This paper discusses how women's body image or experience of the body influences their identity and self-image. What are the implications of this tendency to equate the body and the self? For many women, being a dieter represents not only something that they do, but also an important aspect of how they see themselves. We propose that choosing to become a chronic dieter is a means of regulating not just one's feelings, but also one's identity and self-image when those central aspects of the self feel threatened. Weight-loss dieting is often unsuccessful, however, and repeated dieting attempts may increase weight as often as they reduce it, so using body shape to determine self-worth or identity is a maladaptive strategy for most women.     

Leaf dry matter content as a predictor of grassland litter decomposition: a test of the ��mass ratio hypothesis��

The mass ratio hypothesis provides the key link between plant functional traits (PFTs) and ecosystem processes. Despite its centrality to the field it has had few direct tests. A litter decomposition study using grassland species, singly and in mixtures, was set up to see whether simple leaf traits could be used to predict the decomposition of leaf mixtures. Leaf Dry Matter Content (LDMC) was the trait that performed best. Mass loss in single species bags was best predicted using an exponential model. LDMC explained 48% of the variance in mixture mass loss. There was no significant impact of mixture species richness on mass loss. This study generally confirmed the predictions of the mass ratio hypothesis, but adds some support to other studies that indicate it needs broadening to take into account non-linear and threshold relationships between PFTs and ecosystem processes.     

Mechanism of the intracardiac interactions of the vagus and sympathetic nerves: is a serotoninergic mechanism possible?

A study was made of the conditions of the occurrence and mechanisms of the enhancement by the sympathetic nerve of the vagus-induced inhibition of rabbit heart work. It was discovered that to obtain such a phenomenon, it is necessary that stimulation of the stellate ganglion be made in the presence of perithreshold stimulation of the vagus after blockade of beta-adrenoreceptors. The inhibitory effect was not abolished by dihydroergotoxin but was blocked by promedol, aminazine and diprazine. It is suggested that the serotoninergic component is involved in the mechanism of the enhancement of the vagus-induced inhibition that occurs during stimulation of the sympathetic nerve.