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Biomedical subjects

M Story

Publications and source records attributed to M Story.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Food habits and dietary change of Southeast Asian refugee families living in the United States.

Food habits and changes in food consumption patterns were assessed among 60 Southeast Asian refugee families (Cambodian and Hmong) living in the United States. With the use of a structured interview schedule, in-home interviews were conducted by a Hmong or a Cambodian bilingual staff person with the adult having primary responsibility for family meal preparation. Results indicated that while food buying practices have changed drastically in the U.S., Southeast Asian refugee families have maintained strong ties to their native foods and traditional diets. In the U.S., as in Southeast Asia, rice remains the staple food in their diet. High status foods in Cambodia and Laos, such as fruits, meats, and soft drinks, remain highly preferred foods in the U.S. and are consumed frequently. Although most adults prefer eating their native foods, their children prefer both American and native foods. Thirty percent of the adolescents in the home had major responsibility for evening meal preparation.

Adolescent↗

Food preferences, beliefs, and practices of Southeast Asian refugee adolescents.

Food preferences, beliefs, and practices were assessed among 207 Southeast Asian refugee high school students, all of whom had been in the U.S. five years or less. Questionnaires typed both in English as well as their native language of either Cambodian, Vietnamese, or Hmong, were administered to all students in a classroom setting. Results indicated Southeast Asian refugee youth have maintained strong ties to their native foods and traditional meal patterns. In the U.S., as in Southeast Asia, rice remains the staple food in their diet. High status foods in Southeast Asia such as fruits, meats, and soft drinks remain highly preferred in the U.S. While milk is well-liked, cheese remains a strongly disliked food item. Fruits and vegetables are frequently consumed. Nutritionally weak American foods such as candy bars, cake, and potato chips are not consumed frequently. However, soft drinks are consumed daily by almost one-third of the students. Breakfast was missed by almost 60% of females and 37% of males. Forty-five percent of the youth reported they had primary responsibility for evening meal preparation.

Adolescent↗

Adolescent nutrition: self-perceived deficiencies and needs of practitioners working with youth.

Sixty-three percent of a random sample of 866 members within three practice groups of The American Dietetic Association responded to a survey designed to assess (a) perceived competency of nutrition management in 20 major areas of adolescent health, (b) desire to increase skill level in each area, and (c) preferred approaches for continuing education activities. Of the 549 respondents, 92% were registered dietitians (R.D.s), 5% were registration-eligible, and more than half (51%) had advanced degrees. Twenty-five percent or more of all practitioners reported deficiencies in 17 of the 20 categories. The five top areas in which respondents believed that they had insufficient skills were psychosomatic problems (87%), handicapping conditions (82%), sports nutrition (81%), alcohol/drug abuse-related nutrition concerns (80%), and anorexia nervosa/bulimia nervosa (72%). The strongest desires to improve skills were in the areas of obesity, poor dietary patterns, sports nutrition, food fads, supplement misuse, alternative diets, and eating disorders. There was low interest in strengthening skills in family planning, psychosomatic problems, and handicapping conditions. The implications of the results are discussed. Continuing education methods respondents believed to be most beneficial for learning were small conferences, lectures with ample discussion, and "hands-on" workshops.

Adolescent↗

Nutrition management and dietary treatment of bulimia.

Bulimia is a complex disorder that requires a multifaceted treatment approach. Treatment for bulimia, as for anorexia nervosa, is often difficult and challenging. Treatment approaches have been limited, and no single approach has emerged as a treatment of choice. This article presents one method for treating bulimic patients, emphasizing a multidisciplinary treatment team and an individualized treatment plan.

Attitude to Health↗

Anthropometric measurements and dietary intakes of Cherokee Indian teenagers in North Carolina.

Anthropometric measurements, rates of obesity, and food intake practices were investigated among 277 Cherokee Indian youths in North Carolina. Differences in food intake practices between lean and fat individuals were also assessed. Height, weight, and triceps skinfold measurements were taken, along with three dietary recalls. When Cherokee height data were compared with national survey data, no significant differences were found. In contrast, mean body weights and triceps skinfolds of Cherokees were significantly higher than national reference data. Obesity rates were found to be high; almost one-half of the Cherokee boys and one-third of the girls had skinfold thicknesses above the 85th percentile for Ten-State Nutrition Survey reference data. The effects of degree of Cherokee blood on height, weight, and triceps skinfolds were also analyzed. No significant differences existed for triceps skinfolds or weight and degree of Indian blood. However, there was a significant relationship (p less than .001) between height and degree of Indian blood, with a decrease in height with an increase in Indian blood. Mean energy intakes were not significantly different between the lean and fat individuals. Similarly, no differences were found in meal or snacking patterns. It does not appear that the obesity is caused by overeating. The high incidence of obesity among the youth and the prevalence of maturity-onset diabetes in the adult Cherokee population speaks to the need for management of obesity.

Adolescent↗

Rapid action of glucagon on hepatic mitochondrial calcium metabolism and respiratory rates.

The time course for the effects of acute, in vivo glucagon treatment on energy-linked functions of isolated hepatic mitochondria has been studied. After 1 min of glucagon treatment, two changes are observed in mitochondrial function. State 4 (nonphosphorylating) respiratory rates with L-glutamate as substrate are decreased. No significant change is observed in the State 4 respiratory rates with succinate as substrate at 1 min of treatment. Concurrent with the change in nonphosphorylating respiratory rates is a decrease in the half time of spontaneous calcium release from mitochondria preloaded with calcium in a phosphate-containing medium. After 2-4 min of treatment, the previously reported stimulations in rates of State 3 (phosphorylating) respiration and calcium influx into mitochondria are observed. After approximately 6 min of treatment, these changes have reached their maxima. The combined effects of increased calcium uptake rate and decreased calcium efflux rate leads to a decrease in the calcium cycling rate of mitochondria. This decrease in the cycling rate should lead to the increased efficiency of mitochondrial energy transduction and may be responsible, in part, for the increased functional capability of mitochondria isolated from glucagon-treated animals. A correlate of the reduced cycling rate is a decrease in the steady-state concentration at which the mitochondria can buffer the calcium concentration of the incubation medium. The changes observed in calcium efflux rates and respiratory rates exhibit a time course consistent with possible intermediates in the glucagon-induced stimulation of hepatic gluconeogenesis.

Animals↗

Studies on the peripheral pharmacology of fenazoxine, a potential antidepressant drug.

1. The action of fenazoxine, a cyclized analogue of orphenadrine, has been studied on peripheral tissues innervated by adrenergic and cholinergic nerves. The hypothesis that cyclization of the alkyl amino chain of orphenadrine results in a molecule which retains the noradrenaline sensitizing action of orphenadrine but lacks the antimuscarinic activity has been investigated.2. The antimuscarinic activity of fenazoxine, on guinea pig ileum, was approximately 1/30 that of orphenadrine.3. Fenazoxine, desmethylimipramine and cocaine potentiated the response to noradrenaline and sympathetic nerve stimulation on the cat nictitating membrane, isolated rabbit ear artery and isolated driven atrial strip preparations.4. On the driven atrial strip preparation, fenazoxine at concentrations of 5 x 10(-7)M and 1 x 10(-6)M produced a small potentiation of the inotropic response to isoprenaline. At 5 x 10(-6)M and 5 x 10(-5)M fenazoxine antagonized the inotropic response to tyramine.5. Chronic denervation of the cat nictitating membrane abolished the potentiating action of fenazoxine.6. The results presented suggest that fenazoxine inhibits the uptake of catecholamines in a manner similar to that reported for desmethylimipramine and cocaine.7. Evidence is also presented which suggests that fenazoxine, like desmethylimipramine, possesses anti-noradrenaline activity at higher concentrations.

Animals↗

Correlates of inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption among adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The present study aims to determine the prevalence of inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption among adolescents and to determine sociodemographic, personal, psychosocial, and behavioral correlates of inadequate consumption. METHODS: Data presented in this study were taken from the Minnesota Adolescent Health Survey, a classroom-administered questionnaire, which was completed by 36,284 adolescents in grades 7-12. Chi-square analyses and multivariate logistic regressions controlling for socioeconomic status, ethnicity, age, gender, and BMI were done. RESULTS: Inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables was common among the study population. Less than daily consumption of fruits and vegetables was reported by approximately 40% of adolescents from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Ethnic differences in eating patterns were also apparent in that American Indians were at highest risk for inadequate fruit consumption and African Americans were at greatest risk for inadequate vegetable consumption. Psychosocial correlates of inadequate intake included low family connectedness, weight dissatisfaction, and poor academic achievement. Frequent dieting was associated with inadequate fruit consumption but not with vegetable consumption. Health-compromising behaviors such as binge eating, substance abuse, and past suicide attempts were correlated with inadequate intake. CONCLUSIONS: The results stress the need for intervention programs aimed at increased consumption of fruits and vegetables among adolescents. While programs need to reach all adolescents, approaches need to be suitable to those at highest risk for inadequate consumption, in particular those from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Adolescent↗

Healthy eating: what does it mean to adolescents?

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the meanings of "healthy" and "unhealthy" eating and the importance of healthy eating among adolescents. DESIGN: Twenty-five structured focus groups were conducted. SUBJECTS: These focus groups consisted of 203 adolescent girls and boys enrolled in three senior high schools and one junior high school. VARIABLES MEASURED: The variables measured were adolescents' self-report of perceptions of healthy and unhealthy eating and their descriptions of the importance of healthy eating to adolescents. ANALYSIS: Data analysis was done by general content coding and specific content coding. RESULTS: Adolescents have a significant amount of knowledge regarding healthy foods and believe that healthy eating involves moderation, balance, and variety. Despite this knowledge, they find it difficult to follow healthy eating recommendations and frequently consume foods that they perceive as unhealthy. Barriers to healthy eating include a lack of time, limited availability of healthy foods in schools, and a general lack of concern regarding following healthy eating recommendations. IMPLICATIONS: These findings suggest that healthy eating messages based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are reaching adolescents, but interventions are needed that assist adolescents with the translation of this knowledge into healthy behaviors. Interventions should help make healthy eating easy for youth to apply and explain the consequences of unhealthy eating in terms that they value, stressing meaningful short-term benefits.

Adolescent↗

Perceptions of the family mealtime environment and adolescent mealtime behavior: do adults and adolescents agree?

The family mealtime environment has great potential to affect the eating behaviors of youth in the family. It is difficult to determine the important elements of a healthy mealtime environment because a valid assessment of the family environment is so difficult to obtain.The objective of this study is to examine the level of agreement between adult and adolescent perceptions of the family mealtime environment and adolescent mealtime behavior.A telephone survey was used to query adult and adolescent family members about how they perceive the family mealtime environment and the adolescent's mealtime behavior. A convenience sample of 282 adult/adolescent pairs from four schools in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area completed the telephone surveys. Frequencies of responses and the associations between the adult and adolescent responses are presented. Pearson correlations and regression were used to examine the level of association between adult and adolescent responses. Mixed-model regression was used for the continuous variables, and mixed-model logistic regression was used for the dichotomous variables. This study showed very little concordance between adolescent and adult responses. Only one question regarding arguments about eating during mealtime showed concordance. Adults and adolescents living in the same household seem to have different perceptions of the family mealtime environment and adolescent eating patterns. Researchers need to be aware of and concerned with the validity of the use of self-report for descriptions of family mealtime. They also need to be aware of the difference in adult and adolescent perceptions and consider these differences when designing messages for the family.

Adolescent↗