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PubMed2001

Human perceptions of sports equipment under playing conditions.

Assessment of the 'performance' of sports equipment is generally derived from physical and technical parameters, such as power, speed, distance and accuracy. However, from a psychological perspective, players need to feel comfortable with their equipment and confident in its properties. These factors can only be measured through the subjective assessment of individual perceptions. Focusing on a group of elite golfers, this study presents a formalized approach for eliciting and structuring players' descriptions of their perception of sports equipment. Qualitative methods of inquiry were used to generate perceptions from a group of professional golfers (n = 15) during play testing. The equipment characteristics of significance to the golfers emerged from an inductive analysis of their responses. However, although this method of representation of the results helped to identify the key components or dimensions of a player's subjective perception, it was unable to determine potential relationships between the dimensions. With this in mind, a new technique, called 'structured relationship modelling', was developed. Ten general dimensions emerged from the analysis, of which three are presented here together with a section of the relationship model. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of qualitative techniques for eliciting human perceptions and of structured relationship models for representation of the associations found.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Nervous function after right hemispherectomy.

A hemispherectomy was performed on a girl of 20 because of progressively uncontrollable seizures and behavioral changes resulting from major head trauma at the age of five. Psychomotor development up to this age had been normal. Today she shows little impairment in higher nervous function depending on the ablated hemisphere. Left-sided motor performance has improved and sensory deficit is scant. There is no hemianopia and the right eye visual field is enlarged. Dichotic listening shows left ear preference and no lesion effect. These findings suggest that significant and positive adaptation may occur in mature brain.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

A study of body weight concerns and weight control practices of 4th and 7th grade adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess grade, race, socioeconomic status and gender differences in perceptions of body size, weight concerns, and weight control practices between 4th and 7th grade students in South Carolina. DESIGN: Two random samples, consisting of a total of 1,597 children (53.1% white, 51.97% female, 44.9% 4th graders) participated in two questionnaire surveys. Both surveys included a series of seven female and seven male body size drawings, body image and weight concern questions, and questions pertaining to weight control practices. Responses to the questionnaire were analyzed using chi-square analysis and the General Linear Model. RESULTS: Using socioeconomic status (SES), race, gender, and grade as independent variables, differences in ideal adult body size, opposite gender ideal adult body size, weight concerns, perceptions of family/peer weight concerns, perceptions of own body size and weight control practices were studied. Analyses revealed that 4th grade males select a larger ideal adult body size and opposite gender ideal adult body size when compared to 7th grade males (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0078, respectively). Fourth grade females indicated less personal concern about their weight than 7th grade females (p = 0.0009). Fourth graders also perceived less family/peer concern about weight than 7th graders (p = 0.0027) and 7th graders described themselves as being more overweight than 4th graders (p = 0.0039). Blacks selected a significantly larger body size than white children for ideal adult (p = 0.0287) and ideal opposite gender adult body size (p < 0.0001 for males, p = 0.0030 for females). Blacks also perceived less personal and family/peer concern about weight when compared to whites (p = 0.0083). More whites reported that they were trying to lose weight, as compared to blacks (p = 0.0010). Males also selected significantly larger body size silhouettes than females for ideal adult body size (p = 0.0012). Males expressed less personal concern about weight (p < 0.0001), perceived less family/peer concern about weight (p < 0.0001), and were less likely than females to be engaged in weight loss (p < 0.0001). Females in the high SES category selected a significantly smaller ideal male adult body size than females in the low SES group (p = 0.0124) and more females in the high SES category were trying to lose weight when compared to females in the low SES group (p = 0.0055). CONCLUSION: This study indicates that early in a child's sociocultural development, grade level, gender, race, and SES are influential in the perception of ideal adult body size and opposite gender ideal adult body size. These factors are also influential in determining concerns about weight and weight control practices. The findings of this study support the need to begin health and wellness education efforts early in childhood while taking into account racial, gender, age, and SES disparities. This knowledge can also be useful in targeting interventions for both obesity and eating disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in eating disorders: recent findings and its pathophysiological implications.

Eating disorders, which include anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), are disorders characterized by abnormal patterns of weight regulation and eating behaviors, and by disturbances in attitudes and perceptions toward weight and body shape. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a critical role in regulating neural survival, development, function, and plasticity in the brain. Recent findings using heterozygous BDNF (+/-) knock-out (reduced BDNF levels) mice have provided evidence that BDNF plays a role in regulating eating behaviors. Recently, we found that serum levels of BDNF in patients with eating disorders are significantly decreased compared with normal controls. In addition, an association between the BDNF gene polymorphism and eating disorders has been demonstrated. We reviewed the role of BDNF in the pathophysiology of eating disorders and the BDNF gene as a susceptibility gene for eating disorders. Considering the low levels of BDNF in patients with eating disorders, using drugs that increase the BDNF levels and/or BDNF gene therapy are possible novel therapeutic approaches. Providing confirmation that the BDNF gene is the true susceptibility gene for eating disorders could lead to rapid therapeutic progress in treating these disorders. In addition, a more complete understanding of the signal transduction pathway via the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) and TrkB receptors would provide new perspectives for treating eating disorders.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Anorexia and bulimia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) are disorders characterized by abnormal patterns of weight regulation and eating behavior and by disturbances in attitudes and perceptions toward weight and body shape. Etiologic research has indicated substantial genetic influence on these disorders, suggesting significant biological contributions to their development. Obsessional, perfectionistic, and anxious personality styles may be premorbid traits that contribute to this pathogenesis. Studies of neuroendocrine, neuropeptide, and neurotransmitter functioning in patients with AN and BN indicate that disturbances of these systems may contribute to the maintenance as well as the etiology of these sometimes fatal disorders. The efficacy of psychological treatments and pharmacotherapy has been more clearly established for BN than for AN.

Anorexia↗
PubMed1989

Fear of obesity among adolescent girls.

The perceptions concerning weight, dieting practices, and nutrition of 326 adolescent girls attending an upper middle-class parochial high school were studied in relation to their body weight. Underweight or overweight students were those with greater than 10% body weight differential for height. The high school students reported an exaggerated concern with obesity regardless of their body weight or nutrition knowledge. Underweight, normal weight, and overweight girls were dieting to lose weight and reported frequent self-weighing practices. As many as 51% (n = 60) of the underweight adolescents described themselves as extremely fearful of being overweight and 36% (n = 43) were preoccupied with body fat. A distorted perception of ideal body weight was documented, particularly among the underweight students; the greater the underestimation of perceived ideal body weight, the greater the actual deficit in ideal body weight for height of the students (r = .73; P less than .001). Normal weight and overweight girls had better concordance between their actual and perceived ideal body weight for height. The frequency of bingeing and vomiting behaviors was similar among the three weight categories. The data suggest that fear of obesity and inappropriate eating behaviors are pervasive among adolescent girls regardless of body weight or nutrition knowledge.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Weight concerns and weight control behaviors of adolescents and their mothers.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between weight concerns and weight control practices of adolescents and their mothers. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional study of 5331 adolescent girls and 3881 adolescent boys (age range, 11.8-18.4 years) in an ongoing cohort study and their mothers. Participants were included in the analysis if both the adolescent and his or her mother returned a questionnaire mailed in 1999 and provided information on weight, height, and weight concerns. RESULTS: More adolescent girls (33.0%) than boys (8.1%) thought frequently about wanting to be thinner. Compared with adolescent girls who accurately perceived that their thinness was not important to their mother, girls who misperceived (odds ratio [OR] = 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-2.8) or accurately perceived (OR = 2.85; 95% CI, 1.0-8.4) that it was important to their mother that they be thin were significantly more likely to think frequently about wanting to be thinner. Among the adolescent boys, only those who accurately perceived that it was important to their mother that they not be fat were more likely than their peers to think frequently about wanting to be thinner (OR = 3.8; 95% CI, 2.3-6.2). Adolescents who accurately perceived that it was important to their mother to be thin or not fat were significantly more likely to be frequent dieters than their peers who accurately perceived that their weight was not important to their mother. CONCLUSION: Among adolescents, an accurate perception that weight status is important to their mother is associated with thinking frequently about wanting to be thinner and about frequent dieting.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Exercise for weight loss: what are the facts?

When combined with other lifestyle changes, exercise is important for the overall reduction of body weight and subsequent maintenance of weight loss. The perception about the role that exercise can play in energy expenditure has become exaggerated over time. This article focuses on three commonly held perceptions about exercise and weight loss: that exercise consumes a lot of energy, that "fat-burning" exercise is the most effective way to consume fat as a fuel, and that exercise will stimulate energy expenditure for hours after completing exercise. The pertinent literature is reviewed to illustrate that although exercise does increase energy output during and after exercise and can expend energy from fat for many overweight persons, excessive caloric expenditure has limited implications for substantially reducing body weight independent of nutritional modifications. This article includes recommendations for practicing dietitians and nutritionists to assist clients in initiating and maintaining an exercise program by considering clients' emotional and physical states regarding their excess weight when prescribing exercise, and by using intermittent exercise in an exercise prescription for very deconditioned clients.

Energy Metabolism↗
PubMed1991

On the origins of dynamical awareness.

An inquiry into the origins of dynamical awareness is conducted. Particular attention is given to a theory that postulates that impressions of dynamical quantities are derived from and structured by lawful physical relations. It is shown that impressions of dynamical quantities are not generally correlated with the values that these quantities take in the equations of motion but rather are highly correlated with simple ratios of kinematic quantities or with specific kinematic features that do not specify the underlying dynamics. It is argued that kinematic information, to the extent that it is used, is used heuristically, and its availability for dynamical analysis is constrained by general principles of organization. A formal analysis of the physical organization implicit in the specification of dynamical invariants is given and compared with types of perceptual organization that are observed.

Attention↗
PubMed1977

Effects of related sensory inputs on motor performances in man studied through changes in perceived heaviness.

1. The perception of the heaviness of lifted objects was studied using a weight-matching task when sensory inputs from parts related to the lifting task were altered.2. A weight lifted by flexing the index finger feels heavier when the thumb is anaesthetized and lighter when the thumb is electrically stimulated. A weight lifted by flexing the distal joint of the thumb feels heavier when the sensory input from the skin and joint of the thumb is abolished by anaesthesia. It also feels heavier when the index (but not the little) finger is anaesthetized, and lighter when the index (but not the little) finger is electrically stimulated.3. A weight lifted by extending the thumb feels lighter when the sensory input from the thumb is abolished.4. The perceived heaviness of a weight lifted by flexing the thumb is increased during anaesthesia of the thumb when the flexor of the thumb is the prime mover but not when it is acting simply as a postural fixator to support the weight.5. The sensation of the heaviness of lifted objects derives from the effort or centrally generated voluntary motor command employed in the lift. Our results indicate that the motor commands to either thumb or index finger flexors are facilitated by sensory inputs arising from a wide sensory field usually involved in co-operative motor performances carried out by both muscle groups together.

Female↗
PubMed2000

Who's overweight? Comparison of the medical definition and community views.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the extent to which people who are medically defined as overweight perceive themselves to be overweight. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis of the National Health Survey and the National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 1995. PARTICIPANTS: 10,652 people aged 18 years and over (5076 men, 5576 women) in a multistage cluster sample of households throughout Australia. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Body mass index (BMI) based on measured height and weight; self-reported perception of body weight (underweight, acceptable weight, or overweight). RESULTS: Among people with a measured BMI > or = 25, 49.3% of men (95% CI, 48.1%-50.5%) and 72.0% of women (95% CI, 70.8%-73.1%) considered themselves overweight. Among those with a measured BMI < 25, 3.4% of men (95% CI, 2.8%-4.1%) and 12.4% of women (95% CI, 11.4%-13.3%) considered themselves overweight. Older women were less likely to perceive themselves as overweight than younger women. The lowest BMI at which at least half the respondents considered themselves overweight was 26 to < 27 for women aged 18-59 years, and 28 to < 29 for older women and men. CONCLUSION: For many people, particularly men and older women, the meaning of "overweight" differs from the medical definition. Clinical and public health weight reduction programs which do not take this into account are unlikely to be successful.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Are children's rule-assessment classifications invariant across instances of problem types?

Wilkening and Anderson recently criticized Siegler's rule-assessment methodology as being insufficiently diagnostic of some rules that may be used to solve tasks like the balance scale. An implication of this criticism is that the rule-assessment method may yield classifications that vary with the problems used to assess knowledge. We tested this implication by varying the size of the product difference within problem types for both the balance-scale and the inclined-plane tasks. Many children's classifications differed from problem set to problem set. Children tended to achieve more developmentally sophisticated classifications with larger product differences, and variability in classifications was attributable to greater accuracy on all problem types with larger product differences. The variability in accuracy on the simple problem types is predicted by neither Siegler's nor Wilkening and Anderson's analyses. Possible explanations for these findings were discussed.

Child↗
PubMed2002

Backpacks on! Schoolchildren's perceptions of load, associations with back pain and factors determining the load.

STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted. OBJECTIVES: To investigate schoolchildren's subjective perceptions of their daily backpack loads, to ascertain whether an association exists between these sensations or the load itself and back pain, and to identify the school, family, and personal factors that determine the backpack load, and that might, with a view to primary prevention, be addressed with specific interventions. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Backpack carrying has been shown to constitute a considerable daily "occupational" load of the spine in schoolchildren. Although society perceives backpack carrying as a problem, the scientific community currently offers very few answers. The backpack load borne by schoolchildren exceeds, proportionally, the legal load-bearing limits set for adults, and the association with low back pain is questioned. METHODS: All the backpacks of the 237 year 6 children in a school catchment area of Milan were weighed on six school days. The data were analyzed in groups according to the schools and classes involved, the single children, and the days of the week. A validated questionnaire also was administered to 115 schoolchildren (54 boys and 61 girls; average age, 11.7 years) whose anthropometric characteristics and loads carried daily were known. The associations among features of backpack carrying, subjective perceptions of the load (fatigue, feeling it to be heavy, pain) and back pain (point and life prevalence) were assessed and verified. RESULTS: School backpacks are felt to be heavy by 79.1% of children, to cause fatigue by 65.7%, and to cause back pain by 46.1%. Fatigue during and time spent backpack carrying, but not the backpack's weight, are associated with back pain. The determining factors were found to be classes (e.g., range, 8.87-10.59 kg), days of the week (e.g., range, 5.75-12.74 kg.), and single students (e.g., range, 4.2-9.5 kg.), but not individual schools. CONCLUSIONS: Daily backpack carrying is a frequent cause of discomfort for schoolchildren. There is an association between this load and back pain, although the relationship is not direct. The results suggest the existence of personal physical and psychological factors that need to be investigated. Reduction of the daily backpack load borne by schoolchildren is recommended both on the basis of the current results and because it exceeds, proportionally, the legal load limits set for adults. All the different parties involved (school system, parents, children) play a role, and if the aim is to reduce this "weight of culture," all should be targeted through specific interventions. Recommendations are supplied for the achievement of this aim.

Back Pain↗
PubMed2006

Perception and education of unilateral weightbearing amongst health care professionals.

Studies have shown that healthy individuals cannot accurately judge the degree of weightbearing through one lower extremity [Bohannon R, Waters G, Cooper J. Perception of unilateral lower extremity weightbearing during bilateral upright stance. Percept Mot Skills 69;1989:875-80]. This study of 40 healthcare professionals assessed a simple education process to see if this perception could be improved. Weightbearing was assessed before and after the education process, a familiarisation exercise with a set of bathroom scales. The education process had no significant effect on individual's perception of weightbearing, nor was there any difference between members of the multi-disciplinary team. As an important aspect of patient care, further work is necessary to identify an accurate and reproducible method of quantifying weightbearing.

Education, Continuing↗
PubMed2004

Weight loss expectations in obese patients seeking treatment at medical centers.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate weight loss expectations (expected 1-year BMI loss, dream BMI, and maximum acceptable BMI) in obese patients seeking treatment and to examine whether expectations differ by sex, weight, diet and weight history, age, psychological factors, and primary motivations for weight loss. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: 1891 obese patients seeking treatment in 25 Italian medical centers (1473 women; age, 44.7 +/- 11.0 years; BMI, 38.2 +/- 6.5 kg/m2) were evaluated. Diet and weight history, weight loss expectations, and primary motivation for seeking treatment (health or improving appearance) were systematically recorded. Psychiatric distress, binge eating, and body image dissatisfaction were tested by self-administered questionnaires (Symptom CheckList-90, Binge Eating Scale, and Body Uneasiness Test). RESULTS: In 1011 cases (53.4%), 1-year expected BMI loss was > or = 9 kg/m2, dream BMI was 26.0 +/- 3.4 kg/m2 (corresponding to a 32% loss), and maximum acceptable BMI was 29.3 +/- 4.4 kg/m2 (-23%). BMI and age were the strongest predictors of weight goals. Weight loss necessary to reach the desired targets was largely in excess of weight loss observed during previous dieting. Psychiatric distress, body dissatisfaction, and binge eating did not predict weight loss expectations. The primary motivation for weight loss was concern for future or present health; women seeking treatment to improve appearance had a lower grade of obesity, were younger, and had first attempted weight loss at a younger age. DISCUSSION: Obese Italian patients had unrealistic weight loss expectations. There were significant disparities between patients' perceptions and physicians' weight loss recommendations of desirable treatment outcome.

Adult↗