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PubMed2007

Children at risk: the association between perceived weight status and suicidal thoughts and attempts in middle school youth.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is one of the most common causes of death among young people. A report from the US Surgeon General called for strategies to prevent suicide, including increasing public awareness of suicide and risks factors, and enhancing research to understand risk and protective factors. Weight perception has been linked to depression and poor self-esteem in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived weight status and suicidal thoughts and actions by gender in middle school youth. METHODS: All public middle school students in 4 eastern North Carolina counties presented, and with parental permission (n = 5174), completed the Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Middle School Questionnaire. The 3 dependent variables were self-reported thinking, planning, and attempting suicide. Bivariate analyses describe suicidal thoughts and actions; multiple logistic regression models examined the relationship between weight description and suicidal thoughts and actions controlling for age, race, household composition, grades on report cards, and parents' education. RESULTS: Significantly more females than males reported thinking (26% vs 19%), planning (12% vs 9%), and attempting (11% vs 8%) suicide. For females, those who perceived themselves as overweight were significantly more likely to report suicidal thoughts and actions; while for males, perceptions of overweight and underweight were significantly associated with suicidal thoughts and actions. CONCLUSIONS: Controlling for personal and family characteristics, perceived weight status was significantly associated with suicidal thoughts and actions in middle school boys and girls.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Relationship between binge-eating episodes and self-perception of body weight in a nonclinical sample of five Brazilian cities.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between binge-eating episodes and a perception that body weight is above the ideal in a sample of customers interviewed at shopping malls in five Brazilian cities. METHODS: In 1999, data were collected over the course of one week (Monday-Friday only) at the largest shopping malls in the cities of Porto Alegre, Salvador, Fortaleza, Goiânia and Curitiba (two malls per city). A total of 2855 participants (917 men and 1938 women) were interviewed. Weight and height measurements were standardized. Binge-eating episodes were identified using a questionnaire including the following questions based on DSM-IV diagnostic criteria: "Have you ever eaten, in a period of two hours or less, an amount of food greater than that most people would eat?" and "If the answer was "yes", did you, during these episodes, feel unable to stop eating or to control how much you were eating?". RESULTS: The prevalence of binge-eating episodes was higher among overweight subjects (15.6%) compared with normal-weight subjects (9.9%) (p = 0.0001) and, among subjects who perceived their body weight to be above the ideal (men: 13.9%; women: 15.1%) compared with those who perceived their body weight to be ideal or below the ideal (men: 8%; women: 7%) (p < 0.0001). In the multivariate analysis adjusted for body mass index and demographic variables, binge-eating episodes were correlated with the perception that body weight is above the ideal only among women (OR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.2-2.5). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the perception that body weight is above the ideal, regardless of overweight status, is associated with binge-eating episodes in women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Adolescents' perceptions of relative weight and self-reported weight loss activities.

Data from the 1990 North Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) were used to examine adolescents' perceptions of relative weight and the relationship of these perceptions to physical activity levels, efforts to lose weight, and time spent viewing television. A total of 3,437 ninth and 12th grade respondents to the May 1990 survey were included in the analysis. Of this sample, 25% perceived themselves as "too fat." Of that group, 68% were trying to lose weight. Females made up 75% of those reporting they were "too fat" and were trying to lose weight. White females were more likely to think of themselves as overweight and were more likely to be trying to lose weight than black females. Adolescents who perceived themselves as "too fat" reported fewer days of strenuous activity, fewer hours of strenuous exercise in physical education classes, and more hours spent viewing television on school days.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Comparisons of body mass index, perception of body weight, body shape satisfaction, and self-esteem among Korean adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to compare sex differences in Body Mass Index, subjective perception of body weight, body shape satisfaction, and self-esteem in Korean adolescent boys and girls. Subjects were 109 boys (M age= 16.1 yr., SD = .6) and 131 girls (M age = 16.0 yr., SD = .5), recruited from two high schools in Korea. There were differences in Body Mass Index, perception of body weight, body shape satisfaction, and self-esteem by group. More girls (31%) than boys (16%) evaluated themselves as overweight, while higher proportions of boys (6.4%) than girls (1.5%) were actually overweight. A higher proportion of girls responded that they were dissatisfied with their body shape (61% vs 28%). Self-esteem mean score was significantly higher for the boys than the girls. There was a significant relationship between actual Body Mass Index and perception of body weight. There was a significant negative relation between Body Mass Index and rated self-esteem for girls.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Adolescents' perception of body weight and parents' weight for height status.

PURPOSE: To obtain data on the relationships between weight for height status, in adolescents and their parents, and adolescents' perceptions of body image and weight-loss behavior. METHODS: Weight and height were measured in both parents and adolescents from 213 families with an adolescent child aged 14-15 years who were participating in a community-based study of risk factors for coronary heart disease in Geelong, Australia. Information on adolescents' perceptions of body image, desired weight, and weight loss behaviors was obtained by questionnaire. RESULTS: Forty-one percent of the girls and 14% of the boys considered themselves overweight while 18% of both boys and girls were in this category on the basis of their body mass index (BMI). Most boys tended to see themselves as of normal weight while only girls below the 10th centile for BMI consistently rated themselves as normal. Adolescents who rated themselves as slim had parents whose BMI was significantly lower than that of the parents of adolescents who rated themselves as overweight. A significant proportion of adolescent girls (69%) and boys (27%) had at some time tried to lose weight. Female, but not male, adolescents of normal BMI who had tried to lose weight were themselves heavier and had significantly heavier mothers, but not fathers, than those in the normal range for BMI who had not attempted to do so. Adolescents who perceived an advantage in gaining weight had significantly shorter and lighter, but not leaner, fathers than those who perceived an advantage in losing weight. Only individuals below the 10th centile for BMI appeared to be content with their weight. On average the weight desired by girls and boys in the normal range for BMI was 6.6 and 2.0 kg less than their actual weight, while their desired height was 8.0 and 12.8 cm more than their actual height. CONCLUSIONS: The findings confirm gender differences in perceptions of and attitudes to body weight and body build. They also provide evidence for an association between adolescents perceptions of body weight and parents' weight for height status and suggest that the size of the "gap" between desired and actual weight is associated with the prevalence of weight-loss behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Quantitative protein changes in the hypothalamic neurons of pubertal male rats, castrated neonatally.

The effect of neonatal castration of male rats on the sexual differentiation of the hypothalamus at puberty was studied. Male rats were castrated on days 1, 5 and 7 after birth. Their brains were processed for study on days 83-85. The neurons and cell nuclei of the preoptic area, mediobasal and ventromedial nuclei were assessed for changes in cell and nuclear sizes and dry weight (calculated using interferometric methods). Neonatal castration resulted in size as well as dry weight increase in the neurons of the anterior and mediobasal hypothalamus. The dry weight increased by 34% (P less than 0.001) in the medial preoptic area, by 25% (P less than 0.001) in the arcuate neurons and by 22% (P less than 0.001) in the ventromedial nucleus. The cell nuclei exhibited perceptible weight increase too--in the medial preoptic area 68% (P less than 0.001); 55% in the arcuate neurons (P less than 0.001), and 39% in the ventromedial region. The weight and size increases in neonatally castrated males were equal to those of females of the same age. In rats castrated on day 7, the cell sizes and dry weights of the ventromedial nucleus increased but the cell nuclei exhibited only little change. It is assumed that the changes in the dry weight may be the result of increased synthetic processes in these groups of neurons which are connected with the tonic and cyclic release of gonadotropins. These changes also point to the hypothalamic differentiation shifting to the female type in the absence of the inducing effect of androgens.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Parental influences on the dieting beliefs and behaviors of adolescent females in New Zealand.

PURPOSE: To investigate parental influences on the weight perceptions and the dieting beliefs and behaviors of adolescent girls. METHODS: The subjects were 232, 8th and 9th grade girls attending an urban New Zealand secondary school. Data on girls' perceptions of being thinner, beliefs about dieting, and their dieting behavior were obtained via a number of self-report scales. RESULTS: An association was found between girls' perceptions of the impact of being thinner, dieting beliefs, dieting behaviors, and parental encouragements to diet (p < .0001). In general, parental dieting practices did not influence dieting beliefs except that fathers' dieting behavior was associated with some aspects of girls' dieting behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Parental encouragement to diet was associated with a wide range of weight loss behaviors, including the more extreme measures. In addition, having a father who dieted was associated with participation in a number of the dieting behaviors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Weight control practices and disordered eating behaviors among adolescent females and males with type 1 diabetes: associations with sociodemographics, weight concerns, familial factors, and metabolic outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the prevalence of specific weight control practices/disordered eating behaviors and associations with sociodemographic characteristics, BMI and weight perceptions, family functioning, and metabolic control among adolescent females and males with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The study population included 70 adolescent females and 73 adolescent males with type 1 diabetes who completed the AHEAD (Assessing Health and Eating among Adolescents with Diabetes) survey. Data on BMI and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) were drawn from medical records. RESULTS: Unhealthy weight control practices were reported by 37.9% of the females and by 15.9% of the males. Among the females, 10.3% reported skipping insulin and 7.4% reported taking less insulin to control their weight. Only one male reported doing either of these behaviors. Weight control/disordered eating behaviors were not associated with age, parental level of education, family structure, or race/ethnicity. Higher levels of weight dissatisfaction tended to be associated with unhealthy weight control/disordered eating; associations with BMI were inconsistent. Family cohesion was negatively associated with disordered eating among females (r = -0.52; P < 0.001) and males (r = -0.41; P < 0.001), but correlations with other measures of family environment (control, independence, and responsibility for diabetes management) were not significant. Correlations between disordered eating and HbA(1c) levels were significant among females (r = 0.33; P < 0.01) and males (r = 0.26; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Special attention is needed for youth with weight concerns and those from less cohesive families to assist in the development of healthy diabetes management behaviors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Maternal perception of excess weight in children: a survey conducted by paediatricians in the province of Milan.

OBJECTIVE: To establish whether maternal perception of a child's body weight (BW) and food intake is related to the level of maternal education. STUDY DESIGN: Height and BW of 569 mother/child couples were measured, and mothers received a questionnaire regarding their perception of their own weight and their child's BW and food intake. RESULTS: Twenty-nine percent of mothers and 35% of children were overweight or obese. Only 10% of the mothers underestimated their own weight, while 37% overestimated it. In contrast, 28% of mothers underestimated their child's BW, while 9% overestimated it. Higher maternal instruction level was significantly associated to a lower weight class in both mothers and children, and to a correct perception of the child's weight. Fifty-seven per cent of the mothers who perceived their child to be overweight or obese were not concerned. Forty-four per cent of the mothers with overweight or obese children believed that their child was eating correctly. CONCLUSIONS: A better understanding of how mothers perceive the problem of excess weight in their children is relevant to the success of preventive interventions in childhood obesity.

Body Weight↗
PubMed2006

Predicting bulimic symptoms: an interactive model of self-efficacy, perfectionism, and perceived weight status.

An interactive model of perfectionism, perceived weight status, and self-efficacy was tested on 406 women to predict the bulimic symptoms of binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviors separately. This longitudinal study assessed hypothesized vulnerabilities of high perfectionism and low self-efficacy and the stressor of feeling overweight at Time 1 and then gathered weekly assessments of binge eating, vomiting, laxative use, fasting, and diet pill use for 11 weeks. As predicted, results showed that perfectionism, weight perception, and self-efficacy interacted to prospectively predict binge eating. In particular, women high in perfectionism who felt they were overweight and who had low self-efficacy reported the most number of weeks of binge eating. This interactive model did not predict inappropriate compensatory behaviors. Future directions and clinical implications are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

A study of hearing aid gain functions based on a nonlinear nonlocal feedforward cochlea model.

A model based sound amplification method is proposed and studied to enhance the ability of the hearing impaired. The model consists of mechanical equations on basilar membrane and outer hair cell (OHC). The OHC is described by a nonlinear nonlocal feedforward model. In addition, a perceptive correction is defined to account for the lumped effect of higher level auditory processing, motivated by the intelligibility function of the hearing impaired. The gain functions are computed by matching the impaired model output to the perceptively weighted normal output, and qualitative agreement is achieved with NAL-NL1 prescription on clean signals. For noisy signals, an adaptive gain strategy is proposed based on the signal to noise ratios (SNR) computed by the model. The adaptive gain functions provide less gain as SNRs decrease so that the intelligibility can be higher with the adaptivity.

Basilar Membrane↗
PubMed2000

Body scaling of grip configurations in children aged 6-12 years.

This study examined the influence of body scale on the grip configurations used by young children (6-12 years old) to displace cubes that varied systematically in size (L) and mass (M). It was determined if the scaling relation we had developed for adults K = log Lc + ((log Mc)/(a + bLh + cMh)) where L(c) and M(c) is the length side and mass of the cubes, respectively, and L(h) and M(h) are the length and mass of the hand, respectively, it would also predict the change in grip configurations across this age range in a fashion consistent with the principle of similitude. The statistical and scaling analyses revealed that the invariant body-scaled relation that specified the adult grip transitions also held for the 6- to 12-year-old children.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Movement kinematics in prehension are affected by grasping objects of different mass.

Previous research has identified that prehension is composed of a reach and a grasp component and that the position and size of the object can independently affect each. However, no effects on prior to contact prehension kinematics have been reported for manipulations in object mass. We felt that this 'lack of a finding' was surprising, as a more accurate grip position on heavier objects would prevent slippage and rotation when lifting the object. Therefore, we hypothesized that increased object mass would effect the grasp component movement kinematics prior to contact in preparation for a stable final grip placement on the object. We report two experiments in which participants reached, grasped and lifted objects of various size and mass, and their movement kinematics were recorded using a motion tracking system. The results showed that the mass of the object significantly influenced prior-to-contact grasp kinematics. Both studies showed that the heavy compared to light objects caused increased peak grasp aperture, a final finger and thumb placement on the object that more closely passed through the object centre of mass, increased lift delay and reduced peak lift velocity. The data are discussed in terms of how object mass influences the reach, grasp and lift components of prehensile movement.

Adult↗
PubMed2025

Differential gene expression study in whole blood identifies candidate genes for psychosis in African American individuals.

Genome-wide association has identified regions of the genome that mediate risk for psychosis. It is possible that variants in these regions confer risk by altering gene expression. This work has predominantly been conducted in individuals of European descent and has focused narrowly on schizophrenia rather than psychosis as a syndrome. In the present study we investigated alterations in gene expression in African American individuals with a range of psychotic diagnoses to increase understanding of the etiology in an underserved population. We performed RNA-seq in whole bloody to survey the transcriptome in 126 patients with a psychosis-spectrum disorder and 217 healthy controls and applied differential gene expression analyses across the genome while controlling for age, sex, population stratification and batch. We found 18 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), some of the locations of the corresponding genes overlap with previously implicated regions for psychosis, but many of which were novel associations. Enrichment analysis of nominally significant genes (p&#xa0;<&#xa0;0.05) revealed overrepresentation of biological processes relating to platelet, immune and cellular function, and sensory perception. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis, applied to identify modules of co-expressed genes associated with psychosis, revealed 10 modules, one of which was significantly associated with psychosis. This module was significantly enriched for DEGs, and for platelet function. These results support the potential role of immune function in the etiology of psychosis, identify novel candidate gene expression phenotypes that correspond to both established and new genomic regions, in individuals of African American ancestry.

Humans↗
PubMed2003

Influences on adolescent eating patterns: the importance of family meals.

PURPOSE: To provide national estimates of the frequency and determinants of adolescents' consumption of fruits, vegetables, and dairy foods. METHODS: Analyses were based on 18,177 adolescents in the first interview of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Multivariate logistic regressions provide estimates of the unique contribution of sociodemographic characteristics, body weight perception, and parental influences on adolescent food consumption. RESULTS: Almost one in five adolescents reported skipping breakfast the previous day. A large percentage of adolescents reported eating less than the recommended amount of vegetables (71%), fruits (55%), and dairy foods (47%). Adolescents with better-educated parents had better consumption patterns than those with less-educated parents. Consumption patterns differed significantly by race. Adolescents who perceived themselves to be overweight were significantly more likely to have poor consumption patterns. Parental presence at the evening meal was associated with a lower risk of poor consumption of fruits, vegetables, and diary foods as well as the likelihood of skipping breakfast. CONCLUSION: Parental presence at the evening meal is positively associated with adolescents' higher consumption of fruits, vegetables, and dairy foods. Nutrition and health professionals should educate parents about the role of family mealtimes for healthy adolescent nutrition.

Adolescent↗