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Background: The prevalence of childhood obesity has disproportionately affected Latino youth and can be seen with an increase incidence of Type 2 Diabetes. This increase in obesity can be attributed to physical inactivity. Increases in social support and self-efficacy are independently related to increases in physical activity. A lifestyle intervention

Background: The prevalence of childhood obesity has disproportionately affected Latino youth and can be seen with an increase incidence of Type 2 Diabetes. This increase in obesity can be attributed to physical inactivity. Increases in social support and self-efficacy are independently related to increases in physical activity. A lifestyle intervention can lead to increases in social support, self-efficacy and physical activity. Objective/Hypothesis: The objective of this study was to determine whether a 12-week lifestyle intervention could increase social support, self-efficacy and physical activity in obese Latino adolescents that participated in the intervention. It was hypothesized that adolescents that participated in the intervention would increase self-efficacy, social support from family and friends, and physical activity compared to their control counterparts. Study Design/Participants: In a randomized control trial, there were 125 Latino (n= 60 experimental group; n= 65 control group; mean age = 15.17 +- 1.65 Males n = 60; n = 65 females) participants included in this study. Participants were also required to have a BMI percentile >= 95th percentile for age and gender or BMI >= 30 kg/m2. Methods: The intervention, which was developed using the Social Cognitive Theory had components focusing on social support and self-efficacy and also consisted of nutrition education classes and physical activity sessions for 12 weeks. The psychosocial constructs of self-efficacy and social support were measured using the Adolescent Self-Efficacy for Diet and Activity Behaviors and Adolescent Social Support for Diet and Exercise Survey, respectively. Physical activity was assessed by the 3-day Physical Activity Recall. Results: We found significant increases in social support in family (p = 0.042) and vigorous physical activity (p = 0.001). There was also a significant difference between control and treatment group for moderate to vigorous physical activity after the intervention (p = 0.027). There were no changes in social support from friends or self-efficacy. Conclusion: We concluded that a 12-week lifestyle intervention did lead to changes in social support and physical activity behaviors. These changes could have been influenced by the intervention as they were measured these constructs pre/post intervention.
ContributorsRahman, Hanna (Author) / Shaibi, Gabriel (Thesis director) / Hoffner, Kristin (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Description
The WalkIT Study is a mobile health study examining the efficacy of a four month text message-based intervention for increasing physical activity among 96 overweight adults. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the potency of the different types of motivational prompt-to-action text messages used in the WalkIT Study

The WalkIT Study is a mobile health study examining the efficacy of a four month text message-based intervention for increasing physical activity among 96 overweight adults. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the potency of the different types of motivational prompt-to-action text messages used in the WalkIT Study for increasing steps per day by examining the individual messages, creating qualitative themes and comparing themed groups, and evaluating the interaction between demographic subgroups and themed groups. A total of nine themes was created. The results found that Message 13, “It doesn't matter how old you are – it's never too early or too late to become physically active so start today; only then will you start to see results!”, had the highest median step count (7129 steps) and Message 71, “It's ok if you can't reach your goal today. Just push yourself more tomorrow.”, had the lowest median step count (5054 steps). For themes, the highest median step count (6640 steps) was found in Theme 6, Challenges, and the lowest median step count (5450 steps) was found in Theme 9, Unconditional Feedback. Theme 6 (Challenges) had the highest median step count for females, Theme 7 (Everyday Tips) had the highest median step count for males, Theme 4 (Nutrition) had the highest median step count for the 18-42 group, Theme 6 (Challenges) had the highest median step count for the 43-61 group, and Theme 9 (Unconditional Feedback) had the lowest median step count for both genders and both age groups. The results suggest the usefulness of analyzing the effectiveness of individual motivational text messages, themes, and the interaction between demographic groups and themes in physical activity interventions.
ContributorsBhuiyan, Nishat Anjum (Author) / Adams, Marc (Thesis director) / Ainsworth, Barbara (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Description
Introduction: Individuals with rotator cuff tears (RCT) have been found to compensate in their movement patterns by using lower thoracohumeral elevation angles during certain tasks, as well as increased internal rotation of the shoulder (Vidt et al., 2016). The leading joint hypothesis (LJH) suggests there is one leading joint that

Introduction: Individuals with rotator cuff tears (RCT) have been found to compensate in their movement patterns by using lower thoracohumeral elevation angles during certain tasks, as well as increased internal rotation of the shoulder (Vidt et al., 2016). The leading joint hypothesis (LJH) suggests there is one leading joint that creates the foundation for the entire limb motion, and there are other subordinate joints that monitor the passive interaction torque (IT) and create a net torque (NT) aiding to limb motions required for the task. This experiment hopes to establish a better understanding of joint control strategies during a wide range of arm movements. Based off of the LJH, we hypothesize that when a subject has a rotator cuff tear, their performance of planar and three- dimensional motions should be altered not only at the shoulder, which is often the leading joint, but also at other joints on the arm such as the elbow and wrist.

Methods: There were 3 groups of participants: healthy younger adults (age 21.74 ± 1.97), healthy older adult controls (age 69.53 ± 6.85), and older adults with a RCT (age 64.33 ± 4.04). All three groups completed strength testing, horizontal drawing and pointing tasks, and three-dimensional (3D) activities of daily living (ADLs). Kinematic and kinetic variables of the arm were obtained during horizontal and 3D tasks using data from 13 reflective markers placed on the arm and trunk, 8 motion capture cameras, and Cortex motion capture software (Motion Analysis Corp., Santa Rosa, CA). During these tasks, electromyography (EMG) electrodes were placed on 12 muscles along the arm that affect shoulder, elbow, and wrist rotation. Strength testing tasks were measured using a dynamometer. All strength testing and 3D tasks were completed for three trials and horizontal tasks were completed for two trials.

Results: Results of the younger adult participants showed that during the forward portion of seven 3D tasks, there were four phases of different joint control mechanics seen in a majority of the movements. These phases included active rotation of both the shoulder and the elbow joint, active rotation of the shoulder with passive rotation of the elbow, passive rotation of the shoulder with active rotation of the elbow, and passive rotation of both the shoulder and the elbow. Passive rotation during movements was a result of gravitational torque (GT) on the different segments of the arm and IT caused as a result the multi-joint structure of human limbs. The number of tested participants for the healthy older adults and RCT older adults groups is not yet high enough to produce significant results and because of this their results are not reported in this article.

Discussion: Through the available results, multiple phases were found where one or both of the joints of the arm moved passively which further supports the LJH and extends it to include 3D movements. This article is a part of a bigger project which hopes to get a better understanding of how older adults adjust to large passive torques acting on the arm during 3D movements and how older adults with RCTs compensate for the decreased strength, the decreased range of motion (ROM), and the pain that accompany these types of tears. Hopefully the results of this experiment lead to more research toward better understanding how to treat patients with RCTs.
ContributorsGarnica, Nicholas (Co-author) / Perrine, Austin (Co-author) / Schalk, Courtney (Co-author) / Dounskaia, Natalia (Thesis director) / Vidt, Meghan (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Description
Training the bench press exercise on a traditional flat bench does not induce a level of instability as seen in sport movements and activities of daily living. Because of this, many new types of equipment have been created in an attempt to induce instability, such as the COR Bench. 15

Training the bench press exercise on a traditional flat bench does not induce a level of instability as seen in sport movements and activities of daily living. Because of this, many new types of equipment have been created in an attempt to induce instability, such as the COR Bench. 15 males and 7 females between the ages of 18 and 30 were recruited for the present study, which tested two forms of instability: using one dumbbell rather than two, and lifting on the COR bench compared to a flat bench. Thusly, EMG was used to measure muscle activity in four separate conditions of unilateral bench press movements: on a flat bench with one dumbbell, on a flat bench with two dumbbells, on the COR Bench with one dumbbell, and on the COR Bench with two dumbbells. Results indicated that lifting with one dumbbell compared to two dumbbells on the flat bench significantly increased muscle activity across all four muscles being analyzed (pectoralis major, p = .005; middle trapezius, p = .008; external obliques, p = .004; and internal obliques, p = .003), but lifting with one dumbbell compared to two dumbbells on the COR Bench only significantly increased muscle activity in the middle trapezius (p = .001), external obliques(p = . 032), and internal obliques (p = .001). The only muscle to exhibit a significant increase in muscle activity when going from one dumbbell on the flat bench to one dumbbell on the COR Bench was the middle trapezius (p = .010). These results imply that the COR Bench itself does not increase muscle activity as much as switching from two dumbbells to one dumbbell, regardless of the bench being used.
ContributorsPatterson, Jeffrey (Author) / Harper, Erin (Thesis director) / Broman, Tannah (Committee member) / Cataldo, Donna (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2013-12
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Description
Dancers tend to injure the anterior cruciate ligament in their left leg more often than the right. It is unclear whether this trend is due to biased choreography or if leg dominance and left versus right asymmetries are contributing factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate asymmetries between

Dancers tend to injure the anterior cruciate ligament in their left leg more often than the right. It is unclear whether this trend is due to biased choreography or if leg dominance and left versus right asymmetries are contributing factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate asymmetries between the left and right leg, in knee abduction during landing, hip external rotation (ER) and internal rotation (IR) strength, and hip ER and IR range of motion in dancers compared to non-dancers. This study aimed to determine whether these asymmetries can be linked to leg dominance, and if this puts one leg at higher risk for ACL injury. Ten dancers and eleven non-dancers performed three maximal effort countermovement vertical jumps off of two feet, as well as three maximal effort single leg jumps on each leg. Knee abduction angles during the landing phase of the jumps were calculated using motion capture data. Maximum isometric hip ER and IR strength was measured at 15, 30, 45, 60, and 90 of knee flexion, and hip ER and IR range of motion was measured at 90 of knee flexion. Contrary to the hypothesis, few significant differences were found between the left and right leg, as well as between dancers and non-dancers. Dancers exhibited significantly greater IR range of motion than non-dancers, and knee abduction angles were greater on the right than left leg during double leg jumps. This opposes the hypothesis that knee abduction angles would be greater in dancers on the left leg. However, significant positive correlations were found
between IR strength and knee abduction angles during single leg jumps on the left leg, suggesting that IR strength may be a contributing factor to knee valgus. Further studies may want to utilize qualitative analyses, more relevant jumping tasks, and a different marker set to elucidate asymmetries of the lower limbs that may truly be present.
ContributorsOberbillig, Megan (Author) / Wiley, Alexander (Committee member) / Hinrichs, Richard (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2013-05
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Description
Problem: Overweight and obesity are global issues. There are several strategies for weight loss and maintenance as well as general lifestyle change for overall better health. The goal is to find an easy and convenient way for people to track their food intake, either for personal use and improvement, or

Problem: Overweight and obesity are global issues. There are several strategies for weight loss and maintenance as well as general lifestyle change for overall better health. The goal is to find an easy and convenient way for people to track their food intake, either for personal use and improvement, or to be used by professionals such as registered dietitians to gather data and help improve diet. Currently food journals, food frequency questionnaires and 24-hour recall are methods that are used by registered dietitians to get an idea of what is general diet is like from their patients or clients. It was proposed that pictures taken of the meal with a phone could be used as a method of recording food intake. It would be quick and extremely easy on the client; then everything from portion size, to type of food and toppings could be analyzed quickly and conveniently. If effective it could also give rise to the ability for foods to be analyzed immediately with the text or email of the picture. Methods: subjects already participating in a separate study where they were instructed to take pictures of their meals for a difference purpose were recruited. There recorded diet intake with phone pictures were able to be used from seven subjects. Subjects took a snapshot of their meals for 3 separate days and also logged on and completed a 24 hour recall with the ASA website. The pictures were analyzed and food intake, based off the pictures was entered in the program Food Processor to generate a nutritional report. The results from the ASA 24 hour recall, based on what the subject entered, were compared to the nutritional report, generated based on review of the pictures. Nutrient values that were compared include: total energy intake (calories), protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamin C, calcium and fiber. This was done to test if the pictures could be used as a valid source. Results: It was found that there were several problems with using the pictures as a method of analyzing food intake. Out of the seven subjects the result of only one subject was close between the two methods. All other results of calculated nutrient intake varied significantly and it did not prove to be effective to use pictures to analyze food intake. Conclusions: food intake recorded by picture method may prove to be useful in the future, however there would need to be greater compliance and training on picturing food that can be accurately analyzed. Short written explanation of food type and cooking method etc. would be most beneficial to include with actual picture. Pictures of food intake may be useful in other professional areas but as of now are not useful to generate nutritional reports.
ContributorsLouden, Karina Arianne (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis director) / Morse, Lisa (Committee member) / Appel, Christy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2013-05
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Description
Most athletic or daily activities require the use of force production at a given velocity, in other words, power is needed to complete these activities. There are different methods for how this can be done, but the main two are heavy resistance training and plyometric training (Kawamori and Haff, 2004).

Most athletic or daily activities require the use of force production at a given velocity, in other words, power is needed to complete these activities. There are different methods for how this can be done, but the main two are heavy resistance training and plyometric training (Kawamori and Haff, 2004). However, resistance bands are another option of training that is available at a low cost and equipment needs. Resistance bands can also be used by athletes and elderly alike, but so far the benefits have barely been studied. Two participants were recruited to be followed as a case study. Both were of college age and were currently recreationally active with no health or musculoskeletal problems. Both participants were given a 35 lb. resistance band and instructed to do four different lower extremity exercises (three sets of four repetitions each) that were designed to target the muscles used for jumping. The study ran for five weeks, requiring three workouts per week separated by at least 24 hours. Participants were tested at three points; initial, halfway, and after all 15 workouts had been completed. Tests included measuring for changes in maximal vertical jump height as well as maximal broad jump. Results showed that both participants were able to increase their vertical jump and broad jump measurements from the initial testing day. Participant one had a 22.95% and 39.40% increase in broad jump and vertical jump respectively. Participant two had a 7.84% and 11.72% increase in broad jump and vertical jump respectively. Based on this study, it would appear that the power training program is effective in producing an increase in power based off the measured performance variables. There may be some effect from familiarity with testing protocol but most likely increased were caused by neural adaptation from speed aspect of program, as well as some increase in force production.
ContributorsBrown, Eric Preston (Author) / Harper, Erin (Thesis director) / Hinrichs, Richard (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Description
Many individuals are not following healthy lifestyles as evidenced by the high obesity rates and poor physical activity levels. Many do not know how to eat healthy and exercise effectively, especially given busy schedules and no time to cook or go to the gym. However, people do spend a significant

Many individuals are not following healthy lifestyles as evidenced by the high obesity rates and poor physical activity levels. Many do not know how to eat healthy and exercise effectively, especially given busy schedules and no time to cook or go to the gym. However, people do spend a significant amount of time on their mobile device using social media. This outlet can potentially be used to inspire and teach individuals how to cook healthy simple meals, or find motivation to get off the couch for some exercise. In this study, strategies were identified that would increase the comments, likes, and followers of the investigator's Instagrams, which were designed to motivate followers to live a healthier lifestyle. Initially, 462 posts were assessed retrospectively to determine how the number of likes and comments were influenced by hashtags, category of posts (nutrition, fitness, or inspiration), and/or type of app, PicPlayPost, Instaframe, and the updated Instagram. These results were used in a 1-month prospective study to increase likes and followers to the investigator's Instagrams. In the retrospective study, it was determined that hashtags influenced the number of comments and likes across the categories and that the PicPlayPost app increased the likes in all categories. Hence, for the prospective study, the investigator wrote 1 nutrition and 1 fitness post daily for 28 days using a minimum of 15 hashtags per post. In addition, 3 nutrition posts and 3 fitness posts per week used the PicPlayPost app. This posting strategy increased the number of likes per post by 100%, and the number of followers increased from 369 to 1082 in one month. Interestingly, the nutrition posts received 27% more likes than the fitness posts, and the PicPlayPost app increased comments by 134%. In conclusion, the use of hashtags, PicPlayPost, and Instaframe apps increased the likes and comments on social media. These strategies may increase audience's attention on a certain topic and be used to improve individuals' lifestyles.
ContributorsTomasso, Bernice Grace (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis director) / Dixon, Kathy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Description
In the United States, the prevalence of pediatric obesity has increased to 17% in the general population and even more so in the Hispanic pediatric population to 22.4%. These children are at a higher risk for associated comorbidities, including cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance. The purpose of the following study

In the United States, the prevalence of pediatric obesity has increased to 17% in the general population and even more so in the Hispanic pediatric population to 22.4%. These children are at a higher risk for associated comorbidities, including cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance. The purpose of the following study is to determine the effectiveness of the Nutrition and Health Awareness curriculum at reducing childhood obesity by evaluating alterations in the gut microbial composition, diet, and overall health of the students throughout the five-week program. Nutrition and Health Awareness (NHA) is a student organization that strives to reduce the prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, specifically in children, by providing active nutrition education services through peer mentoring in elementary schools and community programs. This study went through ASU's Institutional Review Board process and all forms were translated into Spanish. The control group maintained their normal routines and the experimental group received the 5 week NHA program and then continued with their normal routines. Anthropometric measures (Body Mass Index, waist-to-hip ratio, and blood pressure), diet measures (Hispanic food frequency questionnaire), fecal swabs, and content surveys were collected on weeks 0, 5, and 8. Contrary to expected, alpha diversity, kilocalorie intake, and macronutrient intake decreased as the study progressed for both the control and experimental groups. Anthropometric measurements were relatively stable. Though not statistically significant, the greatest difference in time points is between weeks 1 and 8. This decrease in alpha diversity and kilocalorie intake could be due to a change in environment since the children started school on week 8. Future implications of this study are that parental involvement is necessary for an effective, sustainable change in these children. More research in different settings is necessary to determine NHA's effectiveness
ContributorsPatel, Kapila Cristina (Author) / Krajmalnik-Brown, Rosa (Thesis director) / Whisner, Corrie (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Description
Obesity is a rising problem in the country today, and countless efforts have been made to achieve long-term weight loss. Recent research indicates that through the manipulation of Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT) activity within the body, weight loss can be achieved. The goal of this experiment was to understand the

Obesity is a rising problem in the country today, and countless efforts have been made to achieve long-term weight loss. Recent research indicates that through the manipulation of Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT) activity within the body, weight loss can be achieved. The goal of this experiment was to understand the effects of a high-fat diet (HFD) on BAT activity and diet-induced thermogenesis in cold-stressed rats. It was predicted that the HFD would stimulate BAT activity and this would then drive up thermogenic activity to promote weight loss. Diet-induced thermogenesis was predicted to increase during the HFD phase of this experiment as the body would require more energy to digest the more calorically dense food. Upon arrival at six weeks of age, the rats were started on a low-fat diet (LFD) ad libitum for three weeks. They were then transitioned into a HFD ad libitum for the next 8 weeks. Throughout the experiment, the rats were maintained in a cold-stressed environment at 22°C. It was determined that one of the rats was identified as obesity prone, while the other three rats were obesity resistant based on the rate of weight gain and caloric intake. Obesity can decrease metabolism in the body for many reasons, yet it was not seen in this experiment that the obesity prone rat demonstrated decreased metabolism in comparison to the others. Based on the differences seen in the reference temperatures and the BAT temperatures, it was determined that the BAT was active throughout both the LFD and HFD phases. However, the BAT did not rise significantly during the HFD period as expected. More research is indicated with a larger sample size to determine if BAT activity does continue to increase during a HFD as a result of diet-induced thermogenesis.
ContributorsLubold, Jessica Marie Sarah (Author) / Morse, Lisa (Thesis director) / Herman, Richard (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12