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Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is thought to be important in combating obesity as it can expend energy in the form of heat, e.g. thermogenesis. The goal of this study was to study the effect of injected norepinephrine (NE) on the activation of BAT in rats that were fed a high

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is thought to be important in combating obesity as it can expend energy in the form of heat, e.g. thermogenesis. The goal of this study was to study the effect of injected norepinephrine (NE) on the activation of BAT in rats that were fed a high fat diet (HFD). A dose of 0.25 mg/kg NE was used to elicit a temperature response that was measured using transponders inserted subcutaneously over the BAT and lower back and intraperitoneally to measure the core temperature. The results found that the thermic effect of the BAT increased after the transition from low fat diet to a high fat diet (LFD) yet, after prolonged exposure to the HFD, the effects resembled levels found with the LFD. This suggests that while a HFD may stimulate the effect of BAT, long term exposure may have adverse effects on BAT activity. This may be due to internal factors that will need to be examined further.
ContributorsSion, Paul William (Author) / Herman, Richard (Thesis director) / Borges, Chad (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
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For the past couple decades, there has been a continuous rise in obesity and Type II Diabetes which has been attributed to the rise in calorically dense diets, especially those heavy in fats. Because of its rising prevalence, accompanied health concerns, and high healthcare costs, detection and therapies for these

For the past couple decades, there has been a continuous rise in obesity and Type II Diabetes which has been attributed to the rise in calorically dense diets, especially those heavy in fats. Because of its rising prevalence, accompanied health concerns, and high healthcare costs, detection and therapies for these metabolic diseases are in high demand. Insulin resistance is a typical hallmark of Type II Diabetes and the metabolic deficiencies in obesity and is the main focus of this project. The primary purpose of this study is (1) detect the presence of two types of insulin resistance (peripheral and hepatic) as a function of age, (2) distinguish if diet impacted the presence of insulin resistance, and (3) determine both the short-term and long-term effects of caloric restriction on metabolic health. The following study longitudinally observed the changes in insulin resistance in high-fat fed and low-fat fed rodents under ad libitum and caloric restriction conditions over the course of 23 weeks. Fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, body weight, and sensitivity of insulin on tissue were monitored in order to determine peripheral and hepatic insulin resistance. A high fat diet resulted in higher body weights and higher hepatic insulin resistance with no notable effect on peripheral insulin resistance. Caloric restriction was found to alleviate insulin resistance both during caloric restriction and four weeks after caloric restriction ended. Due to sample size, the generalizability of the findings in this study are limited. However, the current study did provide considerable results and can be viewed as a pilot study for a larger-scale study.
ContributorsZuo, Dana (Author) / Trumble, Benjamin (Thesis director) / Herman, Richard (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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With the influence of the Western Diet, obesity has become a rising problem in the country today. Western Diet is characterized by the overconsumption of processed food that is low in nutritional values and high in saturated fats. Study showed that every two out of three adults in the United

With the influence of the Western Diet, obesity has become a rising problem in the country today. Western Diet is characterized by the overconsumption of processed food that is low in nutritional values and high in saturated fats. Study showed that every two out of three adults in the United States are either overweight or obese. Being obese increase the risk of many other disease such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance. Besides being a great health concern, obesity is also cause a great financial burden. Many efforts have been made to understand the defense against obesity and weight loss. The goal of this study was to understand the characterization of food intake and weight gain responses when imposed on a high-fat diet (HFD) using rats. It was predicted that weight gain would be dependent on energy intake and it would have a significant effect on adiposity compared to energy intake. Data showed that energy intake had high significance with adiposity whereas weight gain showed no significance. Also for the rats that were on HFD, the obesity-prone (OP) rats exhibited a great amount of weight gain and energy intake while the obesity-resistance (OR) rats showed a similar weight gain to the controlled group on low-fat diet (LFD) despite being hyperphagic. This suggests that OR is characterized by equal weight gain despite hyperphagia but this alone cannot explain the boy defense against obesity. More research is needed with a larger sample size to understand weight gain responses in order to fight against the epidemic of obesity.
ContributorsMao, Samuel (Author) / Herman, Richard (Thesis director) / Baluch, Page (Committee member) / Lamb, Timothy (Committee member) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Description

Over 40% of adults in the United States are considered obese. Obesity is known to cause abnormal metabolic effects and lead to other negative health consequences. Interestingly, differences in metabolism and contractile performance between obese and healthy weight individuals are associated with differences in skeletal muscle fiber type composition between

Over 40% of adults in the United States are considered obese. Obesity is known to cause abnormal metabolic effects and lead to other negative health consequences. Interestingly, differences in metabolism and contractile performance between obese and healthy weight individuals are associated with differences in skeletal muscle fiber type composition between these groups. Each fiber type is characterized by unique metabolic and contractile properties, which are largely determined by the myosin heavy chain isoform (MHC) or isoform combination that the fiber expresses. In previous studies, SDS-PAGE single fiber analysis has been utilized as a method to determine MHC isoform distribution and single fiber type distribution in skeletal muscle. Herein, a methodological approach to analyze MHC isoform and fiber type distribution in skeletal muscle was fine-tuned for use in human and rodent studies. In the future, this revised methodology will be implemented to evaluate the effects of obesity and exercise on the phenotypic fiber type composition of skeletal muscle.

ContributorsOhr, Jalonna Rose (Author) / Katsanos, Christos (Thesis director) / Tucker, Derek (Committee member) / Serrano, Nathan (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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Description

Seven human subjects with body mass indices (BMIs) ranging from 19.4 kg/ m2 to 26.7 kg/ m2 and six human subjects with BMIs ranging from 32.1 kg/ m2 to 37.6 kg/ m2 were recruited and subjected to 45-minute bouts of acute exercise to look at the changes in the plasma

Seven human subjects with body mass indices (BMIs) ranging from 19.4 kg/ m2 to 26.7 kg/ m2 and six human subjects with BMIs ranging from 32.1 kg/ m2 to 37.6 kg/ m2 were recruited and subjected to 45-minute bouts of acute exercise to look at the changes in the plasma concentration of the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid (HVA) in response to acute physical activity. Plasma HVA concentration was measured before exercise and during the last 10 minutes of the exercise bout via competitive ELISA. On average the optical density (OD) of the samples taken from lean subjects decreased from 0.203 before exercise to 0.192 during exercise, indicating increased plasma HVA concentration. In subjects with obesity OD increased from 0.210 before exercise to 0.219 during exercise, indicating reduced plasma HVA concentration. These differences in OD were not statistically significant. Between the lean group and the group with obesity no significant difference was observed between the OD of the plasma samples taken before exercise, but a significant difference (p = 0.0209) was observed between the ODs of the samples taken after exercise. This indicated that there was a significant difference between the percent changes in OD between the lean group and the group with obesity, which suggested that there may be a body weight-dependent difference in the amount of dopamine released in response to exercise. Because of the lack of significance in the changes in OD within the lean group and the group with obesity the results of this study were insufficient to conclude that this difference is not due to chance, but further investigation is warranted.

ContributorsYoder, Jordan Corinne (Author) / Katsanos, Christos (Thesis director) / Davies, Pauline (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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Description

Since 1975, the prevalence of obesity has nearly tripled around the world. In 2016, 39% of adults, or 1.9 billion people, were considered overweight, and 13% of adults, or 650 million people, were considered obese. Furthermore, Cardiovascular disease remains to be the leading cause of death for adults in the

Since 1975, the prevalence of obesity has nearly tripled around the world. In 2016, 39% of adults, or 1.9 billion people, were considered overweight, and 13% of adults, or 650 million people, were considered obese. Furthermore, Cardiovascular disease remains to be the leading cause of death for adults in the United States, with 655,000 people dying from related conditions and consequences each year. Including fiber in one’s dietary regimen has been shown to greatly improve health outcomes in regards to these two areas of health. However, not much literature is available on the effects of corn-based fiber, especially detailing the individual components of the grain itself. The purpose of this preliminary study was to test the differences in influence on both LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides between treatments based on whole-grain corn flour, refined corn flour, and 50% refined corn flour + 50% corn bran derived from whole grain cornmeal (excellent fiber) in healthy overweight (BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2) adults (ages 18 - 70) with high LDL cholesterol (LDL ≥ 120mg/dL). 20 participants, ages 18 - 64 (10 males, 10 females) were involved. Data was derived from blood draws taken before and after each of the three treatments as well as before and after each treatment’s wash out periods. A general linear model was used to assess the effect of corn products on circulating concentrations of LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides. From the model, it was found that the whole-grain corn flour and the 50% refined corn flour + 50% corn bran drive from whole grain cornmeal treatments produced a higher, similar benefit in reductions in LDL-cholesterol. However, the whole grain flour, refined flour, and bran-based fiber treatments did not influence the triglyceride levels of the participants throughout this study. Further research is needed to elucidate the effects of these fiber items on cardiometabolic disease markers in the long-term as well as with a larger sample size.

ContributorsLe, Justin (Author) / Whisner, Corrie (Thesis director) / Ortega Santos, Carmen (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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Description
Diabesity is a global epidemic affecting millions worldwide. Diabesity is the term given to the link between obesity and Type II diabetes. It is estimated that ~90% of patients diagnosed with Type II diabetes are overweight or have struggled with excess body fat in the past. Type II diabetes is

Diabesity is a global epidemic affecting millions worldwide. Diabesity is the term given to the link between obesity and Type II diabetes. It is estimated that ~90% of patients diagnosed with Type II diabetes are overweight or have struggled with excess body fat in the past. Type II diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance which is an impaired response of the body to insulin that leads to high blood glucose levels. Adipose tissue, previously thought of as an inert tissue, is now recognized as a major endocrine organ with an important role in the body's immune response and the development of chronic inflammation. It is speculated that adipose tissue inflammation is a major contributor to insulin resistance particular to Type II diabetes. This literature review explores the popular therapeutic targets and marketed drugs for the treatment of Type II diabetes and their role in decreasing adipose tissue inflammation. rAGE is currently in pre-clinical studies as a possible target to combat adipose tissue inflammation due to its relation to insulin resistance. Metformin and Pioglitazone are two drugs already being marketed that use unique chemical pathways to increase the production of insulin and/or decrease blood glucose levels. Sulfonylureas is one of the first FDA approved drugs used in the treatment of Type II diabetes, however, it has been discredited due to its life-threatening side effects. Bariatric surgery is a form of invasive surgery to rid the body of excess fat and has shown to normalize blood glucose levels. These treatments are all secondary to lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise which can help halt the progression of Type II diabetes patients.
ContributorsRobles, Alondra Maria (Author) / Woodbury, Neal (Thesis director) / Redding, Kevin (Committee member) / Allen, James (Committee member) / Hendrickson, Kirstin (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Description
Excessive weight gain, otherwise known as obesity, has become a pervasive medical condition throughout the world. Though caloric restriction (CR) results in weight reduction, this weight loss is often unsustainable in the long term. As such, the goal is to find a treatment that can maintain the results of restricted

Excessive weight gain, otherwise known as obesity, has become a pervasive medical condition throughout the world. Though caloric restriction (CR) results in weight reduction, this weight loss is often unsustainable in the long term. As such, the goal is to find a treatment that can maintain the results of restricted energy intake (EI). Studies have found that dietary menthol could be a possible treatment and preventative measure for excessive weight gain. While several studies have found that, as an agonist of TRPM8, dietary menthol increases the energy expenditure (EE) of the body without impacting EI, they have not studied the efficacy of dietary menthol in preventing weight regain (WR) following a period of CR. Methods used in this experiment include studying young Sprague-Dawley rats during 24-hour periods towards the end of the following three phases: (1) an experimental phase of 12 weeks, comprised of ad-libitum feeding of high fat diet (HFD) to 10 rats and chow diet to 4 rats, (2) a CR phase of 4-weeks with controlled feeding of the HFD rats with either a chow diet (n=4) or chow diet + 0.5% dietary menthol (n=6) and keeping the other rats on chow (n=4), and (3) a WR period of 4-weeks with ad libitum feeding of the same diets as in CR. EI and EE (via indirect calorimetry) were measured over 24-hour periods and were divided by the rat’s respective body weight (BW) on testing day to normalize the sample population. The energy gap (EG) was determined by subtracting EE from EI. The experimental and WR phase revealed a positive EG or energy balance (EI > EE) whereas CR yielded a negative EG or energy balance (EI
ContributorsWest, Kynzie Michelle (Author) / Herman, Richard (Thesis director) / Molenaar, Sydney (Committee member) / Johnsson, Kailin (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12