scholarly journals Factors Influencing Weight Loss Practices in Italian Boxers: A Cluster Analysis

Author(s):  
Stefano Amatori ◽  
Oliver R. Barley ◽  
Erica Gobbi ◽  
Diego Vergoni ◽  
Attilio Carraro ◽  
...  

It is common practice in combat sports that athletes rapidly lose body weight before a match, by applying different practices—some safer and others possibly dangerous. The factors behind the choice of practices utilised have not been fully studied. This study aimed to investigate the weight loss strategies used by Italian boxers and to look at the difference between higher and lower risk practice adaptors. A modified version of a validated questionnaire has been sent to 164 amateur (88%) and professional (12%) boxers by email. A heatmap with hierarchical clustering was used to explore the presence of subgroups. Weight loss strategies were used by 88% of the athletes. Two clusters were found, defined by the severity of weight loss behaviours. Professional fighters, high-level athletes and females were more represented in Cluster 2, the one with more severe weight-loss practices. These athletes were characterised by a higher weight loss magnitude and frequency throughout the season and reported being more influenced by physicians and nutritionists, compared with the boxers in Cluster 1. Not all the weight loss practices are used with the same frequency by all boxers. The level of the athlete and the boxing style have an influence on the weight-cutting practices.

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alimohammad Bananzadeh ◽  
Seyed Vahid Hosseini ◽  
Hajar Khazraei ◽  
Mohammad Mehdi Lashkarizadeh ◽  
Leila Ghahramani ◽  
...  

Background: Bariatric surgery has resulted in body weight loss, which claimed by surgery removal specific parts of the stomach with enzyme or sleeve gastrectomy. Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine weight loss and endocrine changes by 12-week fundus resection and sleeve gastrectomy in rabbits. Methods: Twenty-one rabbits, weighing 2.5 - 3.5 kg, were divided into three groups (n = 7): sleeve gastrectomy, experimental fundus resection, and sham group. The weight of rabbits and total ghrelin and leptin levels in the plasma before and after surgery were measured in 12 weeks. Statistical analyses were performed using the Kruskal-Walis test for comparison of the means between the groups, and the difference after months in one group was assayed by Friedman test. Results: The results showed sleeve gastrectomy had a significant weight loss after one month when compared to fundus resection and sham-operated controls (P = 0.008). There was no significant difference in the ghrelin levels after these surgeries, but leptin levels decreased significantly after the fundectomy (P = 0.025). Conclusions: Sleeve gastrectomy is more efficient than the fundus resection in weight loss. It could be suggested as a new option in metabolic disorders due to the high level of leptin.


2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (5S) ◽  
pp. 304-305
Author(s):  
Andrea Patricia Rohan-Lopez ◽  
Alejandro Gaytan-Gonzalez ◽  
Roberto Gabriel Gonzalez-Mendoza ◽  
Edtna Elvira Jauregui-Ulloa ◽  
Juan R. Lopez-Taylor

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Wonn ◽  
Joetta Khan

ABSTRACT Introduction Overweight and obesity rates continue to rise among U.S. Army soldiers, which impacts their overall readiness status and puts them at greater risk for musculoskeletal injury and development of chronic disease. To address the concern with obesity and ensure that Soldiers are meeting body composition standards, the Army offers Fit for Performance-Weight Loss Strategies curriculum, a program of standardized material on nutrition and physical activity presented over six 1-hour sessions. This study aimed to evaluate the success and attrition of weight loss programs using the Fit for Performance curriculum in an Army setting among TRICARE regions. Materials and Methods This retrospective cohort study consolidated data on participants in weight loss programs using the Fit for Performance curriculum. It examines attrition rates, weight loss, change in body mass index (BMI), factors influencing weight loss, and attrition based on geographical location. Statistical analysis was completed using R Core Team software, version 3.6.1, for t-tests, linear regression, and analysis of variance. Significance was set at P ≤ .05. This study was determined to be exempt by the Walter Reed National Military Hospital Institutional Review Board. Results In total, 8,336 U.S. Army soldiers (80% male, mean age = 26.2 ± 6.9 years) participated in the program. Attrition rates were high (96.4%). Those who attended 4-6 sessions lost significantly more weight than those who attended 1-3 sessions (0.72 kg [1.60 lbs], P < .001); however, weight lost was not clinically significant. Sex, age, and number of sessions attended influenced to the amount of weight lost, but only accounted for 4% of the variation. Among TRICARE regions there was a significant difference in attrition rates, with those in the Western (1.2 sessions, P < .001) and Overseas (1.6 sessions, P < .001) regions attending statistically fewer sessions than those in the Eastern region. Conclusions Consistent attendance in a weight loss program promotes changes in BMI, which may improve the health of the force. However, the factors influencing these changes are unclear. The results indicate opportunities to re-examine current processes and the program elements to encourage increased or complete participation and determine if program element changes are warranted for the Fit for Performance-Weight Loss Strategies Program. Attrition rates were high, indicating opportunities to research reasons for attendance and attrition in the future. Finally, these findings highlight an opportunity for educating the military leadership on the increased success with increased attendance.


2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-95
Author(s):  
Nikola Bozilovic

The author of this paper has the intention to reach the new meaning and sense of the primitive mentality by analyzing it in early social communities. He also wants to point out the possible reflections of the spirit and consciousness of our ancestors on us, here and now. The first part of the paper is dedicated to a critical deliberation on anthropological conflicts which have arisen concerning the reasoning power of the so-called primitives. The crucial question lies in the following: Is the difference between the ?primitive? and the ?civilized? mentality fundamental or is it possible only to a certain degree. The author takes the notion of primitive mentality through time and points to the medieval understandings, which are occupied by teratological themes, then to the renaissance comprehension, which relies on the first experiential observations, and, finally, to the enlightenment ideas of exotic peoples out of which the myth of ?the good savage? is born. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries introduce the notions of ?people?s character? and ?national spirit?. The opinions are polarized, on the one hand of ethnocentrism, carried by the prejudice of people and ethnic groups and, on the other hand, of cultural relativism, based on the understanding and appreciation of cultural differences. In the end, the author also recognizes the modern primitive man, one who is not ready to deal with the challenges of his age. The modern primitive recalls the spirits of the past, the surviving and anachronic models of behavior, unaware of the fact that these are the same models that he has ascribed to ?savages?. However, while such thinking and acting was justified by the cultural level at which our ancestors had lived, the mental frame of the contemporary primitives is significantly in contrast with the high level of civilization development.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Selma Taşkesen

Investigating the relationship between the learning approaches and achievement-focused motivations of the prospective visual arts teachers is the purpose of this study. The data of the research, in which the survey model was employed, were collected from 115 prospective visual arts teachers. As the data collection tool, the Achievement Focused Motivation Scale (AFMS), and the Learning Strategies Scale (LSS) were applied. The descriptive analysis was used to test the learning approaches and achievement-focused motivation levels of the prospective visual arts teachers, the independent samplings t-test to test the achievement focused motivation difference according to the gender, the One-way Variance Analysis to investigate the difference according to the class level. According to the research, it was found that the achievement focused motivation levels of the prospective visual arts teachers was pretty high; nevertheless, no significant difference was found in the achievement focused motivation levels according to the gender and class level. However, a significant difference was encountered in the Learning Approach dimension according to the class level. In addition, it was found in the study that a positive, high level of relationship was observed between the Achievement Focused Motivation and the Learning Approaches, In-depth Teaching Approach and Strategic Approach.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 933-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver R. Barley ◽  
Dale W. Chapman ◽  
Chris R. Abbiss

Context: Combat sports are typically divided into weight classes, and body-mass manipulation to reach a weight class is commonplace. Previous research suggests that weight loss practices in mixed martial arts (MMA) may be more extreme than in other combat sports. Purpose: To investigate the magnitude of weight loss and the prevalence of weight loss strategies in different combat sports. Methods: Competitors (N = 637) from Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing, judo, MMA, Muay Thai/kickboxing, taekwondo, and wrestling completed an online questionnaire seeking information regarding their weight loss practices. Results: Body-mass manipulation was commonly undertaken by all combat-sport athletes, with a particularly high incidence of gradual dieting, increased exercise, and fluid restriction. Skipping meals was higher in taekwondo and wrestling (84%) compared with the other combat sports (∼58%), whereas training in heated rooms and forced oral fluid loss (spitting) was higher in wrestling (83% and 47%, respectively) compared with other combat sports (∼45% and ∼19%, respectively). MMA athletes reported the highest usage of sauna (76%) and water loading (67%) while also reporting the second-highest use of training in rubber/plastic suits (63%). Conclusions: Body-mass manipulation was present in all combat sports, with the prevalence and magnitude of acute weight loss greater in MMA. The incidence of and practices reported will help support staff be fully aware of the variety of methods these athletes and coaches may use to achieve weight loss. Additionally, the results could aid regulatory bodies in the further development of policies on weight cutting.


2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (29) ◽  
pp. 95-117
Author(s):  
Diana Ortiz ◽  
◽  
Miguel Chirinos ◽  
Yvonka Hurtado ◽  
◽  
...  

This article provides a re-estimation of the pension plan funds administrators’ efficient frontier. The goal here is two-fold: on the one hand it measures the effect of investment limits imposed by regulators. Unlike previous studies, here the short positions are not limited; this assumption is based upon the completeness of the financial markets: when the markets are completed, any financial instrument may be replicated. On the other hand, this article measures the performance of the pension plan funds. In earlier works, the performance was measured as the difference between the profitability in the frontier and the one obtained at the level of a given risk; here the return is measured as the relationship of optimal risk profitability and the one obtained. The main conclusion drawn is that regulation supports the high level of risks taken by the administrators.


1998 ◽  
Vol 79 (06) ◽  
pp. 1184-1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiaki Tomiyama ◽  
Shigenori Honda ◽  
Kayoko Senzaki ◽  
Akito Tanaka ◽  
Mitsuru Okubo ◽  
...  

SummaryThis study investigated the difference of [Ca2+]i movement in platelets in response to thrombin and TRAP. The involvement of αIIbβ3 in this signaling was also studied. Stimulation of platelets with thrombin at 0.03 U/ml caused platelet aggregation and a two-peak increase in [Ca2+]i. The second peak of [Ca2+]i, but not the first peak was abolished by the inhibition of platelet aggregation with αIIbβ3 antagonists or by scavenging endogenous ADP with apyrase. A cyclooxygenase inhibitor, aspirin, and a TXA2 receptor antagonist, BM13505, also abolished the second peak of [Ca2+]i but not the first peak, although these regents did not inhibit aggregation. Under the same assay conditions, measurement of TXB2 demonstrated that αIIbβ3 antagonists and aspirin almost completely inhibited the production of TXB2. In contrast to thrombin-stimulation, TRAP caused only a single peak of [Ca2+]i even in the presence of platelet aggregation, and a high level of [Ca2+]i increase was needed for the induction of platelet aggregation. The inhibition of aggregation with αIIbβ3 antagonists had no effect on [Ca2+]i change and TXB2 production induced by TRAP. Inhibition studies using anti-GPIb antibodies suggested that GPIb may be involved in the thrombin response, but not in the TRAP. Our findings suggest that low dose thrombin causes a different [Ca2+]i response and TXA2 producing signal from TRAP. Endogenous ADP release and fibrinogen binding to αIIbβ3 are responsible for the synthesis of TXA2 which results in the induction of the second peak of [Ca2+]i in low thrombin- but not TRAP-stimulated platelets.


1975 ◽  
Vol 34 (02) ◽  
pp. 426-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Kahan ◽  
I Nohén

SummaryIn 4 collaborative trials, involving a varying number of hospital laboratories in the Stockholm area, the coagulation activity of different test materials was estimated with the one-stage prothrombin tests routinely used in the laboratories, viz. Normotest, Simplastin-A and Thrombotest. The test materials included different batches of a lyophilized reference plasma, deep-frozen specimens of diluted and undiluted normal plasmas, and fresh and deep-frozen specimens from patients on long-term oral anticoagulant therapy.Although a close relationship was found between different methods, Simplastin-A gave consistently lower values than Normotest, the difference being proportional to the estimated activity. The discrepancy was of about the same magnitude on all the test materials, and was probably due to a divergence between the manufacturers’ procedures used to set “normal percentage activity”, as well as to a varying ratio of measured activity to plasma concentration. The extent of discrepancy may vary with the batch-to-batch variation of thromboplastin reagents.The close agreement between results obtained on different test materials suggests that the investigated reference plasma could be used to calibrate the examined thromboplastin reagents, and to compare the degree of hypocoagulability estimated by the examined PIVKA-insensitive thromboplastin reagents.The assigned coagulation activity of different batches of the reference plasma agreed closely with experimentally obtained values. The stability of supplied batches was satisfactory as judged from the reproducibility of repeated measurements. The variability of test procedures was approximately the same on different test materials.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document