Who does not gain weight? Prevalence and predictors of weight maintenance in young women

<b>OBJECTIVE:</b> To investigate the prevalence and predictors of weight maintenance over time in a large sample of young Australian women. <br /><br /><b>DESIGN:</b> This population study examined baseline and 4 y follow-up data from the cohort of young women participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. <br /><br /><b>SUBJECTS:</b> A total of 8726 young women aged 18-23 y at baseline. <br /><br /><b>MEASURES</b>: Height, weight and body mass index (BMI); physical activity; time spent sitting; selected eating behaviours (eg dieting, disordered eating, takeaway food consumption); cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption; parity; and sociodemographic characteristics. <br /><br /><b>RESULTS:</b> Only 44% of the women reported their BMI at follow-up to be within 5% of their baseline BMI (maintainers); 41% had gained weight and 15% had lost weight. Weight maintainers were more likely to be in managerial or professional occupations; to have never married; to be currently studying; and not to be mothers. Controlling for sociodemographic factors, weight maintainers were more likely to be in a healthy weight range at baseline, and to report that they spent less time sitting, and consumed less takeaway food, than women who gained weight. <br /><br /><b>CONCLUSIONS:</b> Fewer than half the young women in this community sample maintained their weight over this 4 y period in their early twenties. Findings of widespread weight gain, particularly among those already overweight, suggest that early adulthood, which is a time of significant life changes for many women, may be an important time for implementing strategies to promote maintenance of healthy weight. Strategies which encourage decreased sitting time and less takeaway food consumption may be effective for encouraging weight maintenance at this life stage.<br /><br />

The relationship between lower body strength and obstructed gait in community-dwelling older adults

<b>OBJECTIVES:</b> To determine the relationship between lower body strength of community-dwelling older adults and the time to negotiate obstructed gait tasks.<br /><br /><b>DESIGN:</b> A correlational study.<br /><br /><b>SETTING:</b> The Biomechanics Laboratory, Deakin University, Australia.<br /><br /><b>PARTICIPANTS:</b> Twenty-nine women and 16 men aged 62 to 88 were recruited using advertisements placed in local newspapers. The participants were independent community dwellers, healthy and functionally mobile.<br /><br /><b>MEASUREMENTS:</b> Maximal isometric strength of the knee extensors and dynamic strength of the hip extensors, hip flexors, hip adductors, hip abductors, knee extensors, knee flexors, and ankle plantar flexors were assessed. The times to negotiate four obstructed gait tasks at three progressively challenging levels on an obstacle course and to complete the course were recorded. The relationship between strength and the crossing times was explored using linear regression models.<br /><br /><b>RESULTS:</b> Significant associations between the seven strength measures and the times to negotiate each gait task and to walk the entire course at each level were obtained (r = -0.38 to -0.55; P &lt; .05). In addition, the percentage of the variance explained by strength (R2), consistently increased as a function of the progressively challenging level. This increase was particularly marked for the stepping over task (R2 = 19.3%,25.0%, and 27.2%, for levels 1, 2, and 3, respectively) and the raised surface condition (R2 = 17.1%,21.1%, and 30.8%, for levels 1,2, and 3, respectively) .<br /><b><br />CONCLUSION: </b>The findings of the study showed that strength is a critical requirement for obstructed locomotion. That the magnitude of the association increased as a function of the challenging levels suggests that intervention programs aimed at improving strength would potentially be effective in helping community-dwelling older adults negotiate environmental gait challenges.<br />

Marketing research performance and strategy

<b>Purpose </b>- To investigate whether strategic orientation affects the evaluation of specific market research projects in for-profit firms.<br /><b>Design/methodology/approach </b>- A small-scale follow-up survey was conducted, building on qualitative and quantitative research among a sample of the top-1,000 marketing managers in Australia. The study used an existing market research evaluation tool, the USER scale and items generated from the qualitative research, to investigate the firm's most recent market research project.<br /><b>Findings </b>- Four market research performance factors were identified - market research as a knowledge enhancing (KE) function, the internal political use of market research, the misuse of market research and the generation of market understanding. The Miles and Snow strategy types were related to these factors, with Prospector types more likely to use market research rationally and less likely to use it for internal political purposes. Tactical projects were more likely to be misused than were those with a strategic orientation. Prospectors were far less likely and analysers far more likely to misuse tactical research projects. Prospectors were more often satisfied with the performance of their most recent market research. The Porter typology was less successful in predicting market research performance.<br /><b>Research limitations/implications</b> - The study was based on a small sample of market research projects in Australian for-profit firms. Future studies need to study these phenomena more intensively using ethnographic methods and more extensively using larger multi-country samples.<br /><b>Practical implications</b> - Market research suppliers should learn the nature of their client's strategic intent to improve their effectiveness. Defender firms should carefully monitor the use of market research, especially that of a tactical nature, which may be wasted or misused.<br /><b>Originality/value -</b> Contributes to an understanding of how strategic orientation relates to the ways market research information is used within the firm. <br />

Mobile Architecture and Built Environment Laboratory (MABEL) - a building performance evaluation tool

This paper describes the Mobile Architecture and Built Environment Laboratory (MABEL) and its application for systematic building performance evaluation for compliance testing, commissioning, strategic and operational facility management and continuous improvement in the built environment.<br /><br />The first part of the paper introduces the application areas of on-site building performance evaluation and discusses the shortcomings in this regard in current practice. It emphasises the need for on-site investigations to generate information on 'as built performance' for the 'feedback' loop between design, operation and occupancy of new buildings, retrofit or adjustment.<br /><br />The second part introduces the Energy-Comfort-Behaviour Framework for 'across-the-board' building evaluation and discusses MABEL's role in this scheme. MABEL's objectives, procedures and the performance measurement matrix are explained and discussed. <br />

Embodied energy analysis of the refurbishment of a small detached building

Energy efficient design principles and the minimisation of operational energy requirements have been demonstrated in the refurbishment of a small existing residential building. Significant thought has been given to these areas, together with an emphasis on the minimisation of resource consumption and material wastage. However, less consideration has been given to the embodied energy of the additional materials, components and systems required to meet these aims. The additional embodied energy may reduce the advantages of minimising the operational energy consumption by extending the energy payback period beyond the life of the building. In general, the embodied energy of buildings and their products has been found to be significant, when national average input-output data is used to fill gaps in traditional life-cycle assessment inventories. Through the use of an input-outputbased hybrid embodied energy analysis, the embodied energy of this refurbished building has increased by 63% compared to the existing building, showing the impact that filling the gaps in traditional inventories can have on energy payback periods.<br />

An assessment of the energy and water embodied in commercial building construction

Growing global concern regarding the rapid rate at which humans are consuming the earth&rsquo;s precious natural resources is leading to greater emphasis on more effective means of providing for our current and future needs. Energy and fresh water are the most crucial of these basic human needs. The energy and water required in the operation of buildings is fairly well known. Much less is known about the energy and water embodied in construction materials and products. It has been suggested that embodied energy typically represents 20 times the annual operational energy of current Australian buildings. Studies have suggested that the water embodied in buildings may be just as significant as that of energy. As for embodied energy, these studies have been based on traditional analysis methods, such as process and input-output analysis. These methods have been shown to suffer from errors relating to the availability of data and its reliability. Hybrid methods have been developed in an attempt to provide a more reliable assessment of the embodied energy and water associated with the construction of buildings. This paper evaluates the energy and water resources embodied in a commercial office building using a hybrid analysis method based on input-output data. It was found that the use of this hybrid analysis method increases the reliability and completeness of an embodied energy and water analysis of a typical commercial building by 45% and 64% respectively, over traditional analysis methods. The embodied energy and water associated with building construction is significant and thus represents an area where considerable energy and water savings are possible over the building life-cycle. These findings suggest that current best-practice methods of embodied energy and water analysis are sufficiently accurate for most typical applications, but this is heavily dependent upon data quality and availability.<br />

Assessment of three levels of folic acid on serum folate and plasma homocysteine: a randomised placebo-controlled double-blind dietary intervention trial.

<b>Objective: </b>To determine the minimum effective dose of folic acid required to appreciably increase serum folate and to produce a significant reduction in plasma total homocysteine (tHcy).<br /><b><br />Design:</b> Double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled intervention trial.<br /><br /><b>Setting:</b> Community-based project in a New Zealand city.<br /><b><br />Subjects:</b> Seventy free living men and women with tHcy10 &micro;mol/l. Mean age (range) was 58 (29-90) y.<br /><br /><b>Interventions:</b> Daily consumption over 4 weeks of 20 g breakfast cereal either unfortified (placebo) or fortified with 100, 200 or 300 &micro;g folic acid. Dietary intake was determined by weighed diet records and consumption of commercially fortified products was avoided.<br /><br /><b>Main outcome measures: </b>Plasma tHcy and serum folate concentrations.<br /><br /><b>Results:</b> Average serum folate concentrations (95% CI) increased significantly in the treatment groups relative to the control group by 28(9-51)%, 60(37-87)% and 79(51-114)% for supplementation with 100, 200 and 300 &micro;g folic acid, respectively. A reduction in tHcy was observed, being 16(8-22)%, 12(4-18)% and 17(9-24)% in the three treatment groups, respectively.<br /><br /><b>Conclusions:</b> A regular intake of as little as 100 &micro;g folic acid per day was sufficient to lower tHcy in persons at the upper end of the normal range for tHcy. Low-level fortification may also be appropriate for lowering the risk of neural tube defects given that, when aggregated from all sources, the total intake of folic acid may be sufficiently high to adequately improve the folate status of young women.<br />

A stearic acid-rich diet improves thrombogenic and atherogenic risk factor profiles in healthy males

<b>Objective:</b> To determine whether healthy males who consumed increased amounts of dietary stearic acid compared with increased dietary palmitic acid exhibited any changes in their platelet aggregability, platelet fatty acid profiles, platelet morphology, or haemostatic factors.<br /><br /><b>Design:</b> A randomized cross-over dietary intervention.<br /><br /><b>Subjects and interventions: </b>Thirteen free-living healthy males consumed two experimental diets for 4 weeks with a 7 week washout between the two dietary periods. The diets consisted of ~30% of energy as fat (66% of which was the treatment fat) providing ~6.6% of energy as stearic acid (diet S) or ~7.8% of energy as palmitic acid (diet P). On days 0 and 28 of each dietary period, blood samples were collected and anthropometric and physiological measurements were recorded.<br /><br /><b>Results:</b> Stearic acid was increased significantly in platelet phospholipids on diet S (by 22%), while on diet P palmitic acid levels in platelet phospholipids also increased significantly (8%). Mean platelet volume, coagulation factor FVII activity and plasma lipid concentrations were significantly decreased on diet S, while platelet aggregation was significantly increased on diet P.<br /><br /><b>Conclusion: </b>Results from this study indicate that stearic acid (19 g/day) in the diet has beneficial effects on thrombogenic and atherogenic risk factors in males. The food industry might wish to consider the enrichment of foods with stearic acid in place of palmitic acid and trans fatty acids.<br />

Embodied energy in buildings : wood versus concrete - reply to Börjesson and Gustavsson

We analyse the wood and concrete designs of the W&auml;lludden building described by B&ouml;rjesson et al. (Energy Policy 28 (2000) 575) in terms of their embodied energy, employing an environmentally extended input&ndash;output framework in a tiered hybrid life-cycle assessment, and in a structural path analysis. We illustrate the complexity of the inter-industry supply chains underlying the upstream energy requirements for the building options, and demonstrate that higher-order inputs are difficult to capture in a conventional process analysis. Our calculations show that B&ouml;rjesson and Gustavsson's estimates of energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions are underestimated by a factor of about 2, and that corresponding greenhouse gas balances are positive at about 30 t C-eq. Nevertheless, B&ouml;rjesson and Gustavsson's general result&mdash;the concrete-framed building causing higher emissions&mdash;still holds.<br />

Short-term diets enriched in stearic or palmitic acids do not alter plasma lipids, platelet aggregation or platelet activation status

<b>Objective:</b> To determine whether healthy males who consumed increased amounts of dietary stearic acid compared with increased dietary palmitic acid through the consumption of commercially available foods, exhibited any changes in plasma lipids, platelet aggregation or platelet activation status.<br /><b>Design:</b> A randomised cross-over dietary intervention.<br /><b>Subjects and interventions:</b> Nine free-living healthy males consumed two experimental diets (stearic acid enriched, diet S, and palmitic acid enriched, diet P) for 3 weeks in a randomised cross-over design separated by a 3 week washout phase. The diets consisted of 30% of energy as fat (30% of which was derived from the treatment diets) providing 13 g=day as stearic acid and 17 g=day as palmitic acid on diet S and 7g=day as stearic acid and 22 g=day as palmitic acid on diet P. The dietary ratio of stearic to palmitic acids was 0.76 on diet S compared with 0.31 on diet P. Blood samples were collected on days 0 and 21 of each dietary period.<br /><b>Results:</b> LDL cholesterol levels and platelet aggregation response to the agonist ADP were significantly decreased (P &lt;0.025) in subjects on diet S compared with day 0. Apart from that, there were no significant changes in plasma lipids, plateletaggregation, mean platelet volume and platelet reactivity between diets. There were no significant changes in stearic or palmitic acid levels in plasma phospholipid or triacylglycerol. There was a significant difference in palmitic acid levels in platelet phospholipids between the two diets.<br /><b>Conclusions:</b> Use of commonly available foods led to a 27% increase in stearic acid (diet S) and a 19% increase in palmitic acid (diet P), on diets S and P respectively, and no significant differences between the two diets in plasma lipoprotein concentrations, platelet aggregation or platelet activation status.<br />

Civic responsibility among Australian adolescents: testing two competing models

The development of civic responsibilitv is considered to be an important<br />component of healthy adolescent development. However, the study of its<br />development has been relatively neglected and few studies have attempted to ground understanding of its development in a theoretical framework. The present study operationalized civic responsibility as attitudes and behaviors relating to political and community issues that are beneficial to society and compared two theoretical causal models, the social development model (SDM) and a coping-competency model for their predictive value. Gender differences were also assessed. A total of 500 subjects, drawn from a longitudinal study (the Australian Temperament Project), participated in the study, using questionnaire and interview data. Approximately 1 in 5 adolescents actively engaged in behaviors reflecting community civic responsibility and less than 1 in 10 actively participated in the political arena. However, positive levels of social awareness were evident.<br />

Does balance or motor impairment of limbs discriminate the ambulatory satus of stroke survivors?

<b>Objective:</b> This study was performed to determine if ambulatory function is governed by motor impairment of limbs or balance ability in subjects with hemiplegia caused by stroke.<br /><b>Design</b>: Seven patients who walked with physical assistance (FIM(TM) 4) after stroke and 13 who walked independently with assistive devices (FIM 6) were compared with 13 healthy subjects. Motor impairment of limbs was evaluated with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment. The Berg Balance Scale and limit of stability test of the Smart Balance Master were used to evaluate balance ability.<br /><b>Results</b>: The FIM 6 group and the controls were best differentiated by motor impairment of the paretic limbs and limit of stability in the backward direction. Motor impairment of the upper limb and limit of stability in direction toward the paretic side separated the FIM 4 from the FIM 6 group. Upper limb motor impairment and the Berg Balance Scale consistently separated the three subject groups.<br /><b>Conclusions:</b> Motor impairment in the paretic upper limb and balance dysfunction should be addressed in treatments working toward independent ambulation.<br />

The primary health professional education : current models and barriers to participation

<b>Introduction</b><br />Continuing Education (CE) for health professionals is a life-long process which endeavours to update or enhance knowledge, refine skills, reinforce professional values and support the delivery of professional practice. It plays a pivotal role in the maintenance of professional competence and in the past decade participation in CE has become an expectation of, rather than an option for, practising health professionals. The time and resources required from organisers and participants in<br />CE and the need to ensure practical outcomes justifies a review of current models being used for its delivery. This entails an understanding of the purpose of CE, a consideration of how it should be delivered, and the role played by assessment in achieving the goals of CE.<br /><b>Aim of Report</b><br />The overall aim of this study is to identify important considerations and subsequently make recommendations for the development of an ideal model(s) of CE for community pharmacy.<br /><b>Goals of Report</b><br />1. Define CE and its role.<br />2. Identify and assess current CE delivery models.<br />3. Examine the current status of continuing education and registration requirements for pharmacists.<br />4. Identify barriers to participation in CE.<br />5. Identify components and considerations for developing a model of CE delivery.<br /><b>Methods</b><br />The following methods were employed for this project:<br />1. Literature review<br />A number of electronic databases were systematically searched in order to profile current trends and concepts in CE. CE structures currently in use were investigated by directly accessing the websites of appropriate associations.<br />2. Stakeholder interviews<br />A series of semi-structured interviews were completed with stakeholders from CE delivery organisations across a range of professions including pharmacy.<br />3. Community pharmacy focus groups<br />A series of focus group teleconferences were held with groups of pharmacists thought to have distinct CE needs: experienced pharmacists (qualified more than 5 years), recently-qualified pharmacists (5 years or less), rural/remote pharmacists, and pharmacists with specialist training<br />needs (such as Home Medication Reviews). These focus groups asked about participants&rsquo; experiences and opinions in relation to many aspects of CE including its delivery and its assessment.<br />

Energy use and thermal comfort in a rammed earth office building

A two-storey rammed earth building was built on the Thurgoona Campus of Charles Sturt University in Albury-Wodonga, Australia, in 1999. The building is novel both in the use of materials and equipment for heating and cooling. The climate at Wodonga can be characterised as hot and dry, so the challenge of providing comfortable working conditions with minimal energy consumption is considerable. This paper describes an evaluation of the building in terms of measured thermal comfort and energy use. Measurements, confirmed by a staff questionnaire, found the building was too hot in summer and too cold in winter. Comparison with another office building in the same location found that the rammed earth building used more energy for heating. The thermal performance of three offices in the rammed earth building was investigated further using simulation to predict office temperatures. Comparisons were made with measurements made over typical weeks in summer and winter. The validated model has been used to investigate key building parameters and strategies to improve the thermal comfort and reduce energy consumption in the building. Simulations showed that improvements could be made by design and control strategy changes.<br />

Building research capacity in General Practice : Incorporating research as a component of GP vocational training

<b>Aims &amp; rationale/Objectives :</b> Australian research shows that most GP registrar supervisors lack confidence to support registrar research projects and themselves have little or no research experience. Assisting registrars to develop critical thinking skills and an understanding of research methods sufficient to enable active use of these tools in general practice is one of the curriculum statements in the RACGP Training Program Curriculum. A University Department of Rural Health (UDRH) and a General Practice Education and Training (GPET) organisation formed a partnership to: Engage basic term registrars in group research and concurrent research skills training program; Improve research skills, confidence, and knowledge; and Contribute research findings relevant to general practice.<br /><br /><b>Methods :</b> Registrars' initial research knowledge and confidence was measured by a questionnaire. In addition to a final focus group, feedback via evaluation forms was sought from the 11 registrars and two GPET supervisors at the conclusion of each research training session.<br /><br /><b>Principal findings :</b> Approaches<br /><b><br />Implications : </b>Research skills development training and involvement in research can be successfully integrated into a GP vocational training program.<br />