A reproducible, self-reported, field-based tool for monitoring ovarian hormone status and body weight variations in female athletes: the Answ'Her questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Intra-individual factors like ovarian hormone profiles and body weight variations may influence sports practice and performance in female athletes and need to be characterized. The "Answ'Her" questionnaire was designed to develop a relevant and reproducible field-based tool to assess self-reported ovarian hormone status (natural menstrual cycle and hormonal contraceptive use) and body weight variations practices among female athletes. METHODS: French females with a regular sports practice responded (once: N.=210; twice: N.=86; thrice: N.=66) to this 73-item questionnaire reporting their ovarian hormone status, associated symptoms, perceived influence on sports practice, and body weight variations. Reproducibility was evaluated, then a descriptive cross-sectional analysis was conducted on athletes. RESULTS: Reproducibility was verified with 92% of Lin's correlation concordance coefficients above 0.7 and 100% of weighted agreements above 70%. Ultimately 185 female athletes (23.0±4.8 years) were included in the cross-sectional analysis. Whether they used hormonal contraceptive (46.5%) or not (53.5%), most of the athletes perceived a negative impact of their ovarian hormone status on sports practice (78.7%) and performance (84.7%). Overall, 77.3% of the athletes had experienced body weight variations that were significantly associated with an interruption of menses (>3 months) and menses irregularity over the last three years. CONCLUSIONS: The Answ'Her questionnaire is a simple and effective reproducible field-based tool for the self-reported characterisation of female athlete ovarian hormone status and body weight variations. It could be used for a unique and simple overview of the athlete situation but also in a longitudinal design to assess the athlete's evolution and/or effectiveness of implanted training strategies.

Weight regain, body composition, and metabolic responses to weight loss in weight cycling athletes: A systematic review and meta-analyses.

Depending on the nature of their sports, athletes may be engaged in successive weight loss (WL) and regain, conducing to "weight cycling." The aims of this paper were to systematically (and meta-analytically when possible) analyze the post-WL recovery of (i) body weight and (ii) fat mass; fat-free mass; and performance and metabolic responses in weight cycling athletes (18-55 years old, body mass index < 30 kg.m-2 ). MEDLINE, Embase, and SPORTDiscus databases were explored. The quality and risk of bias of the 74 included studies were assessed using the quality assessment tool for quantitative studies. Thirty-two studies were eligible for meta-analyses. Whatever the type of sports or methods used to lose weight, post-WL body weight does not seem affected compared with pre-WL. While similar results are observed for fat-free mass, strength sports athletes (also having longer WL and regain periods) do not seem to fully recover their initial fat mass (ES: -0.39, 95% CI: [-0.77; -0.00], p = 0.048, I2  = 0.0%). Although the methods used by athletes to achieve WL might prevent them from a potential post-WL fat overshooting, further studies are needed to better understand WL episodes consequences on athletes' performance as well as short- and long-term physical, metabolic, and mental health.

Is dieting a risk for higher weight gain in normal-weight individual? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

While there is an increasing prevalence of dieting in the overall population, weight loss (WL) practices could be a risk factor for weight gain (WG) in normal-weight (NW) individuals. The aim of the present work was to systematically review all the studies implicating diet restriction and body weight (BW) evolution in NW people. The literature search was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021281442) and was performed in three databases from April 2021 to June 2022 for articles involving healthy NW adults. From a total of 1487 records initially identified, eighteen were selected in the systematic review. Of the eight dieting interventional studies, only one found a higher BW after weight recovery, but 75 % of them highlighted metabolic adaptations in response to WL favouring weight regain and persisting during/after BW recovery. Eight of the ten observational studies showed a relationship between dieting and major later WG, while the meta-analysis of observational studies results indicated that 'dieters' have a higher BW than 'non-dieters'. However, considering the high methodological heterogeneity and the publication bias of the studies, this result should be taken with caution. Moreover, the term 'diet' was poorly described, and we observed a large heterogeneity of the methods used to assess dieting status. Present results suggest that dieting could be a major risk factor for WG in the long term in NW individuals. There is, however, a real need for prospective randomised controlled studies, specifically assessing the relationship between WL induced by diet and subsequent weight in this population.

Changes in Sedentary Time and Implicit Preference for Sedentary Behaviors in Response to a One-Month Educational Intervention in Primary School Children: Results from the Globe Trotter Pilot Cluster-Randomized Study.

School-based multi-component educational interventions have been encouraged to improve children's movement behaviors. The present study evaluates the effect of the Globe Trotter Initiative on physical activity (PA) level, sedentary time, physical fitness and activity preferences in primary school children. A total of 361 children (9−10 years) participated in this cluster-randomized trial. Nine schools were randomized as control (CON, 121 children) or Globe Trotter schools (GT, 240 children). Physical fitness, body composition, anthropometric characteristics, PA level, sedentary behaviors, physical self-perception, and activity preferences were evaluated at baseline (T0) and after the one-month intervention (T1). Grip strength performance and overall completion time of the obstacle course show a significant time effect (p < 0.001) in both groups (no group effect). PA level and physical self-perception did not significantly show time nor group effects. The sedentary behavior score displays a significant "time × group" interaction effect (p = 0.04) with a significant reduction between T0 and T1 in the GT group only (p < 0.001). The explicit liking for sedentary activities shows a significant "time × group" interaction (p = 0.02) with a significant decrease between T0 and T1 in the GT group only (p < 0.001). The explicit wanting for sedentary activities show a significant "time × group" interaction (p = 0.02) with a significant decrease between T0 and T1 in the GT group only (p < 0.001). The short-term, multi-component, behavioral, educational GT intervention had beneficial effects on primary-school-aged children's sedentary time and implicit preference for physical over sedentary activities.

Lightest weight-class athletes are at higher risk of weight regain: results from the French-Rapid Weight Loss Questionnaire.

CONTEXT: Rapid weight loss (RWL) is a common precompetitive strategy used by athletes in weight-class sports and carries with it an increased risk to future cardiometabolic health. The Rapid Weight Loss Questionnaire (RWLQ) is a self-reported tool designed to identify and characterize such weight loss practices. OBJECTIVES: After developing a reliable and reproducible French version of the RWLQ (RWLQ-FR), the present study aims to analyse RWL patterns among French weight-class athletes and to point out potential relationships between such practices and risk of subsequent weight gain. METHODS: A test-retest analysis was performed in 54 athletes to test the questionnaire reproducibility before applying it in a cohort of 168 weight-cycling athletes (23.78 ± 9.25 y, 67.6 ± 12.6 kg, 81 males and 87 females, n = 24 strength sports and n = 144 various combat sports). RESULTS: The test-retest showed good agreement of the RWLQ-FR (Rho = 0.794, [0.696-0.893]). Athletes reported losing an average of 4.1 ± 2.9% of their initial weight in 13.1 ± 9.6 days, with the main methods used being an increase in exercise, training in rubber or plastic suits, and gradual dieting. The average weight recovery in a week was 3.5 ± 2.8% and results showed that the athletes with the lower inter-season weight (weight outside of the training and competition season) regained the more weight (p = 0.025). The average RWLQ-FR score was 31.9 ± 17.3 and athletes who began to lose weight earlier in their competitive carrier had the higher scores (p = 0.032). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates relationships between the pattern of RWL practices and potential increased risk of subsequent weight gain in weight-cycling athletes, and the need to better understand the long-term health-related risks.

Dietary- but not exercise-induced acute iso-energetic deficit result in short-term appetitive compensatory responses in adolescents with obesity.

BACKGROUND: Producing negative energy balance rests on the creation of energy deficits that have been shown, depending on their modality, to induce potential appetitive compensatory responses. The aim of this study was to compare energy intake (EI), appetite feelings, and the hedonic responses to equivalent acute energy deficits induced by exercise versus energy restriction in adolescents with obesity. METHODS: In a within-participants design, seventeen adolescents with obesity (12-16 years, Tanner stage 3-5, 9 males) randomly completed three conditions: i) control (CON); ii) deficit induced by diet only (Def-EI); and iii) deficit induced by exercise only (Def-EX). Lunch was calibrated to generate a 400-kcal deficit in Def-EI and remained similar in CON and Def-EX. A 400-kcal deficit was created through a cycling bout set at 65% VO2peak in Def-EX. Ad libitum EI, macronutrient intake and relative EI (REI) were assessed at dinner, subjective appetite sensations taken at regular intervals, and food reward measured before dinner. RESULTS: Food intake at dinner was greater in Def-EI (1112 ± 265 kcal) compared to CON (983 ± 277 kcal; p = 0.005) and Def-EX (1009 ± 281 kcal; p = 0.025). Absolute protein and lipid intake were significantly higher in Def-EI (52.4 ± 9.5 g and 36.8 ± 8.9 g respectively) compared with both CON (44.9 ± 12.6 g; p = 0.001 and 33.8 ± 10.1 g; p = 0.002 respectively) and Def-EX (47.3 ± 11.8 g, p = 0.018, 35.4 ± 10.1 g, p = 0.036 respectively). Area under the curve (AUC) for hunger, desire to eat and prospective food consumption were significantly higher in Def-EI compared with both CON (p = 0.0001) and Def-EX (p = 0.0001). AUC for fullness was significantly lower on Def-EI compared with CON and Def-EX (p = 0.0001). Implicit wanting for sweet food was significantly lower on Def-EX (p = 0.031), relative to CON. CONCLUSION: Appetitive compensatory responses that are observed after iso-caloric energy restriction in adolescents with obesity are absent with acute exercise, which could contribute to optimize our impact on short-term energy balance.

A systematic review and meta-analyses of food preference modifications after bariatric surgery.

This systematic review and meta-analyses aimed to synthesize evidence of the link between bariatric surgery and changes in food preferences, considering the method of assessment. MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Cinahl, PsychINFO, ProQuest, and Open grey were searched incorporating two blocks of terms ("Intervention" and "Food Preferences"). Interventional or observational studies involving patients (BMI ≥ 35 kg m-2 ) with sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) and a control group were included. Meta-analyses were performed comparing the standardized daily mean percentage energy from proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids between preoperative and postoperative patients. Fifty-seven studies concerning 2,271 patients with RYGB and 903 patients with SG met the inclusion criteria, of which 24 were eligible for meta-analysis. Despite a total reduction in macronutrient intakes, the meta-analyses revealed a postoperative increase in percentage energy from proteins at 12 months (0.24, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.46, {I2 } = 73%) and a decrease in percentage energy from fat at 1 month (-0.47, 95% CI: 0.86, 0.09, {I2 } = 72%), up to 24 months (-0.20, 95% CI: -0.31, 0.08, {I2 } = 0%). In conclusion, the present systematic review and meta-analyses showed changes of food preferences in terms of macronutrient, food selection and, overall food appreciation up to 5 years following bariatric surgery.