Exercise and academic performance among nursing and kinesiology students at US colleges.

CONTEXT: Lack of physical activity is a contributor to the obesity epidemic and is speculated to relate to reduced academic performance; however, this link has yet to be examined within the college population. AIMS: The purpose of this study in a group of undergraduate students, was to determine if aerobic exercise activity was related to academic performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The participants for this study included 740 students at multiple universities enrolled in nursing and kinesiology studies. The participants completed the Leisure and Physical Activity Questionnaire. RESULTS: Pearson's χ(2) analysis revealed differences in grade point average with aerobic activity (χ(2) = 44.29, P ≤ 0.001) as well as a trend toward differences in grade point average with weightlifting activity (χ(2) = 22.69, P = 0.61). CONCLUSIONS: Based on these findings it can be suggested that college students engage in greater aerobic exercise.

Understanding, recognizing, and managing chronic critical illness syndrome.

PURPOSE: No evidence-based guidelines exist for the care of patients with chronic critical illness syndrome (CCIS), a growing population of patients being cared for by nurse practitioners (NPs). The purpose of this article is to provide NPs with a beginning physiological framework, allostasis, to guide their understanding and management of patients with CCIS. DATA SOURCES: Scientific publications, related clinical guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CCIS are a distinct group of critically ill patients whose care needs are different from those of patients who are acutely critically ill. These patients demonstrate widespread tissue and organ damage. The widespread tissue and organ damage results in a syndrome of interrelated elements, which include neuroendocrine problems, severe malnutrition, wounds, infections, bone loss, polyneuropathy and myopathy, delirium and depression, and suffering. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: In caring for patients with CCIS, NPs need to focus on treating the elements of the syndrome as a cohort of interrelated elements and on re-establishing normalcy for the patient.

Implications of the biology of weight regulation and obesity on the treatment of obesity.

PURPOSE: The purposes of this article are to provide a brief review of the complex biology of weight regulation and obesity, to explain some of the effects of diet and exercise on the biology of weight regulation and obesity, and to propose a coherent way to assess and treat people related to weight and obesity. DATA SOURCES: Scientific publications, clinical guidelines, and government sources. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity is a complex problem requiring an understanding of how interventions interact with the biology of weight regulation in people who are obese. Promoting health in obese people requires a focus on improving insulin sensitivity. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Helping individuals maintain normal weight throughout life is important in order to keep the long- and short-term weight signals in balance and reflective of true energy requirements. Exercise is associated with loss of total and abdominal adipose tissue and improved insulin sensitivity. Diets inducing gradual weight loss are less likely to stimulate appetite. Diets should include antioxidants to neutralize the increase in free radical production associated with obesity and exercise. Other interventions in the treatment of obesity may include treating sleep deficits and the dysregulated endocannabinoid system.