ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The reduction of obesity is an important challenge for health policy. Although dietary interventions are widely available, patient adherence is usually low. A promising alternative is yoga. We hypothesized that weight reduction through yoga is mediated by aspects related to eating habits as well as physical aspects. METHODS: This is an exploratory secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of yoga to waiting list in women with abdominal obesity. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were assessed as outcomes; physical exercise habits, physical activity habits at leisure time, physical activity habits at work time, daily fruit and vegetable intake, nutrition self-efficacy, and physical self-efficacy were captured as mediators. Measures were assessed at weeks 0 and 12. The original trial was conducted between April and August 2015. The secondary analysis was performed December 2019. RESULTS: Forty patients were randomized to the 12 weekly yoga sessions (48.5 ± 7.9 years) and 20 patients to the waitlist group (46.4 ± 8.9 years). Physical exercise habits fully mediated the effect of yoga on BMI (B=-0.26;CI[-.56;-.07]). Daily fruit and vegetable intake partially mediated the effect of yoga on BMI (B=-0.13;CI[-.38;-.01]). No further mediation effects were found. CONCLUSIONS: Yoga supports people with overweight in eating healthier and increasing their physical activity which in turn leads to a reduced BMI. Yoga's effects on waist circumference seem to be due to other mechanisms.
Subject(s)
Obesity, Abdominal , Yoga , Body Mass Index , Diet, Healthy , Female , Humans , Life Style , Obesity/therapy , Obesity, Abdominal/therapy , OverweightABSTRACT
Arthrocentesis of the temporomandibular joint is an effective treatment for some disorders, and is usually done under local anaesthesia. We know of few studies that have compared the ease of arthrocentesis and its outcomes under local or general anaesthesia, so we studied 32 patients (n=16 in each group). Postoperative oedema and pain, maximum mouth opening, duration of arthrocentesis, and ease of operation were assessed to compare the relative effectiveness of the two types of anaesthetic. Scores for duration of arthrocentesis (p=0.003) and ease of procedure (0.004) differed significantly, while the other results were similar in the two groups. We noticed some superior outcomes when the procedure was done under general anaesthesia, but because of its limitations, selection of patients becomes more important.
Subject(s)
Anesthesia, General , Anesthesia, Local , Arthrocentesis , Temporomandibular Joint Disorders/surgery , Humans , Joint Dislocations , Paracentesis , Range of Motion, Articular , Temporomandibular Joint , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
In this study, the protective effects of L-arginine treatment in vivo on vascular reactivity of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced 12-week-old diabetic rats were examined. Loss of weight, polydipsia, polyphagia, hyperglycemia, hypoinsulinemia, and elevated levels of plasma cholesterol and triglyceride were observed in diabetic rats. L-arginine treatment (1 mg/mL in drinking water) did not significantly affect these metabolic and biochemical abnormalities. Plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in untreated diabetic rats were also significantly higher than untreated controls. However, L-arginine treatment prevented the increase in MDA level of plasma of diabetic rats. Contractile responses, but not sensitivity to noradrenaline (NA), were significantly increased in diabetic rats compared to controls. Treatment of diabetic rats with L-arginine completely prevented the increase in NA responses. Relaxation response to acetylcholine (ACh), but not to sodium nitroprusside (SNP), in diabetic aorta has been found to be significantly decreased as compared with controls. However, there were no significant differences in pD2 values of acetylcholine in either of the groups. L-arginine treatment increased the ACh responses to the control level. All effects of L-arginine on vascular reactivity were found to be specific for diabetic rats and not controls. These results suggest that functional abnormalities occurred in aorta from diabetic rat might at least in part result from L-arginine deficiency, and the lipid peroxidation-lowering effect of L-arginine may account for its protective effect on vascular reactivity of diabetic rats.
