ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Identifying critical periods of greater weight gain could provide useful information to combat the obesity epidemic. We tested whether body weight (BW), body fat percentage (BF%) and blood pressure (BP) changed during the holiday season (thanksgiving to new year's day) and the impact of regular exercise on these parameters. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A total of 48 males and 100 females (age 18-65 years) with a mean body mass index of 25.1±0.5 kg/m(2) were evaluated in mid-November (visit 1) and early January (visit 2; across 57±0.5 days). Anthropometric data, BF%, BP and self-reported exercise were recorded. RESULTS: Participants showed significant increases in BW (0.78±0.1 kg, P<0.001, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.57-0.99), BF% (0.5±0.2%, P=0.007, 95% CI: 0.12-0.77), systolic blood pressure (SBP; 2.3±1.2 mm Hg, P=0.048, 95% CI: 0.01-4.63) and diastolic blood pressure (1.8±0.8 mm Hg, P=0.028, 95% CI: 0.20-3.49). Obese participants (35.2±0.8 kg/m(2)) showed a greater increase in BF% compared with normal weight participants (21.7±0.2 kg/m(2), P<0.05, 95% CI: 0.53-2.37) and a trend vs overweight participants (26.8±0.3 kg/m(2), P=0.07, 95% CI: -0.18-1.65). Exercise (4.8±0.6 h per week) did not protect against holiday weight gain and was not a significant predictor for changes in BW or BF%. Data are reported as means±s.e. CONCLUSION: Our participants gained an average of 0.78 kg, which indicates the majority of average annual weight gain (1 kg/y) reported by others may occur during the holiday season. Obese participants are most at risk as they showed the greatest increases in BF%. Initial BW, not exercise, significantly predicted BF% and BW gain.
Subject(s)
Blood Pressure/physiology , Body Composition/physiology , Body Weight/physiology , Exercise/physiology , Holidays , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Body Mass Index , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Obesity/metabolism , Overweight/metabolism , Single-Blind Method , Young AdultABSTRACT
A study of the records from the period 1950 to 1970 at the Elizabethtown Hospital for Children and Youth produced twelve patients with the Guillain-Barré syndrome. These patients were contracted in 1975-76 and each was personally examined. Ten were found to have residual weakness but in several instances the weakness was so mild the patient was unaware of it. Good correlations were found between muscle examinations during the acute recovery period and at final follow-up. Six patients had undergone various surgical procedures, and all of them thought they had benefited.
