Dieting to win or to be thin? A study of dieting and disordered eating among adolescent elite athletes and non-athlete controls.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of dieting, reasons for dieting and prevalence of disordered eating among adolescent elite athletes and age-matched controls, and to examine the differences between athletes competing in leanness and non-leanness sports. METHODS: First-year students of 16 different Norwegian Elite Sport High Schools (athlete group, n = 682) and two randomly selected ordinary high schools from a county representative of the general Norwegian population (control group, n = 423) were invited to participate in this cross-sectional study. A total of 606 athletes and 355 controls completed the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 89% and 84%, respectively. The questionnaire contained questions regarding training patterns, menstrual status and history, dieting, use of pathogenic weight control methods and the drive for thinness (DT) and body dissatisfaction (BD) subscales from the Eating Disorders Inventory. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Disordered eating, defined as meeting one or more of the following criteria: DT score > or =15 (girls) and > or =10 (boys), BD score > or =14 (girls) and > or =10 (boys), body mass index <17.9 kg/m(2) (girls) and <17.5 kg/m(2) (boys), current and/or > or =3 previous efforts to lose weight, use of pathogenic weight control methods and self-reported menstrual dysfunction. RESULTS: A higher prevalence of control subjects were dieting and classified with disordered eating compared with the athletes. An improvement of appearance was a more common reason for dieting among controls compared with athletes. No differences in dieting or disordered eating were found between leanness and non-leanness sports athletes. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported disordered eating is more prevalent among controls than adolescent elite athletes, and losing weight to enhance performance is an important reason for dieting among adolescent elite athletes.

Endothelin-1 stimulates human adipocyte lipolysis through the ET A receptor.

OBJECTIVE: Levels of the vascular peptide endothelin-1 (ET-1) are significantly elevated in obesity. Adipose tissue-derived ET-1 attenuates insulin-mediated antilipolysis in human visceral adipocytes through the activation of the ET receptor B (ET(B)R), thereby linking ET-1 to insulin resistance. Whether ET-1 has direct effects on lipolysis in human adipocytes is not known. RESEARCH DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: Endothelin-1 receptor (ETR) mRNA expression was determined by quantitative PCR in 130 non-obese and obese subjects. ET-1 mRNA in different adipose tissue regions was also assessed. ETR protein expression was analyzed by western blotting in 37 subjects. The effect of ET-1 on lipolysis was assessed in freshly isolated adipocytes and in vitro differentiated adipocytes from human donors. RESULTS: Freshly isolated human adipocytes incubated with different concentrations of ET-1 showed no acute effect on lipolysis. In contrast, a 24 h incubation in primary cultures of human adipocytes resulted in a significant 50% increase in lipolysis. This effect was concentration dependent and could be mimicked by an agonist of the ET(A) receptor but not with a selective ET(B)R agonist. Adipocyte differentiation was not affected by any of the agonists. In subcutaneous (s.c.) adipose tissue from 19 non-obese and 18 obese subjects, the protein expression of ET(A)R was significantly higher in obese subjects whereas there was no difference in ET(B)R expression. Interestingly, the differences in protein expression were not observed at the mRNA level as ET(A)R expression was similar between lean and obese subjects. CONCLUSION: Long-term but not acute incubation of human adipocytes with ET-1 results in a significant increase in lipolysis. This appears to be mediated through the activation of ET(A)R, demonstrating a yet another receptor-specific effect of ET-1. In addition, the protein expression of ET(A)R is increased in s.c. adipose tissue in obesity, possibly through post-transcriptional mechanisms. An increased effect of ET-1 could be a mechanism that contributes to increased basal lipolysis in human obesity.

Psychological distress and risk of pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes in a prospective study of Swedish middle-aged men and women.

AIMS: To determine the role of psychological distress as a predictor of pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes. METHODS: This cohort study comprised 2127 Swedish middle-aged men and 3100 women with baseline normal glucose tolerance measured by oral glucose tolerance test. At follow-up 8-10 years later, 245 men and 177 women had pre-diabetes [impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and IFG + IGT] and Type 2 diabetes was detected in 103 men and 57 women. Baseline psychological distress was measured by an index of five questions concerning anxiety, apathy, depression, fatigue and insomnia. Odds ratios (ORs) were estimated for pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes in association with total psychological distress. In addition, ORs of the single-item questions were calculated. RESULTS: In men, adjusted ORs (95% confidence interval) in the highest index group of psychological distress compared with the lowest group were 1.9 (1.2-2.8) and 2.2 (1.2-4.1) for pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes, respectively. Corresponding estimates in women were 1.2 (0.7-2.1) and 0.5 (0.2-1.2). In the middle symptoms groups, adjusted ORs in men were 1.1 (0.8-1.4) for pre-diabetes and 1.2 (0.7-2.0) for Type 2 diabetes and in women 1.8 (1.1-3.0) and 0.7 (0.3-1.4). When analysed separately, the associations with each of the five single factors were similar. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that psychological distress, including symptoms of anxiety, apathy, depression, fatigue and insomnia, increases the risk of pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes in Swedish middle-aged men. Increased risks were not present in women, except for pre-diabetes in the middle index group.

A magnetron sputtering system for the preparation of patterned thin films and in situ thin film electrical resistance measurements.

We describe a versatile three gun magnetron sputtering system with a custom made sample holder for in situ electrical resistance measurements, both during film growth and ambient changes on film electrical properties. The sample holder allows for the preparation of patterned thin film structures, using up to five different shadow masks without breaking vacuum. We show how the system is used to monitor the electrical resistance of thin metallic films during growth and to study the thermodynamics of hydrogen uptake in metallic thin films. Furthermore, we demonstrate the growth of thin film capacitors, where patterned films are created using shadow masks.

Mobility and bioavailability of trace metals in sulfidic coastal sediments.

High concentrations of Hg, Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn were found in the euxinic sediment of the inner archipelago of Stockholm. In the sulfide-rich sediment, they are precipitated as metal sulfides with low dissolving capacity and bioavailability. In two experiments, the significance of acid-volatile sulfide (AVS) and dissolved sulfides for mobility, bioavailability, and toxicity of metals were studied by oxygenation of intact sediment cores. Influence of bioturbating deposit-feeding amphipods, that is, Monoporeia affinis, was examined on studied sediment processes. Results showed a low mobility of most metals except Cd and Zn. Bioturbation did not enhance mobility. Cd and Zn, released from the sediment, were not bioaccumulated in amphipods. In contrast, the less mobile metals Hg and Pb were bioaccumulated. A low toxicity of contaminated sediments, in terms of mortality and embryonic malformations of amphipods, was recorded. Results indicate that Cd, Zn, and Cu are comparatively unavailable after oxygenation of the metal sulfides. Similar results were recorded in contaminated sediments differing in redox potential, AVS, dissolved sulfides, and organic contents, suggesting that other metal ligands, in addition to AVS, are important for metal bioavailability and toxicity in anoxic and suboxic environments.

The impact of family history of diabetes and lifestyle factors on abnormal glucose regulation in middle-aged Swedish men and women.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: We investigated associations between abnormal glucose regulation and family history of diabetes, separately and in combination with lifestyle risk factors. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study comprised 3,128 men and 4,821 women, aged 35-56 years, half with a family history of diabetes. Oral glucose tolerance testing identified subjects with previously undiagnosed prediabetes (IFG, IGT) and type 2 diabetes. Information on lifestyle factors was obtained by questionnaire. Biological interaction was measured with the synergy index. RESULTS: A family history of diabetes conferred a higher odds ratio (OR) for type 2 diabetes in men (OR=3.1, 95% CI 1.7-5.6) than in women (OR=1.7, 95% CI 1.0-3.0), and the synergy index was 2.8 (95% CI 0.9-9.0), suggesting interaction between a family history of diabetes and sex. For prediabetes and diabetes combined, the synergy index was 1.7 (1.0-2.8). Exposure to only one lifestyle risk factor (obesity, physical inactivity, smoking or low sense of coherence [a psychosocial index]) increased the risk to a similar extent in men and women. Combined exposure to a family history of diabetes and lifestyle-related risk factors had a greater effect on type 2 diabetes than any of these factors alone, especially in men. However, analysis of interaction between a family history of diabetes and the lifestyle factors did not indicate any interaction for diabetes, but did indicate interaction for a family history of diabetes and obesity in women with prediabetes. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Our data suggest a more pronounced effect of a family history of diabetes on the risk of type 2 diabetes in men than in women. While both a family history of diabetes and lifestyle risk factors had effects on type 2 diabetes, irrespective of sex, these effects did not appear to interact.