Undergraduate versus graduate nursing students: Differences in nutrition, physical activity, and self-reported body mass index.

ObjectiveThis study compared self-reported nutrition, physical activity, and body mass index (BMI) in undergraduate versus graduate nursing students.ParticipantsRespondents included 233 undergraduate and 230 graduate nursing students in a Southeastern public university.MethodsThe study was an exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional comparison administered via online questionnaire including self-reported demographics, nutritional intake, physical activity, and BMI.ResultsUndergraduates reported exercising more than graduate students. Graduate students reported consuming significantly more vegetables than undergraduates; however, more graduate students self-reported BMIs in overweight and obese categories than undergraduates.ConclusionsFindings provide a foundational understanding that interventions or educational programs to improve self-care behaviors of nursing students should be tailored depending on the educational level of the students. Educators must establish self-care skills within nursing students at all levels to help them preserve their health in the fast-paced, strenuous, and stressful work of all echelons of nursing upon completion of the educational program.

Characteristics of and Factors Influencing College Nursing Students' Willingness to Utilize mHealth for Health Promotion.

More than half of practicing nurses have suboptimal physical or mental health. Impaired health is associated with a 76% higher likelihood that nurses will make medical errors. Improving the health habits of nursing students is essential to shaping and sustaining health prior to joining the workforce. Technology such as mobile health applications holds great promise in facilitating behavioral change and encouraging healthy habits in nursing students. Identifying the predictors of willingness to use mobile health is essential to creating mobile health applications that will engage nursing students and promote sustainable usage. Evaluation of psychological, attitudinal, and health-related correlates of mobile health can highlight predictors of willingness to use mobile health, which can influence nursing students' utilization and long-term engagement with mobile health applications. Analysis of these correlates shows that psychological attributes, such as hope, play a role in the willingness to use and may facilitate engagement in the utilization of a mobile health application. Development of a mobile health application that increases hope and helps establish healthy habits may enable nursing students to remain healthy throughout their lives, creating a new generation of happier, healthier nurses and, ultimately, improving safety for patients under their care.

Acute (-)-Epicatechin Consumption: Effects on Local Vasodilation Following Resistance Exercise and High-Intensity Exercise Performance.

(-)-Epicatechin is a polyphenol previously shown to enhance vascular health. The purposes of the current studies were to determine the effect of acute (-)-epicatechin supplementation on local vasodilation in conjunction with resistance exercise (study 1) and on high-intensity exercise performance (study 2). For study 1, 11 men participated in two resistance exercise sessions, where they performed three sets of barbell curls while consuming 200 mg of 98% pure (-)-epicatechin or placebo. Measurements of total serum nitrate/nitrite and brachial artery diameter were acquired at baseline (pre-supplement), 90 min after supplement consumption (post-supplement), immediately post-exercise (post-exercise), and 30 min post-exercise (30 min post-exercise). For serum nitric oxide metabolites, no significant interaction between supplement and time nor significant main effect of time was observed (p = 0.38 and p = 0.20; respectively). For brachial artery diameter, no significant interaction between supplement and time was observed (p = 0.24). A significant main effect of time was observed for brachial artery diameter (p < 0.01) with post-exercise brachial artery diameter significantly greater diameter than all other time points (all p < 0.01). For study 2, six women and five men completed the 15.5 CrossFit® Open Workout three times. A familiarization session was performed first where the workout was performed without the consumption of a supplement. In a randomized, balanced fashion, 100 mg of 98% pure (-)-epicatechin or cellulose (placebo) was consumed two times per day for two days before testing sessions two and three. On the day of testing sessions two and three, 60 to 90 min before completing the workout, 200 mg of the assigned supplement was ingested with water. No significant difference was observed for time to complete the workout between testing sessions (p = 0.49). In conclusion, under the conditions of the current studies, acute (-)-epicatechin supplementation did not augment vasodilation in combination with resistance exercise, nor did it increase exercise performance in humans.

Creatine supplementation post-exercise does not enhance training-induced adaptations in middle to older aged males.

PURPOSE: The present study evaluated the effects of creatine monohydrate (CrM) consumption post-exercise on body composition and muscle strength in middle to older males following a 12-week resistance training program. METHODS: In a double-blind, randomized trial, 20 males aged between 55 and 70 years were randomly assigned to consume either CrM-carbohydrate (CHO) [20 g days(-1) CrM + 5 g days(-1) CHO × 7 days, then 0.1 g kg(-1) CrM + 5 g CHO on training days (average dosage of ~8.8 g)] or placebo CHO (20 g days(-1) CHO × 7 days, then 5 g CHO on training days) while participating in a high intensity resistance training program [3 sets × 10 repetitions at 75% of 1 repetition maximum (1RM)], 3 days weeks(-1) for 12 weeks. Following the initial 7-day "loading" phase, participants were instructed to ingest their supplement within 60 min post-exercise. Body composition and muscle strength measurements, blood collection and vastus lateralis muscle biopsy were completed at 0, 4, 8 and 12 weeks of the supplement and resistance training program. RESULTS: A significant time effect was observed for 1RM bench press (p = 0.016), leg press (p = 0.012), body mass (p = 0.03), fat-free mass (p = 0.005) and total myofibrillar protein (p = 0.005). A trend for larger muscle fiber cross-sectional area in the type II fibers compared to type I fibers was observed following the 12-week resistance training (p = 0.08). No supplement interaction effects were observed. CONCLUSION: Post-exercise ingestion of creatine monohydrate does not provide greater enhancement of body composition and muscle strength compared to resistance training alone in middle to older males.

Differential gene expression of FoxO1, ID1, and ID3 between young and older men and associations with muscle mass and function.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Aging is associated with significant losses of skeletal muscle mass and function. Numerous biochemical molecules have been implicated in the development of these age-related changes, however evidence from human models is sparse. Assessment of transcript expression is useful as it requires minimal tissue and may potentially be used in clinical trials. This study aimed to compare mRNA expression of proteolytic genes in skeletal muscle of young (18-35 yrs) and older (55-75 yrs) men. METHODS: Muscle tissue was obtained from young (n=14, 21.35±1.03 yrs) and older (n=13, 63.85±1.83 yrs) men using percutaneous biopsy, and transcript expression was quantified using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Lower limb muscle mass was assessed using DEXA while concentric peak torque (PT) and power were assessed via isokinetic dynamometer. When age-related differences in mRNA expression were observed, Pearson correlation coefficients were obtained to examine the relationship of transcripts to muscle mass and function. RESULTS: Older muscle contained significantly more transcript for Forkhead Box O 1 (FoxO1, p=0.001), Inhibitor of DNA binding 1 (ID1, p=0.009), and Inhibitor of DNA Binding 3 (ID3, p=0.043) than young muscle. FoxO1 was significantly correlated with lean mass (R=-0.44, p=0.023) and PT (R=-0.40, p=0.046) while ID3 was significantly correlated with PT (R=-0.58, p=0.001) and power (R=-0.65, p<0.001). Moreover, ID1 was significantly correlated with all assessed measures of muscle function - mass (R=-0.39, p=0.046), PT (R=-0.53, p=0.005), and power (R=-0.520, p=0.005). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that FoxO1, ID1, and ID3 are potentially useful as clinical biomarkers of age-related muscle atrophy and dysfunction.

Effects of eccentric treadmill exercise on inflammatory gene expression in human skeletal muscle.

The present study examined the skeletal muscle expression of several genes related to the inflammatory process before and after a bout of downhill running. Twenty-nine males between the ages of 18 and 35 years performed a 45-min downhill (-17.5%) treadmill protocol at 60% of maximal oxygen consumption. Venous bloods samples and muscle biopsy samples from the vastus lateralis were donated prior to and at 3-h and 24-h postexercise, along with ratings of perceived muscle soreness. Serum creatine kinase (CK) was determined, as was skeletal muscle gene expression of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-12 (p35), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-1beta, cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), and nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB) (p105/p50). Gene expression was analyzed using RT-PCR and compared with a standard housekeeping gene (beta-actin). Data were analyzed for statistical differences using multivariate analysis of variance with univariate follow-up. In addition, Pearson correlations were conducted to determine if any significant relationship exists between any of these transcripts and both CK and muscle soreness. Significant (p < 0.05) up-regulations in IL-6, IL-8, and COX2 mRNA expression were observed compared with baseline, whereas no significant changes for IL-12, IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, or NFkB were noted. Significant increases in IL-6 mRNA were observed at 3 h (p < 0.001) and 24 h (p = 0.043), whereas significant increases in IL-8 (p = 0.001) and COX2 (p = 0.046) mRNA were observed at 3-h postexercise. In addition, muscle soreness was significantly correlated with IL-8 at 24 h (r = -0.370; p = 0.048), whereas CK was significantly related to NFkB at baseline (r = -0.460; p = 0.012). These data indicate that increases in the mRNA expression of IL-6, IL-8, and COX2 occur in the vastus lateralis as a result of damaging eccentric exercise in young, recreationally trained males. Further, it appears that IL-8 transcription may play some role in inhibiting postexercise muscle soreness, possibly through regulation of angiogenesis.