Health and weight attitudes of university recreation center leaders.

Objective: Emerging research suggests weight-neutral approaches to health promotion are effective in supporting overall health, but they have been minimally adopted within physical activity (PA) contexts. This is concerning as research shows PA-related professionals can perpetuate weight stigma, which can disrupt PA participation and enjoyment. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine university recreation center (URC) leaders' attitudes toward health and weight. Participants and methods: One-hundred forty-one URC leaders completed the online Health and Weight Attitudes Scale. Results: Women and those who wanted to maintain weight had more positive attitudes toward not dieting than men (F (1,136)=5.090, p = 0.026, ηp2 = 0.036) and those who wanted to lose weight (p = 0.015). Participants' open-ended responses showed they held several misconceptions about the health and weight relationship and about weight-neutral eating and PA messaging. Conclusion: Educating PA professionals on weight-neutral approaches could benefit effective and inclusive PA and health promotion in URCs.

The consequences of a weight-centric approach to healthcare: A case for a paradigm shift in how clinicians address body weight.

Current healthcare is weight-centric, equating weight and health. This approach to healthcare has negative consequences on patient well-being. The aim of this article is to make a case for a paradigm shift in how clinicians view and address body weight. In this review, we (1) address common flawed assumptions in the weight-centric approach to healthcare, (2) review the weight science literature and provide evidence for the negative consequences of promoting dieting and weight loss, and (3) provide practice recommendations for weight-inclusive care.

NDR Kinase Sid2 Drives Anillin-like Mid1 from the Membrane to Promote Cytokinesis and Medial Division Site Placement.

In animals and fungi, cytokinesis is facilitated by the constriction of an actomyosin contractile ring (CR) [1]. In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the CR forms mid-cell during mitosis from clusters of proteins at the medial cell cortex called nodes [2]. The anillin-like protein Mid1 localizes to nodes and is required for CR assembly at mid-cell [3]. When CR constriction begins, Mid1 leaves the division site. How Mid1 disassociates and whether this step is important for cytokinetic progression has been unknown. The septation initiation network (SIN), analogous to the Hippo pathway of multicellular organisms, is a signaling cascade that triggers node dispersal, CR assembly and constriction, and septum formation [4, 5]. We report that the terminal SIN kinase, Sid2 [6], phosphorylates Mid1 to drive its removal from the cortex at CR constriction onset. A Mid1 mutant that cannot be phosphorylated by Sid2 remains cortical during cytokinesis, over-accumulates in interphase nodes following cell division in a manner dependent on the SAD kinase Cdr2, advances the G2/M transition, precociously recruits other CR components to nodes, pulls Cdr2 aberrantly into the CR, and reduces rates of CR maturation and constriction. When combined with cdr2 mutants that affect node assembly or disassembly, gross defects in division site positioning result. Our findings identify Mid1 as a key Sid2 substrate for SIN-mediated remodeling of the division site for efficient cytokinesis and provide evidence that nodes serve to integrate signals coordinating cell cycle progression and cytokinesis.

Prevalence of Orthorexia nervosa among college students based on Bratman's test and associated tendencies.

Disordered eating is prevalent among college student populations, and Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is being explored as a new type of eating disorder. There is currently no standardized ON diagnostic tool, and the majority of ON research has been conducted among European populations. The present study explored the Bratman Orthorexia Test (BOT) for ON diagnosis, and its relationship to validated tools for assessing disordered eating, body dysmorphic, and obsessive-compulsive tendencies among college students attending a western university. A convenience sample of 448 college students with a mean age of 22 years was recruited to complete an online survey that included the BOT, Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26), Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire (BDDQ), Obsessive Compulsive Inventory, Revised (OCI-R) and demographics. Spearman correlation, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, chi-square, and multiple linear regressions were used for analyses. The average BOT score was 4.71, near the "health fanatic" range, with Hispanic/Latino subjects and overweight/obese students having significantly higher median BOT scores. Gender, age, and college major were not significantly associated with BOT score. Significant positive correlations were observed between total BOT and EAT-26 scores (r = .47, p < 0.01), BOT and BDDQ scores (r = .25, p < 0.01), and BOT and OCI-R scores (r = .19, p < 0.01). ON tendencies may exist among college students and Hispanic/Latino and overweight/obese students may be at increased risk. Further research is needed to determine ON risk factors among diverse student populations in order to inform prevention and treatment approaches on college campuses.

Health at Every Size College Course Reduces Dieting Behaviors and Improves Intuitive Eating, Body Esteem, and Anti-Fat Attitudes.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of a Health at Every Size general education course on intuitive eating, body esteem (BES), cognitive behavioral dieting scores, and anti-fat attitudes of college students. METHODS: Quasi-experimental design with 149 students in intervention (45), comparison (66), or control (46) groups. Analysis of variance and post hoc Tukey adjusted tests were used. RESULTS: Mean scores for total general education course on intuitive eating (P < .001), unconditional permission to eat (P < .001), reliance on hunger (P < .001), cognitive behavioral dieting scores (P < .001), BES appearance (P = .006), BES weight (P < .001), and anti-fat attitudes (P < .001) significantly improved from pre to post in the intervention group compared with control and comparison groups. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Students in the Health at Every Size class improved intuitive eating, body esteem, and anti-fat attitudes and reduced dieting behaviors compared with students in the control and comparison groups.

Impact of non-diet approaches on attitudes, behaviors, and health outcomes: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the overall effect of non-diet, weight-neutral interventions on factors such as weight, biochemical measures, food and activity behavior, body image, and mental health. DESIGN: Systematic review of intervention literature. SETTING: Group classes in community and worksite settings (14 studies), and individual counseling (1) and online education (1) in college settings. PARTICIPANTS: Eighteen research articles (representing 16 studies) evaluating non-diet interventions using quasi-experimental and randomized study designs with either a comparison or control group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Anthropometric, physiological, psychological, and dietary intake. ANALYSIS: Systematic search of 168 articles and review of 18 articles meeting inclusionary criteria. RESULTS: Non-diet interventions resulted in statistically significant improvements in disordered eating patterns, self-esteem, and depression. None of the interventions resulted in significant weight gain or worsening of blood pressure, blood glucose, or cholesterol, and in 2 studies biochemical measures improved significantly compared with the control or diet group. Primary limitations were inconsistent definitions of non-diet approaches and the use of different assessment instruments for measuring outcomes. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Because of the long-term ineffectiveness of weight-focused interventions, the psychological improvements seen in weight-neutral, non-diet interventions warrant further investigation.

Impact of an early education multimedia intervention in managing nutrition-related chemotherapy side effects: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the educational intervention was to measure changes in knowledge, perceived benefit of nutrition, and perceived self efficacy in handling side effects of chemotherapy before and after viewing a 15 minute DVD among patients with cancer. METHODS: A convenience sample of 14 (4 male, 10 female, 61 ± 9 years) patients with cancer, early to chemotherapy, participated in the study. Participants completed a survey with demographic, knowledge items, and perceived health belief and self efficacy statements; viewed the DVD; and were then sent home with a one page handout. Two weeks after the nutrition education intervention, a second survey was completed including an item about tips used. Change was measured using paired t-test and wilcoxon signed rank tests. FINDINGS: The mean score on the four knowledge items significantly increased (p < 0.05). No significant differences were noted in statements intended to evaluate changes in perceived health beliefs. However, perceived knowledge and skills related to managing side effects increased (p < 0.05). All participants responded that the DVD was informative and most (n = 11, 79%) responded that it was useful. The majority reported (n = 10, 71%) a tip they used from the DVD. CONCLUSIONS: This short multimedia nutrition education intervention was found primarily to increase knowledge and could form a useful component of counseling services for patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Temporal control of contractile ring assembly by Plo1 regulation of myosin II recruitment by Mid1/anillin.

In eukaryotes, cytokinesis generally involves an actomyosin ring, the contraction of which promotes daughter cell segregation. Assembly of the contractile ring is tightly controlled in space and time. In the fission yeast, contractile ring components are first organized by the anillin-like protein Mid1 into medial cortical nodes. These nodes then coalesce laterally into a functional contractile ring. Although Mid1 is present at the medial cortex throughout G2, recruitment of contractile ring components to nodes starts only at mitotic onset, indicating that this event is cell-cycle regulated. Polo kinases are key temporal coordinators of mitosis and cytokinesis, and the Polo-like kinase Plo1 is known to activate Mid1 nuclear export at mitotic onset, coupling division plane specification to nuclear position. Here we provide evidence that Plo1 also triggers the recruitment of contractile ring components into medial cortical nodes. Plo1 binds at least two independent sites on Mid1, including a consensus site phosphorylated by Cdc2. Plo1 phosphorylates several residues within the first 100 amino acids of Mid1, which directly interact with the IQGAP Rng2, and influences the timing of myosin II recruitment. Plo1 thereby facilitates contractile ring assembly at mitotic onset.

A link between aurora kinase and Clp1/Cdc14 regulation uncovered by the identification of a fission yeast borealin-like protein.

The chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) regulates various events in cell division. This complex is composed of a catalytic subunit, Aurora B kinase, and three nonenzymatic subunits, INCENP, Survivin, and Borealin. Together, these four subunits interdependently regulate CPC function, and they are highly conserved among eukaryotes. However, a Borealin homologue has never been characterized in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Here, we isolate a previously uncharacterized S. pombe protein through association with the Cdc14 phosphatase homologue, Clp1/Flp1, and identify it as a Borealin-like member of the CPC. Nbl1 (novel Borealin-like 1) physically associates with known CPC components, affects the kinase activity and stability of the S. pombe Aurora B homologue, Ark1, colocalizes with known CPC subunits during mitosis, and shows sequence similarity to human Borealin. Further analysis of the Clp1-Nbl1 interaction indicates that Clp1 requires CPC activity for proper accumulation at the contractile ring (CR). Consistent with this, we describe negative genetic interactions between mutant alleles of CPC and CR components. Thus, this study characterizes a fission yeast Borealin homologue and reveals a previously unrecognized connection between the CPC and the process of cytokinesis in S. pombe.

Good Grubbin': impact of a TV cooking show for college students living off campus.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if a series of 4 15-minute, theory-driven (Social Cognitive Theory) cooking programs aimed at college students living off campus improved cooking self-efficacy, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding fruit and vegetable intake. DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial with pre-, post- and follow-up tests. SETTING: University campus. PARTICIPANTS: Students (n = 101) from upper-level nonhealth courses (n = 37 male and n = 94 living off campus). INTERVENTION: The intervention group (n = 50) watched 4 weekly episodes of the cooking show, Good Grubbin'. The control group (n = 51) watched 4 weekly episodes on sleep disorders. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographic information; knowledge, self-efficacy, motivations, barriers of eating fruits and vegetables; self-efficacy, motivations, barriers and behaviors of cooking; fruit and vegetable intake food frequency questionnaire. ANALYSIS: Repeated-measure analysis of variance and chi-square analyses were used to compare outcome variables. RESULTS: There were significant improvements in knowledge of fruit and vegetable recommendations in the intervention group compared to the control group postintervention and at 4-month follow-up (P < .05). There were no significant changes in fruit and vegetable motivators, barriers, self-efficacy or intake. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: A television show on nutrition and cooking may be influential in changing students' knowledge, but it seems to have little impact on dietary behaviors. With a recent increase in popularity of cooking shows, future research should investigate the impact an extended cooking and nutrition show series might have on young adult viewers.

The SIN kinase Sid2 regulates cytoplasmic retention of the S. pombe Cdc14-like phosphatase Clp1.

Cdc14-family phosphatases play a conserved role in promoting mitotic exit and cytokinesis by dephosphorylating substrates of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk). Cdc14-family phosphatases have been best studied in yeast (for review, see [1, 2]), where budding yeast Cdc14 and its fission yeast homolog Clp1 are regulated partly by their localization; both proteins are thought to be sequestered in the nucleolus in interphase. Cdc14 and Clp1 are released from the nucleolus in mitosis, and in late mitosis conserved signaling pathways termed the mitotic exit network (MEN) and the septation initiation network (SIN) keeps Cdc14 and Clp1, respectively, out of the nucleolus through an unknown mechanism [3-6]. Here we show that the most downstream SIN component, the Ndr-family kinase Sid2, maintains Clp1 in the cytoplasm in late mitosis by phosphorylating Clp1 directly and thereby creating binding sites for the 14-3-3 protein Rad24. Mutation of the Sid2 phosphorylation sites on Clp1 disrupts the Clp1-Rad24 interaction and causes Clp1 to return prematurely to the nucleolus during cytokinesis. Loss of Clp1 from the cytoplasm in telophase renders cells sensitive to perturbation of the actomyosin ring but does not affect other Clp1 functions. Because all components of this pathway are conserved, this might be a broadly conserved mechanism for regulation of Cdc14-family phosphatases.

The role of Cdc14 phosphatases in the control of cell division.

The periodicity of CDKs (cyclin-dependent kinases) regulates most cell cycle transitions including cytokinesis. High Cdk1 activity promotes cytoskeletal rearrangements necessary for cell division while at the same time ensuring that cytokinesis does not begin before the separation of sister chromatids during anaphase. The conserved Cdc14 (cell division cycle 14)-family of phosphatases reverses Cdk phosphorylation events and therefore Cdc14 phosphatases promote the process of cytokinesis. Here, we review the elucidated roles of Cdc14 phosphatases in cytokinesis and the current outstanding questions regarding their function in this process.

The Clp1/Cdc14 phosphatase contributes to the robustness of cytokinesis by association with anillin-related Mid1.

Cdc14 phosphatases antagonize cyclin-dependent kinase-directed phosphorylation events and are involved in several facets of cell cycle control. We investigate the role of the fission yeast Cdc14 homologue Clp1/Flp1 in cytokinesis. We find that Clp1/Flp1 is tethered at the contractile ring (CR) through its association with anillin-related Mid1. Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching analyses indicate that Mid1, unlike other tested CR components, is anchored at the cell midzone, and this physical property is likely to account for its scaffolding role. By generating a mutation in mid1 that selectively disrupts Clp1/Flp1 tethering, we reveal the specific functional consequences of Clp1/Flp1 activity at the CR, including dephosphorylation of the essential CR component Cdc15, reductions in CR protein mobility, and CR resistance to mild perturbation. Our evidence indicates that Clp1/Flp1 must interact with the Mid1 scaffold to ensure the fidelity of Schizosaccharomyces pombe cytokinesis.

Mechanistic insight into the Cdc28-related protein kinase Ime2 through analysis of replication protein A phosphorylation.

In budding yeast, the meiosis-specific protein kinase Ime2 is required for normal meiotic progression. Current evidence suggests that Ime2 is functionally related to Cdc28, the major cyclin-dependent kinase in yeast that is essential for both cell cycle and meiosis. We have previously reported that a natural target of Ime2 activity is replication protein A (RPA), the cellular single-stranded DNA-binding protein that performs critical functions during DNA replication, repair and recombination. Ime2-dependent RPA phosphorylation first occurs early in meiosis and targets the middle subunit of the RPA heterotrimeric complex (Rfa2). We now demonstrate that Rfa2 serine 27 (S27) is required for Ime2-dependent Rfa2 phosphorylation in vivo. S27 is also required for Rfa2 phosphorylation in vitro catalyzed by immunoprecipitated Ime2. In addition, Ime2 mediates in vitro phosphorylation of a short peptide containing Rfa2 amino acids 23 through 29, thereby providing evidence that S27 itself is the phosphoacceptor. Phosphorylation site mapping supports this conclusion, as mass spectrometry analysis has revealed that at least three residues within Rfa2 amino acids 2 through 35 become phosphorylated specifically during meiosis. Although S27 is embedded in a motif that is recognized by several protein kinases, this sequence is not a typical target of cyclin-dependent kinases. Therefore, the mechanism underlying Ime2 substrate recognition could differ from that of Cdc28.

The meiosis-specific protein kinase Ime2 directs phosphorylation of replication protein A.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the cellular single-stranded DNA-binding protein replication protein A (RPA) becomes phosphorylated during meiosis in two discrete reactions. The primary reaction is first observed shortly after cells enter the meiotic program and leads to phosphorylation of nearly all the detectable RPA. The secondary reaction, which requires the ATM/ATR homologue Mec1, is induced upon initiation of recombination and only modifies a fraction of the total RPA. We now report that correct timing of both RPA phosphorylation reactions requires Ime2, a meiosis-specific protein kinase that is critical for proper initiation of meiotic progression. Expression of Ime2 in vegetative cells leads to an unscheduled RPA phosphorylation reaction that does not require other tested meiosis-specific kinases and is distinct from the RPA phosphorylation reaction that normally occurs during mitotic growth. In addition, immunoprecipitated Ime2 catalyzes phosphorylation of purified RPA. Our data strongly suggest that Ime2 is an RPA kinase in vivo. We propose that Ime2 directly catalyzes RPA phosphorylation in the primary reaction and indirectly promotes the Mec1-dependent secondary reaction by advancing cells through meiotic progression. Our studies have identified a novel meiosis-specific reaction that targets a key protein required for DNA replication, repair, and recombination. This pathway could be important in differentiating mitotic and meiotic DNA metabolism.