Self-assessment and self-perception of the body in 18-year-old girls.

INTRODUCTION: Studies focusing on self-perception of one's body usually cover subjects with eating disorders. There is a lack of similar studies. AIM OF THE STUDY: Conducting survey research on self-assessment and self-perception of one's own body in girls. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A survey was conducted in 1047 female students (average age: 18 years ±0.25) focusing on self-assessment and self-perception of their body mass, body parts, and eating habits. The study subjects were divided into groups of normal weight, obese, and underweight according to their BMI and BMI-SDS. RESULTS: There were twice as many girls dissatisfied with their body weight in the underweight group and 10 times as many in the obese group. 8% of girls with normal body weight perceived their body as overweight. 70% of subjects with a normal body weight and ca. 25% of obese thought they were obese in the area of the abdomen, hips, buttocks, and thighs. Fear of gaining weight was characteristic most often for girls with abnormal body weight who confessed to eating disorders. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Most 18-year-old girls do not demonstrate any symptoms of distorted body self-perception; a vast majority of girls with normal body weight exaggerate the shapes of body parts, which causes them to undertake measures aiming to lose weight. Only a quarter of obese subjects perceive their individual body parts as obese, which might result in their lack of motivation to lose weight. 2. It is necessary to introduce healthy lifestyle educators in schools to prevent ED and obesity in adolescents.

Evaluation of the frequency of ADIPOQ c.45 T>G and ADIPOQ c.276 G>T polymorphisms in adiponectin coding gene in girls with anorexia nervosa.

INTRODUCTION: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious chronic psychosomatic disorder, the essence of which are attempts by the sufferer to obtain a slim silhouette by deliberate weight loss (restrictive diet, strenuous physical exercise, provoking vomiting). The aetiology of this disorder is multifactorial. Genetic factors that influence the predisposition to AN have been sought. A broad meta-analysis points to a strong genetic correlation between AN and insulin resistance. Adiponectin (ADIPO) increases insulin sensitivity. In our pilot study we demonstrated that the TT genotype in locus ADIPOQ c.276 G>T of the ADIPO gene and a higher concentration of ADIPO in blood serum occurred significantly more frequently in 68 girls suffering from AN than in 38 healthy girls. The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency of the occurrence of ADIPOQ c.45 T>G and ADIPOQ c.276 G>T in the ADIPO gene in a larger cohort of girls with AN and healthy girls, as well as an analysis of correlations between variants of the aforementioned polymorphisms and the levels of ADIPO in blood serum. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study covered 472 girls (age: 11-19 years): 308 with the restrictive form of AN (AN) and 164 healthy girls (C). The level of ADIPO in blood serum was determined by means of the ELISA method on a Bio-Vendor, LLC (Asheville, North Carolina, USA). The DNA isolation was carried out by means of Genomic Mini AX BLOOD (SPIN). The PCR reaction was carried out in a ThermoCycle T100 thermocycler. 80-150 ng of the studied DNA and relevant F and R starters were added to the reaction mixture. The reaction products were subjected to digestion by restriction enzymes and separated on agarose gels (RFLP). RESULTS: The distribution of genotypes in the polymorphic site ADP c.45 of the ADIPO gene and ADP c.276 was similar in both groups. In both groups the T allele was most frequent in locus ADIPOQ c.45 and the G allele in locus ADIPOQ c.276. In all the study subjects collectively (AN and C) a statistically significant negative correlation between the levels of ADIPO in blood serum on one hand and body weight (r = -0.46; p < 0.0001) and BMI (r = -0.67; p < 0.0001) on the other was demonstrated. Exclusively in the AN group a significant correlation between the level of ADIPO in blood and the distribution of TG, TT, and GG alleles in loci ADIPOQ c.45 and ADIPOQ c.276 was demonstrated (p = 0.0052 and p < 0.0001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The genotype in loci ADIPOQ c.45 and ADIPOQ c.276 of the ADIPO gene seems to have no effect on the predisposition to AN. Girls suffering from AN with the TT genotype in loci ADIPOQ c.45 and ADIPOQ c. 276 may demonstrate higher insulin sensitivity because they have significantly higher levels of ADIPO than girls suffering from AN with other genotypes. This may be suggestive of their better adaptation to the state of malnutrition, and it has a potential effect on treatment results.

Evaluation of the frequency of RETN c.62G>A and RETN c.-180C>G polymorphisms in the resistin coding gene in girls with anorexia nervosa.

INTRODUCTION: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious psychosomatic syndrome, classified as an eating disorder. AN patients strive to lose weight below the normal limits defined for a specific age and height, achieving their goal even at the expense of extreme emaciation. AN has a multifactorial aetiology. Genetic factors are believed to be significant in the predisposition to the development of AN. In girls suffering from AN significantly lower levels of resistin (RES) in blood serum are observed as compared to healthy girls. These differences may lead to a thesis that functional genetic polymorphisms in RES coding genes can be responsible for this phenomenon. In our pilot study we demonstrated significant differences in the distribution of genotypes in the locus RETN c.-180C>G of the RES gene in 67 girls with AN and 38 healthy girls. It seems reasonable to compare the frequency of polymorphisms of RETN c.62G>A and RETN c.-180C>G in the RES gene in girls with AN and in healthy subjects in a bigger cohort and to analyse correlations between individual variants of the polymorphisms referred to above and the RES levels in blood plasma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study covered 308 girls with the restrictive form of AN (AN) and 164 healthy girls (C) (aged 11-19 years). The RES levels in blood serum were determined by means of the ELISA method on a Bio-Vendor machine from LLC (Asheville, North Carolina, USA). The DNA isolation was carried out by means of Genomic Mini AX BLOOD (SPIN). The PCR reaction was carried out on a ThermoCycle T100 thermocycler. 80-150 ng of the studied DNA and relevant F and R starters were added to the reaction mixture. The reaction products were subjected to digestion by restriction enzymes and separated on agarose gels (RFLP). RESULTS: The average RES level in blood serum in the AN group was significantly lower (p < 0.0001) than in the C group. The distribution of genotypes in the locus RETN c.62 of the RES gene was similar in both groups. A significant difference was demonstrated in the distribution of genotypes in the polymorphic site RETN c.-180 of the RES gene between AN and C (p = 0.0145) and in the distribution of the C and G alleles in the locus RETN c.-180 (p < 0.0001). The C allele occurred significantly more frequently than the G allele in the C group as compared to the AN group. In all the study subjects jointly (AN and C) a significant positive correlation between the blood RES levels on one hand and the body mass (r = 0.42; p < 0.0001) and BMI (r = 0.61; p< 0.0001) on the other was observed. There was no correlation between the concentration of RES in blood serum and the distribution of genotypes in the loci of the resistin gene referred to above. CONCLUSIONS: The CG genotype in the locus RETN c.-180 C>G of the RES gene may constitute one of the factors predisposing to the development of AN in girls. The genotype in the loci RETN c.62 G>A and RETN c.-180 C>G of the resistin gene has no influence on the levels of this hormone in blood in AN patients.