Effect of wearing diapers on toddler's gait.

Gait maturation in infants develops gradually through several phases. However, external factors such as childrearing practices, especially the wearing of diapers, may affect an infant's motor development. This study investigated the influence of different bulk stresses on the gait of toddlers wearing a disposable diaper. Twenty-six healthy toddlers (age: 19.2 ± 0.9 months) participated in this study. We measured the joint kinematics (pelvis angle and hip-joint angle) and spatiotemporal parameters (step length and step width) of the toddlers' gait under four dress conditions (wearing Type A_WET, Type A_DRY, and Type B_WET diapers and naked). Type B_WET had a higher bulk stress than Type A_WET, and Type A_DRY had lower stress than Type A _ WET. Our results indicate that the walk of toddlers when wearing a diaper differs from that when naked. This difference is due to the effect of the bulk of the diaper on the lower limb. A high bulk stress has a greater influence than that of a low bulk stress on joint dynamics and step width. Therefore, our findings suggest that wearing diapers with high bulk stress may inhibit the natural gait patterns of toddlers.

Age-related decline in skeletal muscle mass and function among elderly men and women in Shanghai, China: a cross sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship of muscle mass and muscle function with age. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: The study including 415 participants (aged 60-99 years). Upper (UMM) and lower (LMM) limbs muscle mass and whole body fat free mass (FFM) were measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis. The appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) index (ASM/height2) was calculated. Muscle function was assessed by measuring hand grip strength (HGS) and gait speed. RESULTS: Using ASM index cutoff values we found that higher prevalence of sarcopenia in women than in men (33.5% vs 23.6%, p=0.025). In the upper limb, HGS (ß=-0.809) declined more rapidly with age than did UMM (ß=-0.592) in men, but not in women (ß=-0.389 and ß=-0.486 respectively). In the lower limb, gait speed declined more rapidly than LMM in both men (ß=-0.683 vs ß=-0.442) and women (ß=-1.00 vs ß=-0.461). The variance of UMM explained 28-29% of the variance of HGS, and LMM explained 7-8% of the variance of gait speed in women and men respectively. In addition to the common predictors (BMI and age), the specific predictors were smoking, exercise and education for FFM and ASM, and smoking, drinking and exercise for HGS (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Loss of muscle function is greater than the decline of muscle mass particularly in the upper limbs in men. However, women are more prone to have low muscle mass than the men. Exercise programs need to be designed gender specifically.

Effect of aerobic exercise and low carbohydrate diet on pre-diabetic non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in postmenopausal women and middle aged men--the role of gut microbiota composition: study protocol for the AELC randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Pre-diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are associated with an unhealthy lifestyle and pose extremely high costs to the healthcare system. In this study, we aim to explore whether individualized aerobic exercise (AEx) and low carbohydrate diet (LCh) intervention affect hepatic fat content (HFC) in pre-diabetes via modification of gut microbiota composition and other post-interventional effects. METHODS/DESIGN: A 6-month randomized intervention with 6-month follow-up is conducted from January 2013 to December 2015. The target sample size for intervention is 200 postmenopausal women and middle-aged men aged 50-65 year-old with pre-diabetes and NAFLD. The qualified subjects are randomized into 4 groups with 50 subjects in each group: 1 = AEx, 2 = LCh, 3 = AEx + LCh, and 4 = control. In addition, two age-matched reference groups (5 = pre-diabetes without NAFLD (n = 50) and 6 = Healthy without pre-diabetes or NAFLD (n = 50)) are included. The exercise program consists of progressive and variable aerobic exercise (intensity of 60 to 75% of initial fitness level, 3-5 times/week and 30-60 min/time). The diet program includes dietary consultation plus supplementation with a special lunch meal (40% of total energy intake/day) which aims to reduce the amount of carbohydrate consumption (30%). The control and reference groups are advised to maintain their habitual habits during the intervention. The primary outcome measures are HFC, serum metabolomics and gut microbiota composition. The secondary outcome measures include body composition and cytokines. In addition, socio-psychological aspects, social support, physical activity and diet will be performed by means of questionnaire and interview. DISCUSSION: Specific individualized exercise and diet intervention in this study offers a more efficient approach for liver fat reduction and diabetes prevention via modification of gut microbiota composition. Besides, the study explores the importance of incorporating fitness assessment and exercise in the management of patients with pre-diabetes and fatty liver disorders. If our program is shown to be effective, it will open new strategies to combat these chronic diseases. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials: ISRCTN42622771.