
Text Messaging for Physical Activity & Healthy Eating
OverweightHispanics share a disproportionate burden of several of the nation's leading chronic diseases caused by poor lifestyle habits such as sedentary behavior and poor quality nutrition intake. This project will design, implement and evaluate the delivery and effectiveness of an existing health promotion text messaging program focused on increasing physical activity and improving dietary behaviors among medically underserved Hispanic patients. Adult Hispanic patients referred by their healthcare provider at a local free community health clinic will be invited to participate in the 4-month long study. Patients who agree to participate will be sent health promotion text messages and will complete a brief pre-post assessment battery. Patients who do not send an initial enrollment text (to agree to participate) will receive a follow up telephone call from the research team to encourage participation. Evaluations will consist of: (1) physician referral rates; (2) patient enrollment rates; (3) demographic differences (gender, age) in participants/non-participants; and (4) pre-post changes in levels of physical activity and quality dietary intake will be conducted. The results of this study will provide a better understanding of the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing referral-based text messaging programs among medically underserved Hispanic patients at high risk for chronic diseases.

Effect of Dietary Habits on Metabolic Health
OverweightObesity2 moreThe goal of this application is to understand the connection between people's eating habits and the risk for developing diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

Motivation to Exercise
OverweightObesity1 moreThe purpose of this study is to understand how to make exercise more attractive to people.

Study to Assess the Relative Potency of Multiple Oral Doses of LUM001 and SHP626 in Overweight and...
Healthy VolunteersThe purpose of this study is to assess the relative potency of multiple oral doses of LUM001 and SHP626 administered for 7 days as assessed by fecal bile acid excretion in overweight and obese adult subjects. This study is designed to address the relative potency question for the first time in the same.

Breakfast Meal Replacement
Body CompositionBeneficial4 morePurpose: To evaluate the effects of replacing breakfast with a high protein, high fat, high fiber meal replacement in overweight individuals, on body composition. Participants: Healthy, overweight and obese individuals (ages 18-45 yrs) with no history of disease. Procedures (methods): In a randomized control intervention, subjects will complete 5 different testing sessions (pre-screening, 2 baseline testing sessions, and 2 post testing sessions) as well as an 8 week intervention period. Pre-screening will include written informed consent, health history questionnaire, nutrition analysis, and baseline anthropometric measures. Baseline testing will be split into two sessions and include measurements of resting metabolic rate (RMR), body composition, blood and saliva hormones, mood, satiety, and health related quality of life questionnaires, and a cardiorespiratory fitness assessment. Subjects will be randomly assigned to treatment (8 week supplementation with meal replacement to be taken at breakfast) and control groups (continue normal eating habits) with 4 electronic correspondences throughout the supplementation period. All measures will be repeated in two post-testing sessions.

Iron Absorption and Transfer to the Fetus During Pregnancy in Normal Weight and Overweight/Obese...
OverweightObesity1 moreOverweight and obesity causes low-grade systemic inflammation, which sharply increases risk for iron deficiency. Studies in our laboratory have shown that this is mainly the result of reduced dietary iron absorption because of increased hepcidin concentrations. During pregnancy, women have a large increase in iron needs because of the expansion of maternal blood volume and fetal needs. Iron deficiency anemia in infancy can impair cognitive development. Whether maternal adiposity impairs absorption and transfer of iron to the fetus, and thereby increases risk of iron deficiency in the mother and the infant is unclear.

Health Effects of Coffee Consumption
OverweightEpidemiological studies have indicated a positive health impact of coffee. Nevertheless, intervention studies testing the effect of daily coffee consumption over a longer period are lacking so far. Moreover, there is a lack of knowledge about the properties of different coffees and their influence on weight development. Therefore, we tested the effect of two coffees differing in their alkyl pyridine content over a period of 3 months on weight development.

Effects of Long Term Calorie Restriction on Sphingomyelin and Amino Acids
OverweightObeseThe effect of weight loss with long-term low calorie diet (LCD) on plasma metabolites is unknown. The aim was to examine whether a LCD-induced weight reduction results in changes in the extended plasma metabolites.

Low Carbohydrate Diet - Effect on Plasma Lipids and Metabolic Markers
Overweight and ObesityType IIb Hyperlipidaemia1 moreLow carbohydrate diet may influence the plasma lipid levels.

The Effect of Variety on Physical Activity
OverweightIncreasing physical activity continues to be a challenge among many individuals, particularly those who are overweight. Recent data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) showed that individuals who reported engaging in a variety of activities were more likely to meet national physical activity recommendations compared to those who reported no variety. Incorporating a variety of activities into a physical activity program may be a way to increase physical increase physical activity levels. One method to increase variety in physical activities is to use active videogames. Videogames that use motion sensors allow a gamer to physically perform a variety of activities. Thus, the purpose ot this laboratory-based investigation is to conduct a study to examine the effect of engaging in a greater variety of active videogames on energy expenditure in 30 non-obese, regularly active adults.