David J. Sanders

The Combined Effects of Exercise, Diet, and a Multi-Ingredient Dietary Supplement on Body Composition and Adipokine Changes in Overweight Adults

ABSTRACT Background: Very few weight and fat loss supplements undergo finished-product research to examine efficacy. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an 8-week diet and exercise program on body composition, hip and waist girth, and adipokines and evaluate whether a dietary supplement containing raspberry ketone, capsaicin, caffeine, garlic, and Citrus aurantium enhanced outcomes. Methods: Overweight men and women completed this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Participants consumed 4 capsules/d of supplement (EXP; n = 18) or placebo (PLA; n = 18). Participants underwent 8 weeks of daily supplementation, calorie restriction (500 kcal < RMR [resting metabolic rate] × 1.2), and supervised progressive exercise training 3 times a week. Body composition, girth, and adipokines were assessed at baseline and postintervention (T1 and T2). Results: Significant decreases in weight (−2.6 ± 0.57 kg, p < 0.001), fat mass (−1.8 ± 0.20 kg; p < 0.001), and percentage body fat (−3.7% ± 0.29%, p < 0.001) and a significant increase in lean body mass (LBM; 1.5 ± 0.26 kg; p < 0.001) were seen from T1 to T2 in both groups. For men, only those in the EXP group increased LBM from T1 to T2 (1.3 ± 0.38 kg; p < 0.05). Hip girth was also reduced, with the women in the EXP group (−10.7 ± 2.15 cm, p < 0.001) having a greater reduction. There was a time by group interaction, with significant decreases in leptin (p < 0.001) and significant increases in adiponectin (p < 0.05) in the EXP group. Conclusions: Significant improvements in adipokines and leptin support the utility of exercise, diet, and fat loss for impacting inflammatory biomarkers. The improvement in adiponectin with EXP may suggest a unique health mechanism.

The Effects of Exercise Dose on Stereotypical Behavior in Children with Autism.

Introduction Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a prevalent neurological disorder in children characterized by restrictive, repetitive patterns of behavior that place an added burden on everyday functions. Aerobic exercise has the propensity to reduce stereotypic behaviors in children with ASD. This study sought to quantify the acute effect of exercise and to assess the influence of duration and intensity on the frequency of stereotypic behaviors in children with ASD. Methods Participants in this study (N = 7, Mage = 13.0 ± 1.4 yr, Mheight = 1.64 ± 0.01 m, and Mweight = 60.1 ± 13.7 kg) underwent five separate days of treatments, including a control condition (C), a low-intensity 10-min condition (10L), a high-intensity 10-min condition (10H), a low-intensity 20-min condition (20L), and a high-intensity 20-min condition (20H) in which intensity was quantified using HR as well as RPE. Before and 60 min after exercise, the frequency of stereotypic behaviors was recorded. Results Results indicated a reduction in behaviors in response to exercise compared with the C trial throughout all conditions except 20H. Interestingly, the most exhaustive exercise session led to increased stereotypic behaviors at all postexercise periods compared with the other exercise trials (P < 0.10). The 10L condition showed the greatest reduction at 60 min postexercise compared with the 20H or the control trials response (P < 0.05). Examining the behavioral responses to exercise using effect sizes indicated the 10L condition showed the greatest reduction in frequency throughout all four time points (ESrange = −0.87 to −1.03) compared with baseline. Conclusion Although it appears high-intensity aerobic exercise may exacerbate stereotypic behaviors in children with ASD, low- to moderate-intensity exercise produces significant and large reductions in these behaviors. This provides an easily administered and cost-effective way to positively impact these individuals.

The Effects of Caffeine on Arousal, Response Time, Accuracy, and Performance in Division I Collegiate Fencers.

Abstract Doyle, TP, Lutz, RS, Pellegrino, JK, Sanders, DJ, and Arent, SM. The effects of caffeine on arousal, response time, accuracy, and performance in Division I collegiate fencers. J Strength Cond Res 30(11): 3228–3235, 2016—Caffeine has displayed ergogenic effects on aerobic performance. However, sports requiring precision and quick reaction may also be impacted by central nervous system arousal because of caffeine consumption. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of caffeine on arousal, response time (RT), and accuracy during a simulated fencing practice. Using a randomized, within-subjects, placebo-controlled, double-blind design, Division I male and female college fencers (N = 13; 69.1 ± 3.5 kg) were administered caffeine doses of 0, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0, or 7.5 mg·kg−1 during separate testing days. Performance was assessed via RT and accuracy to a 4-choice reaction task. A total of 25 trials were performed each day using a random 2- to 8-s delay between trials. Arousal was assessed using the activation-deactivation adjective check list. Results of repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance revealed a significant dose effect (p = 0.02) on performance. Follow-up analyses indicated this was due to a significant effect for RT (p = 0.03), with the dose-response curve exhibiting a quadratic relationship. Response time was significantly faster (p < 0.01) for the 1.5, 3.0, and 6.0 mg·kg−1 conditions than for the placebo condition. Results also indicated a significant dose effect for composite RT + accuracy performance (p < 0.01). The dose-response curve was again quadratic, with performance beginning to deteriorate at 7.5 mg·kg−1. Energetic arousal, tiredness, tension, and calmness all significantly changed as a function of caffeine dose (p ⩽ 0.05). Based on these results, caffeine improves RT and overall performance in fencers, particularly as doses increase up to 4.5–6.0 mg·kg−1. Above this level, performance begins to deteriorate, consistent with an “inverted-U” model of arousal and performance.