Matthew A. Stults-Kolehmainen

DXA estimates of fat in abdominal, trunk and hip regions varies by ethnicity in men

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether the quantity of fat is different across the central (that is, android, trunk) and peripheral (that is, arm, leg and gynoid) regions among young African-American (AA), Asian (AS), Hispanic (HI) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) men. Subjects and Methods: A cohort of 852 men (18–30 years; mean total body fat percent (TBF%)=18.8±7.9, range=3.7–45.4) were assessed for body composition in five body regions via dual-emission X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Results: HI men (21.8±8.3) had higher TBF% than AA (17.0±10.0), NHW (17.9±7.2) and AS (18.9±8.0) groups (P-values <0.0001). AS had a lower BMI (23.9±3.4) than all other groups, and NHW (24.7±3.2) had a lower BMI than HI (25.7±3.9) and AA (26.5±4.7; P-values<0.0001). A linear mixed model (LMM) revealed a significant ethnicity by region fat% interaction (P<0.0001). HI men had a greater fat% than NHW for every region (adjusted means (%); android: 29.6 vs 23.3; arm: 13.3 vs 10.6; gynoid: 27.2 vs 23.8; leg: 21.2 vs 18.3; trunk: 25.5 vs 20.6) and a greater fat% than AA for every region except the arm. In addition, in the android and trunk regions, HI had a greater fat% than AS, and AS had a higher fat% than AA. Finally, the android fat% for AS was higher than that of NHW. When comparing the region fat% within ethnicities, the android region was greater than the gynoid region for AS and HI, but did not differ for AA and NHW, and the arm region had the least fat% in all ethnicities. Conclusions: Fat deposition and body fat patterning varies by ethnicity.

Fat in android, trunk, and peripheral regions varies by ethnicity and race in college aged women.

The aim of this study was to determine whether quantity of fat is different across the central (i.e., android, trunk) and peripheral (i.e., arm, leg, and gynoid) regions among young African‐American (AA), Asian (AS), Hispanic (HI), and non‐Hispanic white (NHW) women. A cohort of 1,161 women (18–30 years) from university physical activity classes were assessed for body composition via dual‐emission X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA). The mean total body fat percent (TBF%, , range = 11.4–54.4%) indicates sufficient variability for the aims. A linear mixed model (LMM) revealed an ethnicity by region fat% interaction (P < 0.0001). Differences existed between ethnicities for each region fat% (all Ps < 0.0001) except between HI and AA for the arm region (P = 0.0086) and between AS and NHW for all peripheral regions (P > 0.05). AAs had the highest fat% and HI had the second highest fat% for each region. AS had the third highest fat% for the trunk and android regions. For each ethnicity, the gynoid region had the greatest fat%, followed by the android region, whereas the arm region had the lowest fat%. Future research needs to determine if ethnic differences in central body fat in young women are associated with health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance.

The interplay between stress and physical activity in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to menace developed and developing nations alike. However, in the United States alone, 40.5% of the population is projected to have CVD or a closely related disorder by 2030 (Heidenreich et al., 2011). Within the same time frame, costs associated with CVD are expected to balloon up to

Psychological stress impairs short-term muscular recovery from resistance exercise.

818 billion (Heidenreich et al., 2011). These societal strains are increasing parallel to rising mental health disorders and psychosocial stress (Centers for Disease Control, 2011). In this context, stress refers to both physical and emotional challenges, some of which may be transient and rather innocuous (e.g., final examinations, strenuous exercise) with potential positive adaptations. Other stress may be chronic and uncontrollable (e.g., caregiving for a loved one with a terminal illness), which may produce excessive wear and tear, resulting in lasting and harmful insults to ones physical and mental health (McEwen, 2007). The American Psychological Association (APA) reports that 72% of Americans perceived that their stress increased or held steady from 2007 to 2011. Fourth fifths of this population reported an increase from 2010 to 2011 (American Psychological Association, 2012).

A pilot trial of a videogame-based exercise program for methadone maintained patients

PURPOSE The primary aim of this study was to determine whether chronic mental stress moderates recovery of muscular function, perceived energy, fatigue, and soreness in the first hour after a bout of strenuous resistance exercise. METHODS Thirty-one undergraduate resistance training students (age = 20.26 ± 1.34 yr) completed the Perceived Stress Scale and Undergraduate Stress Questionnaire (USQ; a measure of life event stress) and completed fitness testing. After 5 to 14 d of recovery, they performed an acute heavy-resistance exercise protocol (10-repetition maximum (RM) leg press test plus six sets: 80%-100% of 10 RM). Maximal isometric force (MIF) was assessed before exercise, after exercise, and at 20, 40, and 60 min postexercise. Participants also reported their levels of perceived energy, fatigue, and soreness. Recovery data were analyzed with hierarchical linear modeling growth curve analysis. RESULTS Life event stress significantly moderated linear (P = 0.013) and squared (P = 0.05) recovery of MIF. This relationship held even when the model was adjusted for fitness, workload, and training experience. Likewise, perceived stress moderated linear recovery of MIF (P = 0.023). Neither USQ nor Perceived Stress Scale significantly moderated changes in energy, fatigue, or soreness. CONCLUSION Life event stress and perceived stress both moderated the recovery of muscular function, but not psychological responses, in the first hour after strenuous resistance exercise.

Body composition changes among female NCAA division 1 athletes across the competitive season and over a multiyear time frame.

Few studies have examined exercise as a substance use disorder treatment. This pilot study investigated the feasibility and acceptability of an exercise intervention comprising the Wii Fit Plus™ and of a time-and-attention sedentary control comprising Wii™ videogames. We also explored their impact on physical activity levels, substance use, and psychological wellness. Twenty-nine methadone-maintained patients enrolled in an 8-week trial were randomly assigned to either Active Game Play (Wii Fit Plus™ videogames involving physical exertion) or Sedentary Game Play (Wii™ videogames played while sitting). Participants had high satisfaction and study completion rates. Active Game Play participants reported greater physical activity outside the intervention than Sedentary Game Play participants despite no such differences at baseline. Substance use decreased and stress and optimism improved in both conditions. Active Game Play is a feasible and acceptable exercise intervention, and Sedentary Game Play is a promising time-and-attention control. Further investigations of these interventions are warranted.

Lower cumulative stress is associated with better health for physically active adults in the community.

Abstract Stanforth, PR, Crim, BN, Stanforth, D, and Stults-Kolehmainen, MA. Body composition changes among female NCAA division 1 athletes across the competitive season and over a multiyear time frame. J Strength Cond Res 28(2): 300–307, 2014—Body composition can affect athletic performance. Numerous studies have documented changes in body composition in female collegiate athletes from pre- to postseason; however, longitudinal studies examining changes across years are scarce. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to assess longitudinal body composition changes among female collegiate athletes across 3 years. Two hundred twelve female athletes from basketball (BB; n = 38), soccer (SOC; n = 47), swimming (SW; n = 52), track (sprinters and jumpers; TR; n = 49), and volleyball (VB; n = 26) with an initial mean age of 19.2 ± 1.2 years, height of 172.4 ± 8.9 cm, and total mass of 66.9 ± 9.0 kg had body composition assessments using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry pre- and postseason over 3 years. A restricted maximum-likelihood linear mixed model regression analysis examined body composition differences by sport and year. Changes (p < 0.05) over 3 years included the following: Lean mass increased in VB from year 1 to 2 (0.7 kg), year 2 to 3 (1.1 kg), and year 1 to 3 (1.8 kg) and in SW from year 1 to 3 (0.6 kg); and percent body fat (%BF) increased in BB from year 1 to 3 (1.7%). There were no changes in SOC or TR. These results indicate that during their college careers, female collegiate athletes can be expected to maintain their %BF and athletes in sports like SW and VB can anticipate an increase in lean mass, but the increases may be less than many athletes, coaches, and trainers envision.

Chronic psychological stress impairs recovery of muscular function and somatic sensations over a 96-hour period

Abstract Both cumulative adversity, an individual’s lifetime exposure to stressors, and insufficient exercise are associated with poor health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether exercise buffers the association of cumulative adverse life events (CALE) with health in a community-wide sample of healthy adults (ages 18–50 years; women: n = 219, 29.5 ± 9.2 years; men: n = 176, 29.4 ± 8.7 years, mean ± standard deviation). Participants underwent the Cumulative Adversity Interview, which divides life events into three subsets: major life events (MLE), recent life events (RLE) and traumatic experiences (TLE). These individuals also completed the Cornell Medical Index and a short assessment for moderate or greater intensity exercise behavior, modified from the Nurses’ Health Study. Results indicated that higher CALE was associated with greater total health problems (r = 0.431, p < 0.001). Interactions between stress and exercise were not apparent for RLE and TLE. However, at low levels of MLE, greater exercise was related to fewer total, physical, cardiovascular and psychological health problems (p value <0.05). Conversely, at high levels of MLE, the benefits of exercise appear to be absent. Three-way interactions were observed between sex, exercise and stress. Increased levels of exercise were related to better physical health in men, at all levels of CALE. Only women who reported both low levels of CALE and high levels of exercise had more favorable physical health outcomes. A similar pattern of results emerged for RLE. Together, these data suggest that increased exercise is related to better health, but these effects may vary by cumulative stress exposure and sex.

Bone mineral content and density among female NCAA Division I athletes across the competitive season and over a multi-year time frame.

Abstract Stults-Kolehmainen, MA, Bartholomew, JB, and Sinha, R. Chronic psychological stress impairs recovery of muscular function and somatic sensations over a 96-hour period. J Strength Cond Res 28(7): 2007–2017, 2014—The primary aim of this study was to determine whether chronic mental stress moderates recovery of muscular function and somatic sensations: perceived energy, fatigue, and soreness, in a 4-day period after a bout of strenuous resistance exercise. Undergraduate resistance training students (n = 31; age, 20.26 ± 1.34 years) completed the Perceived Stress Scale and the Undergraduate Stress Questionnaire, a measure of life event stress. At a later visit, they performed an acute heavy-resistance exercise protocol (10 repetition maximum [RM] leg press test plus 6 sets: 80–100% of 10RM). Maximal isometric force (MIF), perceived energy, fatigue, and soreness were assessed in approximately 24-hour intervals after exercise. Recovery data were analyzed with hierarchical linear modeling growth curve analysis. Life event stress significantly moderated linear (p = 0.027) and squared (p = 0.031) recovery of MIF. This relationship held even when the model was adjusted for fitness, workload, and training experience. Perceived energy (p = 0.038), fatigue (p = 0.040), and soreness (p = 0.027) all were moderated by life stress. Mean perceived stress modulated linear and squared recovery of MIF (p < 0.001) and energy (p = 0.004) but not fatigue or soreness. In all analyses, higher stress was associated with worse recovery. Stress, whether assessed as life event stress or perceived stress, moderated the recovery trajectories of muscular function and somatic sensations in a 96-hour period after strenuous resistance exercise. Therefore, under conditions of inordinate stress, individuals may need to be more mindful about observing an appropriate length of recovery.

The Acute Effects of Flotation Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique on Recovery From Maximal Eccentric Exercise

Abstract Stanforth, D, Lu, T, Stults-Kolehmainen, MA, Crim, BN, and Stanforth, PR. Bone mineral content and density among female NCAA Division I athletes across the competitive season and over a multi-year time frame. J Strength Cond Res 30(10): 2828–2838, 2016—Longitudinal and cross-sectional bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) comparisons were made among impact and nonimpact sports. Female collegiate athletes, 18–23 years of age, from basketball (BB; n = 38), soccer (SOC; n = 47), swimming (SW; n = 52), track sprinters and jumpers (TR; n = 49), and volleyball (VB; n = 26) had BMC/BMD measures preseason and postseason over 3 years. Control groups of 85 college females, 18–24 years of age, who completed 2 tests 1–3 years apart and of 170 college females, 18–20 years of age, were used for the longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses, respectively. A restricted maximum likelihood linear mixed model regression analysis with a compound symmetric heterogeneous variance-covariance matrix structure was used for all analyses (p ⩽ 0.05). Increases from year-1 preseason to year-3 postseason included the following: total BMC (3.3%), total BMD (1.4%), and spine BMD (4.5%) for BB; total BMC (1.5%) and leg BMD (1.2%) for SOC; arm (1.8%), leg (1.9%), and total BMD (5.7%) for SW; total BMC (2.0%), arm (1.7%), leg (2.3%), pelvis (3.4%), spine (6.0%), and total BMD (2.3%) for TR; and arm (4.1%), leg (2.0%), pelvis (2.0%), spine (2.0%), and total BMD (2.7%) for VB. Comparisons among sports determined that BB had higher BMC and BMD values than all other sports for all variables except spine and total BMD; BB, SOC, TR, and VB had higher total BMC (11–29%), leg BMD (13–20%), and total BMD (9–15%) than SW and CON, and there were few differences among SOC, TR, and VB. In conclusion, small, significant increases in many BMC and BMD measures occur during female athletes collegiate careers. The BMC and BMD differences between impact and nonimpact sports are large compared with smaller differences within impact sports.