Viviane Ozores Polacow

Concurrent and discriminant validity of the Stunkard’s figure rating scale adapted into Portuguese

This study examined the concurrent and discriminant validity of the Figure Rating Scale adapted into Portuguese. The sample was composed of a control group (98 students without eating disorders) and a clinical group (16 women diagnosed with Bulimia Nervosa). Respondents chose schematic figures representing their current and ideal body sizes. The difference between the two choices was calculated to give an ideal discrepancy score. There were high correlations between body mass index and current body size or ideal discrepancy score. The ideal discrepancy scores were greater among the clinical group, indicating that the scale could discriminate between the two groups. The results of this preliminary work indicate that the scale is a valid measure of body image when used in Brazil.

Physiological, performance, and nutritional profile of the Brazilian Olympic Wushu (kung-fu) team.

Artioli, GG, Gualano, B, Franchini, E, Batista, RN, Polacow, VO, and Lancha, AH Jr. Physiological, performance, and nutritional profile of the Brazilian Olympic Wushu (kung-fu) team. J Strength Cond Res 23(1): 20-25, 2009-The purpose of the present study was to determine physiological, nutritional, and performance profiles of elite Olympic Wushu (kung-fu) athletes. Ten men and four women elite athletes took part in the study. They completed the following tests: body composition, nutritional assessment, upper-body Wingate Test, vertical jump, lumbar isometric strength, and flexibility. Blood lactate was determined at rest and after the Wingate Test. Blood lactate was also determined during a training session (combat and Taolu training). We found low body fat (men: 9.5 ± 6.3%; women: 18.0 ± 4.8%), high flexibility (sit-and-reach-men: 45.5 ± 6.1 cm; women: 44.0 ± 6.3 cm), high leg power (vertical jump-men: 37.7 ± 8.4 cm; women: 32.3 ± 1.1 cm), high lumbar isometric strength (men: 159 ± 13 cm; women: 94 ± 6 cm), moderate arm mean and peak power (Wingate Test-men: 4.1 ± 0.4 and 5.8 ± 0.5 W·kg−1, respectively; women: 2.5 ± 0.3 and 3.4 ± 0.3 W·kg−1, respectively), and elevated blood lactate after the Wingate Test (men: 10.8 ± 2.0 mmol·L−1; women: 10.2 ± 2.0 mmol·L−1) and during training (combat: 12.0 ± 1.8 mmol·L−1; Taolu: 7.7 ± 3.3 mmol·L−1). Men athletes consume a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, whereas women consume a moderate, high-carbohydrate diet. Energy consumption was markedly variable. In conclusion, Olympic Wushu seems to be a highly anaerobic-dependent combat sport. Low body fat, high flexibility, leg anaerobic power, isometric strength, and moderately high arm anaerobic power seem to be important for successful competitive performance.

Tradução, adaptação e avaliação psicométrica da Escala de Conhecimento Nutricional do National Health Interview Survey Cancer Epidemiology

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to translate and adapt into Portuguese the nutrition knowledge scale applied in the National Health Interview Survey Cancer Epidemiology and to evaluate its validity and precision. METHODS: The scale was translated, back-translated, and then adapted. Typical foods from the American diet were replaced by other foods that are typical of the Brazilian diet. The questionnaire was administered to 39 women with eating disorders and 57 Dietetics students. The students were expected to have higher scores, which would attest the discriminating validity of the scale. The students were tested twice and a correlation coefficient between test and retest was obtained. RESULTS: The students scored 10.5 points with a standard deviation of 1.7 points while the patients scored 7.4 points with a standard deviation of 2.6 points (p=0.0000001). Only 1.75% of the students presented low knowledge versus 34.21% of the patients (p<0.005). High knowledge was found among 57.90% of the students and among 13.16% of the patients (p<0.005). Spearmans correlation coefficient was 0.52 (p=0.00009). CONCLUSION: The test fulfilled all the psychometric criteria for validation but its precision needs to be reassessed. The time interval between the first and second test should be smaller. Since the students are still learning, it would be interesting to apply the scale to dietitians given that their knowledge is more stable.

Psychometric Testing and Applications of the Body Attitudes Questionnaire Translated into Portuguese

Although many body attitudes scales have been developed, none have been translated into Portuguese. This study aimed to translate the Ben-Tovim and Walker Body Attitudes Questionnaire and assess validity and reliability for a Brazilian sample. Women with (n = 39) and without (n = 57) eating disorders completed the scale, to assess discriminant validity. Convergent validity was assessed by the correlations between the scores and a measure of body dissatisfaction. The questionnaire was applied twice to controls after 1 mo. to evaluate reliability. Eating-disordered women had significantly higher mean scores on Feeling Fat, Disparagement, Salience and Lower Body Fatness, and lower scores on Attractiveness. No mean difference on Strength and Fitness was found. Most subscales were significantly correlated with the body-dissatisfaction measure. Test-retest coefficients ranged from .57 to .85. The translated version of the Body Attitudes Questionnaire seems to be a valid and reliable measure of body attitudes.

Tradução da escala de desejo de aceitação social de Marlowe & Crowne para a língua portuguesa

O desejo de aceitacao social (social desirability) pode enviesar os parâmetros medidos por auto-relato. Os objetivos do trabalho foram: a) traduzir para a lingua portuguesa a Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, que quantifica o desejo de aceitacao social e; b) analisar sua precisao. A versao da escala foi obtida por meio de traducao e retrotraducao. Foi feito o teste-reteste, no qual o instrumento foi aplicado duas vezes, com intervalo de um mes, em estudantes de Nutricao (n = 57). O teste pareado de Wilcoxon verificou se havia diferenca entre as duas aplicacoes. O coeficiente de correlacao de Spearman entre as duas aplicacoes foi calculado. Foi obtida pontuacao de 13, 6 ± 4,4 (mediana 13) na primeira aplicacao e de 13,4 ± 5,3 (mediana 13) na segunda aplicacao. Nao houve diferenca significativa entre as medias das duas aplicacoes (z = 1,66; p = 0,10) e a correlacao entre elas foi de 0,82 (p = 0,0000001). A pontuacao foi semelhante a de estudantes de paises desenvolvidos, sugerindo que a traducao nao alterou o sentido original da escala. A precisao foi alta e compativel com a obtida na versao original. Estes resultados indicam que a versao final da escala e adequada e precisa.

Magnitude e métodos de perda rápida de peso em judocas de elite

Fizeram parte do estudo 28 judocas de elite do sexo masculino, da cidade de Sao Paulo. Os atletas tiveramaferido o seu peso corporal, e relataram em que categorias de peso competiam. Desses, 19 foram entrevistadospor nutricionista, para a investigacao de questoes relativas ao historico de peso e de dietas. O estudo foiconduzido entre agosto de 2002 e junho de 2004.

Dietas hiperglicídicas: efeitos da substituição isoenergética de gordura por carboidratos sobre o metabolismo de lipídios, adiposidade corporal e sua associação com atividade física e com o risco de doença cardiovascular

For many years the reduction in the dietary fat has been recommended to the population, in order to prevent cardiovascular diseases, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, among other chronic diseases. The consequence has been the replacement of carbohydrates by fat, resulting in the adoption of high carbohydrate diets. However, it has been still discussed if very rich carbohydrate diets should be recommended to the general population. Researches point out controversies about the association between these dietary habits and harmful effects on health and metabolic aspects, such as raise in de novo lipogenesis and triglyceride concentration, reduction in HDL concentration and effects on adiposity. This review evaluates the effects of diet modification, particularly the high-carbohydrate diet, in cardiovascular risk factors such as dyslipidemia and obesity. It also reviews its interaction with physical activity since it is still unknown with which extension it can minimize possible harmful effects of high carbohydrate diets in the long term.

Efeitos da suplementação de creatina na captação de glicose em ratos submetidos ao exercício físico

Estudos recentes tem sugerido que a suplementacao de creatina e capaz de modular a homeostase da glicose, aumentando sua captacao pelos tecidos perifericos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar o efeito da suplementacao de creatina na tolerância a glicose e no conteudo de glicogenio muscular e hepatico em ratos submetidos ou nao a atividade fisica por quatro e oito semanas. Ratos Wistar foram divididos em dois grupos: quatro e oito semanas de intervencao. Posteriormente, cada grupo foi subdividido em quatro subgrupos, de acordo com a ingestao do suplemento e o treinamento: controle cedentario, controle treinado, suplementado sedentario e suplementado treinado. Os animais tiveram livre acesso a agua e racao; o grupo suplementado teve 2% de sua racao sob a forma de creatina monoidratada. Os grupos exercitados nadaram 40 minutos por dia, quatro dias por semana, com carga entre 2 e 5% do seu peso amarrado ao peito. Apos quatro e oito semanas, o teste oral de tolerância a glicose e as dosagens de glicogenio muscular e hepatico foram realizadas. Nao foram observadas diferencas significativas entre os grupos no teste de tolerância oral a glicose e no conteudo de glicogenio muscular e hepatico. Este estudo mostrou que a suplementacao de creatina nao exerceu influencia na tolerância a glicose nem nas concentracoes de glicogenio em ratos submetidos ou nao a atividade fisica por quatro ou oito semanas.

Swimming training down-regulates plasma leptin levels, but not adipose tissue ob mRNA expression

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of endurance training on leptin levels and adipose tissue gene expression and their association with insulin, body composition and energy intake. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: trained (N = 18) and sedentary controls (N = 20). The trained group underwent swimming training for 9 weeks. Leptin and insulin levels, adiposity and leptin gene expression in epididymal and inguinal adipose tissue were determined after training. There were no differences in energy intake between groups. Trained rats had a decreased final body weight (-10%), relative and total body fat (-36 and -55%, respectively) and insulin levels (-55%) compared with controls (P < 0.05). Although trained animals showed 56% lower leptin levels (2.58 +/- 1.05 vs 5.89 +/- 2.89 ng/mL in control; P < 0.05), no difference in leptin gene expression in either fat depot was demonstrable between groups. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that lower leptin levels in trained rats were due primarily to their lower body fat mass. After adjustment for total body fat, leptin levels were still 20% (P < 0.05) lower in exercised rats. In conclusion, nine weeks of swimming training did not affect leptin gene expression, but did lead to a decrease in leptin levels that was independent of changes in body fat.

Atitudes em relação ao corpo e à alimentação de pacientes com anorexia e bulimia nervosa

Objective: Evaluate how eating and body attitudes to correlate among anorexia or bulimia nervosa patients. Methods: Adult patients seeking treatment in a specialized outpatient center diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (n = 48) or bulimia nervosa (n = 58) filled out the Disordered Eating Attitude Scale (DEAS) to evaluate eating attitudes and the Body Attitude Questionnaire (BAQ) to evaluate body attitudes – both translated and validated for young women in Brazil. Correlations among DEAS and BAQ scores were evaluated by Pearson correlation coefficient. Linear regression models tested predictors of eating and body attitudes. Results: Bulimia nervosa patients presented more dysfunctional relationship with food – DEAS subscale 1 (p 0.6) just for “relationship with food” and “feeling fat”, and for “body attitude” as a whole and “relationship with food”. Score in DEAS total was predictor BAQ total score: each one score in DEAS increases 0.788 in BAQ (R2 = 0.628). Conclusion: Bulimia nervosa patients presented worse relationship with food and worse body attitudes. Body attitudes correlate with eating attitudes stronger for anorexia nervosa patients; more dysfunctional eating attitudes predict worst relationship with body for both diagnoses.