Objectives(1) To estimate weight change from a low-carbohydrate diabetes prevention programme (LC-DPP) and (2) to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of an LC-DPP.Research designSingle-arm, mixed methods (ie, integration of quantitative and qualitative data) pilot study.SettingPrimary care clinic within a large academic medical centre in the USA.ParticipantsAdults with pre-diabetes and Body Mass Index of ≥25 kg/m2.InterventionWe adapted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP)—an evidence-based, low-fat dietary intervention—to teach participants to follow a very low-carbohydrate diet (VLCD). Participants attended 23 group-based classes over 1 year.Outcome measuresPrimary outcome measures were (1) weight change and (2) percentage of participants who achieved ≥5% wt loss. Secondary outcome measures included intervention feasibility and acceptability (eg, attendance and qualitative interview feedback).ResultsOur enrolment target was 22. One person dropped out before a baseline weight was obtained; data from 21 individuals were analysed. Mean weight loss in kilogram was 4.3 (SD 4.8) at 6 months and 4.9 (SD 5.8) at 12 months. Mean per cent body weight changes were 4.5 (SD 5.0) at 6 months and 5.2 (SD 6.0) at 12 months; 8/21 individuals (38%) achieved ≥5% wt loss at 12 months. Mean attendance was 10.3/16 weekly sessions and 3.4/7 biweekly or monthly sessions. Among interviewees (n=14), three factors facilitated VLCD adherence: (1) enjoyment of low-carbohydrate foods, (2) diminished hunger and cravings and (3) health benefits beyond weight loss. Three factors hindered VLCD adherence: (1) enjoyment of high-carbohydrate foods, (2) lack of social support and (3) difficulty preplanning meals.ConclusionsAn LC-DPP is feasible, acceptable and may be an effective option to help individuals with pre-diabetes to lose weight. Data from this pilot will be used to plan a fully powered randomised controlled trial of weight loss among NDPP versus LC-DPP participants.Trial registration numberNCT03258918.

Researchers have investigated the efficacy of a gratitude intervention for decreasing body dissatisfaction (BD) in an internet treatment-seeking sample and demonstrated it worked equally well to decrease BD as cognitive restructuring. We extend this research by testing the efficacy of a gratitude intervention on BD, along with common sequelae of BD: dysfunctional eating, negative mood, and depressive symptoms. Females were randomly assigned to Gratitude, Cognitive Restructuring, or Control conditions. Pre- to post-intervention period comparisons found the gratitude intervention to perform better than the other conditions at increasing body esteem, decreasing BD, reducing dysfunctional eating, and reducing depressive symptoms.

The prevalence of iron deficiency tends to be higher in athletic populations, especially among endurance-trained females. Recent studies have provided evidence that the iron-regulating hormone hepcidin is transiently increased with acute exercise and suggest that this may contribute to iron deficiency anemia in athletes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether resting serum hepcidin is significantly elevated in highly trained female distance runners compared with a low exercise control group. Due to the importance of the monocyte in the process of iron recycling, monocyte expression of hepcidin was also measured. A single fasted blood sample was collected midseason from twenty female distance runners averaging 81.9 ± 14.2 km of running per week. Ten age-, gender-, and BMI-matched low-exercise control subjects provided samples during the same period using identical collection procedures. There was no difference between the runners (RUN) and control subjects (CON) for serum hepcidin levels (p = .159). In addition, monocyte hepcidin gene expression was not different between the two groups (p = .635). Furthermore, no relationship between weekly training volume and serum hepcidin concentration was evident among the trained runners. The results suggest that hepcidin is not chronically elevated with sustained training in competitive collegiate runners. This is an important finding because the current clinical conditions that link hepcidin to anemia include a sustained elevation in serum hepcidin. Nevertheless, additional studies are needed to determine the clinical relevance of the well-documented, transient rise in hepcidin that follows acute sessions of exercise.

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