Childhood obesity is an epidemic in the U.S.A., and understanding aspects of fitness is critical in implementing effective interventions. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship of obesity levels with the fitness levels of public school children in Louisiana. Over 7,000 school children participated in body mass index (BMI) and Fitnessgram® subtests including the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (aerobic capacity), curl-ups, trunk lifts, push-ups (strength and endurance), and shoulder stretches (flexibility). The fitness measures and BMI were analyzed using chi-square and logistic regression to test for any significant relationships. The results indicated that the participants with healthy BMIs have the highest levels of physical fitness. The differences between the fitness levels of obese and healthy children were statistically significant. This study demonstrated a direct relationship between BMI status and fitness levels as measured by the Fitnessgram® among study participants. This finding is not exceedingly surprising, as common sense tells us that the heavier a person is, the less likely he or she is to be physically fit. However, this study is an important first step in understanding weight issues in children. This information can be used to develop data-driven interventions to assist children in becoming healthier and more physically fit.

The aim of the present study is to assess and compare the presence of metabolic syndrome using IDF and Modified NCEP ATPIII criteria among Sunni Muslim of Delhi and to determine the optimal cut off values of different parameters for the detection of metabolic syndrome. A total of, 406 individuals (125 men, 281women) aged 35-65 years were recruited. Anthropometric, blood pressure and laboratory investigations were performed following the standard protocols. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves of waist circumference, serum triglycerides, High density lipoprotein cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and fasting blood glucose were created for the determination of the metabolic syndrome and the area under curve (AUC) was evaluated to determine the predictive efficiency of each variable of metabolic syndrome. The cut off values of each parameter with corresponding sensitivity, specificity, Youden index and likelihood ratios were estimated. The overall metabolic syndrome assessed through Modified NCEP ATP III was 75.12% while through IDF criterion it was 75.36%. Majority of the participants were equally identified by both definitions. The metabolic syndrome was higher in women as compare to men using both the criteria. The area under curve (AUC) shows that serum triglycerides have highest predictive ability for metabolic syndrome in modified NCEP ATP III and IDF. The population specific cut off values of different variable to detect metabolic syndrome was formed. Although these result may not apply to rest of Indian population due to multi ethnicity but similar studies with large sample size to find the cut off values of parameter for metabolic syndrome is needed for better detection and prevention.

Message sidedness, including its later format inoculation, and conclusion explicitness have been identified by researchers as two prominent message factors that may influence advocating effects. Two-sided messages, which contain both supporting and opposing information about the issue, particularly those containing inoculation components that refute the negative side, are found to be more effective than one-sided messages. Messages with explicit conclusions are also found to be more persuasive than those that let the audience draw the conclusions themselves. This study tested the persuasion effectiveness of message inoculation and conclusion explicitness on a new scientific concept, the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus, of which the public has little knowledge. This study used five randomly assigned groups (total N = 524) and found that messages with explicit conclusions are more persuasive than those with implicit conclusions; however, it found no difference between the effectiveness of one-sided messages and of refutational two-sided messages. The study suggests that a clear conclusion is necessary to communicate the WEF nexus for a better approach to managing the megacrisis of water, energy, and food security.

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