History of Weight Cycling Is Prospectively Associated With Shorter and Poorer-Quality Sleep and Higher Sleep Apnea Risk in Diverse US Women

Body composition as a marker of performance and health in military personnel

Introduction

Body composition standards are set to ensure operational readiness in active-duty military personnel. To meet body composition standards, some individuals, however, may engage in unhealthy weight control behaviors (i.e., weight cycling and disordered eating). The objectives of this review are to: (1) evaluate the evidence regarding body composition and the associations to physical and military specific performance; (2) discuss body composition and potential health consequences; and (3) examine the evidence of weight cycling and disordered eating behaviors in military personnel for weight control.

Methods

A systematic search to identify peer-reviewed research articles was conducted in PubMed on 2/20/2023 using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) including but not limited to "Military Personnel", "Tactical Athlete", "Weight Loss", "Body Composition", and "Weight Cycling".

Results

A total of 225 research articles were identified. The list was narrowed down to articles from the last 20 years (2003-2023) in military personnel. Only studies in which percent body fat was directly measured were included resulting in 17 research articles for this review.

Discussion

Evidence-based research is limited on the relationship between body composition and operational readiness. Weight cycling and disordered eating behaviors also has been reported for weight control, yet additional research is needed. Specifically, future research should focus on female service members, racial and ethnic differences, age, and postpartum status and include other service branches (i.e., Air Force and Navy). A comprehensive survey on weight cycling, disordered eating, and weight management would be valuable to determine the prevalence and extent of this issue. This information along with performance data would guide policy makers on the relevance and appropriateness of existing body composition standards.

Managing Pregnancy and Nursing Affecting African American Women with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Clinical Outcomes and Parenthood

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term for two autoimmune diseases encompassing Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) which are lifelong diseases affecting more than 3 million adults (1.3%) in the United States. IBD is characterized by chronic inflammation of the whole digestive system which results in damage to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. IBD often emerges during adolescence and young adulthood. Maternal morbidity includes physical and psychological conditions that result from or are aggravated by pregnancy and have an adverse effect on a woman's health, the baby's health or both. Some women have health challenges that arise before or during pregnancy that could lead to complications. It is recommended for women to receive health care counseling before and during pregnancy. Compared to other developed countries, the United States has the highest rate of women dying of pregnancy related complications. During the past 25 years maternal mortality has been getting worse. African American women (AAW) with and/or without IBD are dying at significantly higher rates than other groups. This is linked to several factors, i.e., systemic, institutionalized, and structural racism in health-care delivery and subsequent toxic stress from people's lived experiences of racism, limited knowledge about healthcare system function, lack of access to healthcare, (inclusiveness and insurance policies) all of which negatively impact these patients. African Americans (AAs) are also up to three times as likely to experience severe maternal morbidity: unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery, deficient or lacking prenatal care and social determinants of health like lack of transportation, adequate employment, limited literacy, and limited healthcare access contribute to poor health outcomes. Studies on IBD patients indicate Medicaid expansion is associated with reduced rates of maternal morbidity, particularly for African American Women (AAW) and increased access to preconception and prenatal services that make pregnancy and childbirth safer for parent and baby. Herein we examine the physiological changes of pregnancy in patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease and their relationship perinatal outcomes and parenthood.

Baseless Claims and Pseudoscience in Health and Wellness: A Call to Action for the Sports, Exercise, and Nutrition-Science Community

The global health and wellness industry has an estimated value of US$4 trillion. Profits derive from heath club memberships, exercise classes, diets, supplements, alternative 'therapies', and thousands of other products and services that are purported to improve health, recovery, and/or sports performance. The industry has expanded at an alarming rate, far outstripping the capacity of federal bodies to regulate the market and protect consumer interests. As a result, many products are sold on baseless or exaggerated claims, feigned scientific legitimacy, and questionable evidence of safety and efficacy. This article is a consciousness raiser. Herein, the implications of the mismatch between extraordinary health and performance claims and the unextraordinary scientific evidence are discussed. Specifically, we explore how pseudoscience and so-called 'quick fix' interventions undermine initiatives aimed at evoking long-term behavior change, impede the ongoing pursuit of sports performance, and lead to serious downstream consequences for clinical practice. Moreover, pseudoscience in health and wellness, if left unchecked and unchallenged, may have profound implications for the reputation of exercise science as a discipline. This is a call to action to unify exercise scientists around the world to more proactively challenge baseless claims and pseudoscience in the commercial health and wellness industry. Furthermore, we must shoulder the burden of ensuring that the next generation of exercise scientists are sufficiently skilled to distinguish science from pseudoscience, and information from mis- and disinformation. Better population health, sports performance, and the very reputation of the discipline may depend on it.

Dieting Behavior Characterized by Caloric Restriction and Relation to Sleep: A Brief Contemporary Review

There is sufficient evidence showing that greater sleep quality improves weight loss outcomes achieved through dietary modifications; however, the effects of dietary modifications such as caloric restriction on sleep outcomes is less established. Caloric restriction is a commonly recommended weight-loss method, yet it may result in short-term weight loss and subsequent weight regain, known as "weight cycling", which has recently been shown to be associated with both poor sleep and worse cardiovascular health. The purpose of this brief narrative review was to summarize the evidence from recent studies of the effects of caloric restriction on sleep. Six articles were identified that specifically measured effects of a caloric restriction-based intervention on aspects of sleep as primary or secondary outcomes. Most research to date indicates that caloric restriction improves sleep outcomes including sleep quality and sleep onset latency. However, the relation between caloric restriction and sleep duration is less clear. Given the mixed results and the potential for severe caloric restriction to lead to weight cycling, future studies are needed to clarify how caloric restriction affects sleep and the potential implications for weight-management efforts.