▼ The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot test an instrument that will provide an assessment of current dietary practices and serve as a basis for understanding patterned eating behaviors of individuals with diabetes and their families. Pre-testing of the instrument was used to assess whether questions were understandable and to identify missing or unnecessary questions. After pre-testing, the survey was distributed to individuals diagnosed with diabetes in Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. The Dietary Routine Scale developed in this study indicated a good level of internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha level of .90. A degree of validity was established, which suggested greater levels of diabetes management or life structure to be associated with higher dietary routine scores. With further development, this assessment tool can be used in research about the dietary patterns of those with diabetes or in clinical practice to assist in planning intervention strategies. Advisors/Committee Members: Berryman, Darlene E.

▼ This study aimed at exploring the attitudes toward obesity and its association with dietary intake and percent body fat between dietetic and non-dietetic majors. Sample comprised of 76 dietetic and non-dietetic majors from Ohio University who were 18 years or older and females. Attitudes toward the obesity were determined using 14-item Fat Phobia Scale. Dietary intake was measured using Block 98 Food Frequency Questionnaire. Percent body fat was measured using Bod Pod. Results suggest that both groups were similar on their percent body fat and overall level of fat phobia. However, there were intriguing, but subtle differences in dietary intake and in the rating of adjectives comprising the fat phobia scale between the groups. Overall, both groups had similar macronutrient intake. The only significant differences between groups were in percent fat (17 grams) and grams of fat (5grams) consumed. Dietetic majors demonstrated a slightly healthier macronutrient and food group intake pattern as compared to the non-dietetic majors. Advisors/Committee Members: Berryman, Darlene.

▼ A better understanding of the storage and release of neutral lipids from adipocytes is vital to understanding obesity and diabetes. Work in recent years has revealed a central role for perilipin, a lipid droplet surface protein, for optimal triacylglycerol storage and fatty acid release. Perilipin belongs to the PAT family of proteins, including perilipin, ADRP, and TIP47. Perilipin and ADRP are most closely related and are responsible for controlling lipase access to TAG. Growth hormone (GH) has repeatedly been shown to induce lipolysis and inhibit lipogenesis although the mechanism is not well understood. The potential relationship between GH and the PAT family has yet to be examined. To address this, we utilized two mouse lines with altered GH signaling: 1) GH receptor gene disrupted (GHR -/-) mice; and 2) mice expressing bovine GH (bGH). Perilipin, ADRP, and TIP47 mRNA expression was compared in three adipose depots (subcutaneous, epididymal and retroperitoneal) in GHR -/-, bGH, and wild type (WT) mice on a high fat (HF) or low fat (LF) diet using quantitative real time PCR. Results showed a significant decrease in perilipin mRNA in the subcutaneous and retroperitoneal depots of bGH mice on the LF diet compared to GHR -/- and WT mice. However, there was no significant difference in perilipin mRNA expression between the GHR -/- and WT mice in any of the fat depots. ADRP mRNA expression levels are more variable than perilipin mRNA levels with respect to genotype and diet treatment. This research may provide insight into the relationship between GH and the lipid packaging functions of the PAT family and may aid in discovering a prospective target to aid in the treatment of obesity. Advisors/Committee Members: Berryman, Darlene E.

▼ Adipose tissue plays a critical role in producing (lipogenesis) and releasing (lipolysis) triacylglycerols to meet the body’s energy needs. Growth hormone (GH) has repeatedly been shown to decrease adipose tissue mass by reducing lipogenesis and promoting lipolysis, which likely alters the size of individual fat cells (adipocytes) within the tissue. In this study, three mouse lines with altered GH signaling were used to evaluate the effect of GH on adipocyte cell size. The results demonstrate that bovine GH antagonist expressing mice (GHA) with reduced GH signaling and GH receptor knockout mice (GHR-/-) with no GH signaling had enlarged adipocytes as compared to their littermate controls. In contrast, bovine GH expressing mice (bGH) with increased GH signaling had a decreased adipocyte cell size. Therefore, GH decreased the size of adipocytes. In contrast, decrease or absence of GH signaling leads to increased adipocyte size. Advisors/Committee Members: Berryman, Darlene E.

▼ Produce from gardens can be contaminated by harmful pathogens and cause foodborne illnesses. However, food safety behaviors related to gardening and produce handling have not been studied extensively. One survey focusing on gardeners and produce handlers’ behaviors was administrated. Results indicated that many gardeners tended to practice unsafe gardening behaviors to prevent cross contamination of manure, water, produce, and gardening tools. Although produce handlers tended to possess safer behaviors to handle fresh produce in the kitchens, they still needed to be informed to refrigerate produce properly. Moreover, participants’ gardening and produce handling behaviors, and sources of food safety information about gardening varied in different demographic groups. Through this study, food safety educators can have more understanding of gardeners’ and produce handlers’ food safety behaviors, and design suitable food safety programs or methods in order to effectively deliver food safety knowledge related to produce to specific audiences. Advisors/Committee Members: Berryman, Darlene E.

▼ This study examined the effects of various doses of Growth Hormone (GH) on obesity and diabetes in mice. Male C57Bl/6J mice were either placed on a low-fat (LF) or high-fat (HF) diet at 3 weeks of age and maintained on that diet for 16 weeks. The HF group was divided into five injection groups and received either daily saline injections or increasing doses of bGH, while the LF group was injected with saline. Injections were performed daily for 6 weeks. Obese mice injected with the highest dose of GH (5 μg/g BW) had the greatest increase in lean mass and the greatest decrease in fat mass. Remarkably, these animals did not differ significantly from the LF saline-injected controls after 6 weeks of GH treatment and had virtually no change in overall body weight while continuing on a HF diet. Furthermore, the highest dose of GH improved blood glucose levels to near LF control levels, despite the known diabetogenic effect of GH, but was unable to return plasma insulin to control levels suggesting some level of insulin resistance. Advisors/Committee Members: Berryman, Darlene E.

▼ Microarray analyses were performed comparing mRNA expression levels in subcutaneous adipose tissue between mice with disruption in the growth hormone (GH) receptor gene (GHR-/- mice) and littermate controls. The data revealed that 87 genes were significantly upregulated and 72 genes were significantly downregulated in GHR-/- mice versus littermate controls. Among the 159 altered genes, a subgroup of five genes was chosen for confirmation by a second mRNA quantification method, real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-RT PCR). RT-RT PCR studies confirmed the altered gene expression for only three genes, angiotensinogen (Agt), adiponutrin (Adpn) and angiopoietin-like protein 4 (Angptl4). To better understand the role of GH in adipose specific expression of these three genes (Adpn, Agt, Angptl4), RT-RT PCR analysis was expanded to include an additional genotype of altered GH function, the bovine GH transgenic mice, an additional diet treatment high-fat diet, as well as two other adipose depots, the epididymal and retroperitoneal adipose depots. This thesis discusses in detail all gene alterations observed in the microarray analyses and the RT-RT PCR analyses for Adpn, Agt, Angptl4 in adipose tissue. Advisors/Committee Members: Berryman, Darlene E.

▼ Previous studies have suggested that Appalachian children have higher rates of obesity and unique barriers to obesity prevention. This study examines the relationship between actual weight status versus perception and satisfaction with that size in children of the Appalachian region. Thirty-one males (10.0±2.1 years) and 34 females (9.9±1.8 years) participated in the study. To assess actual body size, body mass index (BMI) and percent body fat using skinfold calipers were measured. The Children’s Body Image Scale was used to evaluate body image and a survey completed by parents was used to compare income and educational status of these families versus the norm for Appalachian residents. Subjects had high rates of overweight and obesity with 26% having a BMI > than the 95th percentile and with 43.1% having a percent body fat that was classified as moderately high, high, or very high. Both genders showed a strong positive correlation (r =.694) between actual body image and perceived body image meaning that children of both genders did reasonably well estimating their actual body size. In contrast, 69% of children were dissatisfied with their current body size with 56% of females and 55% of males expressing the desire to be smaller. Interestingly, this study found a higher percentage of boys that wished to have a smaller figure in comparison to previous reports. Furthermore, participating families did not reflect the typical income or educational profile of Appalachian families suggesting that the underlying cause for the high incidence of obesity in these children is beyond poverty and may be related to something that could be innate to the region or pervasive in the culture. Overall, these results confirm previous studies showing high rates of obesity in children residing in Appalachia. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that children in this region are generally dissatisfied with that body size. Collectively, this study highlights the need for obesity prevention in this region while underscoring the importance of instilling a positive body image in these children. Advisors/Committee Members: Berryman, Darlene.

▼ The field of dietetics, which has existed in the United States for under a century, faces the challenge of developing and using strong leadership in facing nutrition objectives (Erickson-Weerts, 1999; Calabro, Bright, and Bahl 2001). While the literature generally calls for further exploration of dietetic leadership issues, a notable lack of research compares leadership attributes of registered dietitians (RDs) of various specialties. To assess characteristics and factors of dietetic professionals and their leadership behaviors, a survey was mailed to 1000 Ohio dietitians. The survey's first three sections investigated demographics, dietetic specialty, and dietetic leadership, and the final component was the Leadership Practices Inventory, used with permission of the authors, Kouzes and Posner. With a response rate of 44.4%, the findings showed that many of the investigated factors including dietetic specialty significantly correlated with leadership practices of RDs. Advisors/Committee Members: Graham, Annette.