Browsing by Author "Heil, Daniel P."

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Associations of vitamin D status with markers of metabolic health: A community-based study in Shanghai, China
(2018-09) Zhu, Wei; Heil, Daniel P.
Aims This study investigated the associations of vitamin D status (i.e., serum 25(OH)D concentration) with markers of metabolic health and metabolic syndrome (MS), as well as possible gender differences in these associations, with metabolic syndrome (MS) for a sample from Shanghai, China. Methods Demographic and anthropometric data, as well as 25-hydroxyvitamin D (serum 25(OH)D), blood glucose, and lipid concentrations were obtained for 508 urban residents aged 19–70 years. After grouping into tertiles according to their serum 25(OH)D concentrations, linear and logistic regressions were used to evaluate associations between serum 25(OH)D concentration and risk factors for MS across tertiles. Results A 1 ng/mL increase in 25(OH)D was associated with a significant decrease in total cholesterol by 0.25 mmol/L [95% CI: (−0.44, −0.05); P = 0.014] for the third tertile, with reference to the first tertile. Also, 1 ng/mL increase in 25(OH)D was associated with a significant decrease in LDL by 0.18 mmol/L [95% CI: (−0.35, −0.02); P = 0.026] for the third tertile. In addition, participants in the third tertile had a 54% reduction in the OR for MS [95% CI: (−1.10,− 0.02), P = 0.041]. Lastly, while there was no gender difference in vitamin D deficiency status, the non-MS women had significantly higher 25(OH)D level than those with MS (30.1 ± 5.8 vs. 28.5 ± 5.9 ng/mL, P = 0.035), while no such difference was observed for men. Conclusions Higher serum 25(OH)D concentration was associated with a better metabolic profile and thus a lower risk for developing MS in urban Shanghai residents of China.
Characterizing the Aerobic and Anaerobic Energy Costs of Polynesian Dances
(2018-01) Zhu, Wei; Lankford, David E.; Reece, Joel; Heil, Daniel P.
This study characterized both aerobic and anaerobic energy expenditure (EE) for several Polynesian dances in a group of experienced professional Polynesian dancers. Thirteen men and 17 women were tested using indirect calorimetry to assess aerobic EE (and converted to METs), and fingertip blood lactate to estimate anaerobic EE, during both resting and dancing activities. Total EE was then computed as the sum of both aerobic and anaerobic activity energy expenditure (AEE, or EE above resting). One sample t-tests compared mean MET values for each type of dance to the 3-MET and 6-MET thresholds for moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA), respectively. Mean MET values for all dances, except the Maori poi balls dance (Mean±SD: 3.7±1.1 METs; P=0.340), were significantly >3.0 METs (5.9±3.1 METS; P=0.005 for Maori haka; 6.5±2.4 METs for Hawaiian hula; 6.6±1.2 METs for Samoan sasa; 9.6±1.5 METs for Samoan slap; 8.3±1.8 METs for Tahitian; 6.0±2.3 METs for Tongan; 7.0±2.6 METs for Fijian; P<0.001). Mean METs for Samoan slap and Tahitian were also significantly >6.0 METs (P=0.002 and P<0.001, respectively). Aerobic and anaerobic AEE contributed an average of 83.4% and 16.6%, respectively, across all Polynesian dances, with Hawaiian hula being the most aerobic (88.7%) and Samoan slap being the least aerobic (74.2%). Thus, the Polynesian dances tested not only met the current MVPA intensity guidelines (i.e., ≥3.0 METs), each dance also had a large anaerobic EE. These data suggest that Polynesian dancing is an appropriate mode of aerobic exercise for health promotion and disease prevention.
Characterizing the Metabolic Intensity and Cardiovascular Demands of Walking Football in Southeast Asian Women
(2018-08) Heil, Daniel P.; Newton, R. U.; Salle, D. D. A.
Given that the recent rise in obesity rates throughout Southeast Asia is disproportionately driven by women, part of the regional solution may be to encourage more habitual physical activity within this population. Taking advantage of the regional popularity of walking football, this study sought to characterize the cardiovascular demands and metabolic intensity of Southeast Asian women competing in walking football matches to determine the sports’ suitability for promoting physical health. It was hypothesized that both cardiovascular and metabolic intensity measures (≥65% HR% and ≥3.0 METs, respectively) would meet or exceed established thresholds for improving fitness and health. Methods:Women’s teams from Singapore (Mean±SD: 42±11 yrs age; 29.2±7.0 kg/m2BMI; n=14) and Malaysia (40±10 yrs age; 32.9±5.7 kg/m2BMI; n=8) competed in two successive matches within a single day during which measures of heart rate (HR) and GPS (from portable handheld device) were recorded for each player, while relative HR was computed as a percent of each player’s age-predicted maximal HR (HR%, %). The GPS data were later converted to walking distance and metabolic intensity (i.e., metabolic equivalents, or METs). One-sample t-tests at the 0.05 alpha level were used to compare variables to their respective thresholds. Results:Both Malaysian and Singaporean teams had mean relative HRs (91-95% of HRMAX[P=0.008] versus 77-80% of HRMAX[P<0.001], respectively) that exceeded the 65% threshold for improving cardiovascular fitness. Both teams also maintained an average metabolic intensity that was statistically similar to the 3.0 MET threshold that decreases one risk for non-communicable diseases (3.2±0.9 METs [P=0.0510] versus (3.3±1.0 METs [P=0.288], respectively), and both teams walked an average of 2.2-2.4 kms/match. Conclusions:These results support the idea that competitive walking football is of sufficient intensity to promote positive changes in both cardiovascular and metabolic fitness in this population of Southeast Asian women.
The Energy Expenditure of Tinikling: A Culturally Relevant Filipino Dance
(2019-01) Heil, Daniel P.; Angosta, Alona D.; Zhu, Wei; Alforque-Tan, Rhigel
Filipino Americans have higher risks for developing cardiovascular disease than many other U.S. minority groups and Caucasians. As a precursor to developing a culturally-relevant physical activity (PA) intervention targeting high-risk Filipino Americans, this study sought to evaluate the energy cost and intensity of Tinikling, or bamboo dance, a popular type of Philippine folk dance. These energy cost values were directly compared to the moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) cut-points commonly used to define the PA guidelines. Twenty-two pairs of Filipino American adults performed five minutes of continuous Tinikling dance to a three-count rhythm and standardized music. Each dancer wore a portable metabolic system to directly assess the oxygen uptake from the last two minutes of dancing. These metabolic data were then transformed to units of metabolic equivalents (METs). Mean METs for all dancers (Mean ± SD; 6.9 ± 1.4 METs; P<0.001), as well as for women (6.9 ± 1.3 METs; P<0.001) and men analyzed separately (7.0 ± 1.0 METs; P<0.001), were significantly higher than both 3.0 and 6.0 MET MVPA cut-points. These results support the use of Tinikling dance with Filipino American adults as a PA intervention tool in future studies, as well as a means to satisfy the guidelines for prescribed weekly PA.