Background‘Food addiction’ shares a similar neurobiological and behavioral framework with substance addiction. However whether, and to what degree, ‘food addiction’ contributes to obesity in the general population is unknown.Objectivesto assess 1) the prevalence of ‘food addiction’ in the Newfoundland population; 2) if clinical symptom counts of ‘food addiction’ were significantly correlated with the body composition measurements; 3) if food addicts were significantly more obese than controls, and 4) if macronutrient intakes are associated with ‘food addiction’.DesignA total of 652 adults (415 women, 237 men) recruited from the general population participated in this study. Obesity was evaluated by Body Mass Index (BMI) and Body Fat percentage measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. ‘Food addiction’ was assessed using the Yale Food Addiction Scale and macronutrient intake was determined from the Willet Food Frequency Questionnaire.ResultsThe prevalence of ‘food addiction’ was 5.4% (6.7% in females and 3.0% in males) and increased with obesity status. The clinical symptom counts of ‘food addiction’ were positively correlated with all body composition measurements across the entire sample (p<0.001). Obesity measurements were significantly higher in food addicts than controls; Food addicts were 11.7 (kg) heavier, 4.6 BMI units higher, and had 8.2% more body fat and 8.5% more trunk fat. Furthermore, food addicts consumed more calories from fat and protein compared with controls.ConclusionOur results demonstrated that ‘food addiction’ contributes to severity of obesity and body composition measurements from normal weight to obese individuals in the general population with higher rate in women as compared to men.
1. This study examined the effects of administering ferrous sulphate 325 mg with Sinemet (100/25 tablet) on levodopa and carbidopa bioavailability and on signs of Parkinson's disease in nine patients. 2. Ferrous sulphate ingestion with Sinemet resulted in a decrease in levodopa area under the curve (AUC) of 30% (P less than 0.01) and a greater than 75% decrease in carbidopa AUC. Despite a strong relationship between reductions in levodopa AUC and reductions in Sinemet efficacy (r = 0.83, P less than 0.01), the average reduction in Sinemet's efficacy associated with ferrous sulphate did not achieve statistical significance (P = 0.055). 3. Chemical studies indicate that iron forms chemical complexes with carbidopa in a similar manner to levodopa and is a likely mechanism for the drug interactions. 4. AUC when a Sinemet tablet is taken concurrently with a ferrous sulphate tablet appears to be clinically significant in some but not all patients. The clinical significance of repeated ingestion of ferrous sulphate with Sinemet requires further studies.
BackgroundOngoing course evaluation is a key component of quality improvement in higher education. The complexities associated with delivering high quality medical education programs involving multiple lecturers can make course and instructor evaluation challenging. We describe the implementation and evaluation of an “intensive course review protocol” in an undergraduate medical programMethodsWe examined pre-clerkship courses from 2006 to 2011 - prior to and following protocol implementation. Our non-parametric analysis included Mann-Whitney U tests to compare the 2006/07 and 2010/11 academic years.ResultsWe included 30 courses in our analysis. In the 2006/07 academic year, 13/30 courses (43.3 %) did not meet the minimum benchmark and were put under intensive review. By 2010/11, only 3/30 courses (10.0 %) were still below the minimum benchmark. Compared to 2006/07, courses ratings in the 2010/11 year were significantly higher (p = 0.004). However, during the study period mean response rates fell from 76.5 % in 2006/07 to 49.7 % in 2010/11.ConclusionThese results suggest an intensive course review protocol can have a significant impact on pre-clerkship course ratings in an undergraduate medical program. Reductions in survey response rates represent an ongoing challenge in the interpretation of student feedback.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-015-0387-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Our multi-disciplinary neurology team were dissatisfied with long access times for consultation for new referrals. We participated in a rapid process improvement workshop and a structured improvement process. Over a six-month period we were able to reduce our access time for initial appointment for patients with suspected movement disorders from 133 to 20 days. We implemented a ‘carousel’ multi-disciplinary appointment and a standardised clinic form that improved the flow of patients and that we estimate will save 150 hours of physician time and 320 hours of administrative time per year.
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