Health, Nutrition & Exercise Science

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Research from the Department of Health, Nutrition & Exercise Science. The department website may be found at https://www.ndsu.edu/hnes/

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Browsing Health, Nutrition & Exercise Science by browse.metadata.program "Exercise and Nutrition Science"

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    Communication in the Workplace: Does Communicating Breastfeeding Needs Affect Breastfeeding Duration for Working Mothers?
    (North Dakota State University, 2018) Millner, Madison Sara
    The purpose of this study was to identify if employer interpersonal communication and support are factors that reduce breastfeeding duration. An online, 85-item questionnaire was completed by employed breastfeeding mothers in the state of North Dakota. Of the 502 respondents, responses of a subset of 214 mothers who had concluded breastfeeding were analyzed. Shorter breastfeeding duration was seen in mothers who reported not being confident in combining breastfeeding and working. This was further seen in shorter breastfeeding duration among mothers who did not feel comfortable asking for accommodations or taking breastfeeding breaks. Mothers who were unsure about manager’s support of breastfeeding had shorter breastfeeding duration. Many respondents stated that their employer did not provide instrumental support. Over half of the respondents (60%) were unsure or disagreed/strongly disagreed that written policies concerning breastfeeding or pumping were present. Further research is needed to determine additional workplace barriers that reduce breastfeeding duration.
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    Interval Training Methods to Increase Performance Markers and Load Carriage in Tactical Professionals
    (North Dakota State University, 2019) Dicks, Nathan D.
    Load carriage is an inherent part of the military and other tactical occupations (e.g., law enforcement, firefighters). Variation in load carriage ranges from 7-60 kg and can increase energy expenditure as well as lead to higher injury risk. Various novel training methods such as low-intensity interval training (LIT) in combination with blood flow restriction (BFR) as well as high-intensity interval training (HIT) aim at enhancing critical velocity (CV), aerobic fitness, and load carriage performance. Two investigations identified the feasibility of LIT with BFR and the use of HIT to increase performance and load carriage. Methods: Twelve male participants (21.8 +/- 1.5 yrs) underwent LIT with (BFR-LOAD) and without BFR (LOAD) loaded with 15% of their body mass to compare the acute metabolic and perceptual responses. Next, twenty adult participants (male = 15, female = 5) (age = 21.8 +/- 1.5 yrs) completed 4-weeks of HIT (2 d⋅wk-1) to compare aerobic fitness and load carriage task performance. Results: Metabolic responses (VO2) were elevated 7% during BFR-LOAD (p = .001) compared with BFR familiarization and LOAD Condition. There were significant increases with CV (p = .005) and velocity at VO2max (vVO2max) (p = .037), but there was no statistical difference between the groups. There were load carriage performance improvements for the 3200 m task (p < .001) with a decrease of 9.8% in completion times. Conclusion: There was an increased metabolic response during the BFR-LOAD condition. Thus, there is a potential for BFR to limit the use of load carriage for individuals engaging in rehabilitation and reconditioning programs due to injury. Furthermore, four weeks of 2 d⋅wk-1 HIT was appropriate to see improvements in with aerobic measures of CV and vVO2max as well as improvements in the load carriage task performances. LIT and HIT methods warrant continued research to increase aerobic fitness and load carriage performance.
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    Leg Blood Flow Restriction during Rowing Exercise as a Countermeasure to Microgravity Induced Deconditioning
    (North Dakota State University, 2018) Mahoney, Sean Joseph
    BACKGROUND: Prolonged exposure to microgravity leads to a progressive loss in muscular strength, endurance and aerobic capacity (VO2). Rowing exercise combined with blood flow restriction (BFR) could be a supplemental countermeasure to maintain pre-flight muscle and VO2 function during prolonged spaceflight missions. METHODS: Twenty moderately trained male participants completed five sets of rowing exercise with and without BFR. Heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), surface muscle electromyography (sEMG), whole blood lactate ([La−]b), and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to analyze HR, BP, [La−]b and SEMG and a paired sample t-test was used to analyze RPE. RESULTS: HR and RPE showed significant increases during BFR compared to CON (F(2,38) = 5.220, P = .010) and (t(19) = -5.878, P < .001), respectively. CONCLUSION: Exercise intensity and cuff inflation pressure used was sufficient to elicit increased cardiovascular responses.