807 research outputs found
Die verband van fisieke werksvermoë met enkele serumlipiedratio's by Suid-Afrikaanse mans en die invloed van sigaretrook daarop
No full textMA (Menslike Bewegingskunde), North-West University, Potchefstroom CampusTHE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL WORK CAPACITY AND SOME
SERUM LIPID RATIOS IN SOUTH AFRICAN MEN AND THE INFLUENCE OF
CIGARETTE SMOKING
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the Western world's biggest health threat and consensus
has been reached with regard to the protective as well as the risk factors which
determines CHD (Buist, 1995 : 1). Research reported in 1993, indicated that 48 000
South Africans are likely to have a miocardial infarction each year (MI) (Meyer, 1993 :
22). Research, reported in 1996, indicated that the death rate for the South African
population, due to heart related diseases, were nearly 85 000 for that year and that it is
still increasing (Statistics South Africa, 1996:143).
Physical inactivity, hypertension, smoking and high total cholesterol concentration are
the primary contributors to the development of atherosclerosis and the increased risk of
CHD ( Leon, 2000: 513). Several studies have reported on the important role of physical
fitness as a beneficial factor, with regard to the development of CHD (Bovens et al., 1993
:575).
According to research there is a distinct correlation between improvement of physical
fitness and the lowering of the total cholesterol concentration (Haddock et al., 1998
896).
The objective of this study was firstly to determine the relationship between physical
work capacity and the total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein-ratio (TC/HDL-ratio) and
the low-density lipoprotein/high-density lipoprotein-ratio (LDL/HDL-ratio) among South
African men. Data was gathered from 367 white men.
Due to the fact that the risk for CHD progressively increases from the age of 30 years,
and atherogenesis is less likely reversible from the age of 50 years, the men were divided
into two age groups namely 35-49 years and 50-64 years (Hart et al., 1988:37). Physical
work capacity was expressed as sub-maximal power output (watt.kg- 1
) achieved during a
progressive cycle ergometer test. Non-fasting blood samples were taken. Laboratory
analyses to determine the total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL-C) and
high density lipoprotein (HDL-C) cholesterol concentrations were executed, as described
by Vermaak et al. (1991:368).
The analysis of the data indicated significant differences (p<0.05) between the fit and
unfit men for both the ratios (TC/HDL and LDL/HDL), thus placing unfit men at an
increased risk of developing CHD.
Secondly, the effect of smoking was examined on the above mentioned relations.
Analysis of data indicated significant differences for both lipid ratios (p<0.05).
It is concluded by the results found in this study, that a man who is physically unfit and
smokes, showed significant higher lipid ratios than their non smoking, physically fit
counterparts.Master
The influence of resistance training on the magnitude of change in the resting metabolic rate, program compliance and related obesogenic anthropometric parameters in obese and normal–weight female employees
No full textObesity is a global health concern affecting all walks of life, with alarming prevalence in South African employees. Various companies have already implemented health promotion programs in order to improve employee health; however research focusing on the effect of a resistance training intervention in order to address obesity among employees is scare. Therefore the aim of this study was to determine the influence of resistance training (RT) on the resting metabolic rate (RMR), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM) and compliance in a group of obese and normal-weight female employees. Seventy-seven pre-menopausal women (25 – 35 years) were recruited and divided into an obese, (BMI ≥ 30) and normal-weight group (BMI ≤ 25.0). Both groups completed a supervised progressive RT program (3 sessions of 40 -50 minutes/week), spread across 12 weeks. Assessments were performed every 4 weeks and results were analysed using the Linear Mixed Model procedure. The normal-weight group (NWG) showed practically significant increases from baseline to 12-weeks in FFM (d = 0.83), RMR (d = 0.58) and exercise compliance (d = 0.58) while the obese group (OG) showed practically significant decreases in WC (d = 0.32) and BMI (d = 0.31). Considering the intra-group % change (baseline to 12-weeks) it is clear that the NWG showed significant increases in RMR (7.0%), FFM (7.8%) and exercise compliance (15.8%) while the OG showed a significant decrease in WC (3.0%) and exercise compliance (9.3%). It seems therefore that the magnitude of change resulting from resistance training (moderate intensity) in NWG differs from that of the OG
A Historical Analysis Of The Post-Apartheid Dispensation Education In South Africa (1994-2011)
No full textThe period 1994-2011 introduced a new historical era for school education in South Africa. Outcomes-based Education (OBE) was introduced and was controversial from the outset for educators and policymakers alike. The reason given for the implementation of OBE was to move away from the apartheid curriculum and to address skills, knowledge and values. However, there were various shortcomings and many implementation problems that had to be addressed. Educators perceived the OBE approach to education as so problematic that it has now, finally, had to be scrapped. At this stage, the National Senior Certificate (NSC) is the exit point for school leavers and serves as a benchmark for tertiary education. Standardization is the tool used to make adjustments to Grade 12 results to correct fluctuations in performance that are the results of factors within the examination processes rather than the knowledge and abilities of candidates but this has a direct impact on the results of candidates. International benchmarking tests (e.g. TIMSS) have been introduced at the end of Grades 3, 6, and 9 to test the competency of learners in Mathematics and Science. Compared to other participating countries, the outcome for South African learners was exceedingly poor and this is seen as a reason for serious concern
Present-day dilemmas and challenges of the South African tertiary system
No full textThe Education White Paper 3 on Higher Education aimed to transform the higher education
system. Change within tertiary education included adjusting the size and shape of institutions, the
meaning of autonomy and accountability, the nature of higher education, the character of student
demographic distribution, management and governance, roles of student politics, models of
delivery, the notion of higher education in terms of the relationship between free trade and public
good, programme changes and the nature of the academic workplace. At this stage,
transformation in higher education is leaping outwards to fulfil the criteria set by international
competitiveness and related efficiency criteria that can be attributed to globalisation pressures
and to deeper factors inherent in the nature of higher education, especially in terms of its
resistance to change and modernization. In this regard, the tertiary higher education system in
South Africa is faced with many multi-dimensional challenges that need to be addressed in this
article. This includes stating whether Grade 12 results as the outcome of this exit point at school
level are, internationally speaking, a reasonable predictor of first-year academic success at
university. In South Africa, there is no benchmarking of the National Senior Certificate (NSC)
examination; therefore, first-year students have difficulty in adapting to the university
environment as they find themselves devoid of indispensable bases for the pursuit of their studies
and the weakness of the level of education given at school level in a large number of instances.
Furthermore, five universities were placed under administration in the 2011-2012 period because
of appallingly poor levels of management, which adds extra layers of suspicion to the notion of the
impact of higher education in South Africa. Many other challenges are facing the South African
tertiary education system, which will be analysed and recommendations arrived at that will
attempt to contribute to an enhancement of tertiary education in South Africa
The prevalence and clustering of non-communicable disease risk factors in a South African financial institution: a challenge to corporate management
No full textNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) are currently a global epidemic, challenging the individual, corporate environment and health professionals in developed as well as developing countries. It is therefore understandable that comprehensive research has already focused on the detrimental outcomes of NCDs on health, productivity and health care costs in various parts of the world. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and clustering of various risk factors associated with NCDs in a financial institution in South Africa. Body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), total cholesterol (TC), casual blood glucose (CBG), stress, smoking habits and physical activity (PA) were determined in a total of8 132 employees (3097 males and 5035 females) between ages of 18 and 65 years, covering all provinces in South Africa. Groupings were done according to age (< 44 and ≥ 45 yrs.) and gender. Descriptive statistics, prevalence of NCD risk factor and clustering were analysed. The majority of employees assessed were at risk (moderate and high risk) with regard to most of the variables viz. increased BMI (65.8%), SBP (62.1%), DBP (56.6%), stress (58.3%) as well as being low physically active (55.4%). Older males (≥ 45 yrs.) were the most vulnerable group with moderate or high risk in BMI (43.2% overweight and 25.9% obese), SBP (51.3% prehypertensive & 26.7% hypertensive), DBP (45.6% pre-hypertensive & 28.5% hypertensive), TC (27.9% borderline high & 7.9% high) and CBG (31.3% borderline high & 23.5% high). Older females showed the highest prevalence of obesity (38.1%), TC (13%), borderline high CBG (35.2%) and stress (31.4%). The risk clustering showed that 42.1% of employees had a clustering of 3-4 risk factors, with older male (48.4%) and female (47.8%) employees experiencing a higher prevalence. Employers should consider the implementation of some health promotion strategies in order to minimize the prevalence of risk factors as well as the migration of employees at risk to higher risk stratum. One strategy, already identified to positively affect most NCD risk factors simultaneously, is the enhancing of physical activity amongst employees
Restructuring And Mergers Of The South African Post-Apartheid Tertiary System (1994-2011): A Critical Analysis
No full textSocio-economic and vocational needs of communities, governments and individuals change over the years and these discourses served as a compass for restructuring of higher institutions in South Africa from 1994. Before 1994, the claim to legitimacy for government policies in higher education rested on meeting primarily the interests of the white minority. From 1996 onwards, the newly established government considered education a major vehicle of societal transformation. The main objective had been to focus on reducing inequality and fostering internationalisation. Therefore, the rationale for the restructuring of South African universities included a shift from science systems to global science networks. Various challenges are associated with restructuring and include access, diversity, equity and equality. Thus, the restructuring and mergers between former technikons and traditional universities were probably the most difficult to achieve in terms of establishing a common academic platform, as transitional conditions also had to be taken into account and had a twin logic: It was not only the legacy of apartheid that had to be overcome but the incorporation of South Africa into the globalised world was equally important as globalisation transforms the economic, political, social and environmental dimensions of countries and their place in the world. Initially, the post-apartheid higher education transformation started with the founding policy document on higher education, the Report of the National Commission on Higher Education and this report laid the foundation for the 1997 Education White Paper 3 on Higher Education in which a transformed higher education system is described. Restructuring and mergers also had a far-reaching impact, positive and negative, on the various tertiary institutions. This article also reflects on the impact of restructuring and mergers of higher education and reaches the conclusion that higher education faces many more challenges than initially anticipated prior to transformation
The Prevalence of health risk behaviors among learners in selected urbanized secondary schools in Namibia
No full textResearch indicates that destructive lifestyles during adolescence may lead to serious health risks
in later years of life. The prevalence of health risk behaviour among school leaners should signal
significant red flags to authorities as well as communities. The aim of this study was to determine
the prevalence of some health risk behaviour among learners in selected urbanized secondary
schools in Namibia. For this study, 294 leaners (boys = 133 and girls = 161) from four secondary
schools in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, were randomly selected. To determine the
prevalence of health risk behaviour in each age group, height, body mass, body mass index
(BMI) and percentage body fat (%BF) were determined and the Youth Risk Behaviour Survey
Questionnaire (2003) was completed by each participant. The following constructs were studied,
viz. physical activity participation, overweight/obesity, smoking, sexual activity, suicidal
ideation, alcohol and drug usage. Data were analysed by using the Statistica for Windows
(version 6 software) to calculate the descriptive statistics as well as two-way analysis of variance,
to determine the relationship between physical activity participation and health risk behaviour.
The effect size (ES) was calculated in order to determine the practical significance of the
difference. Descriptive analysis indicated some alarming prevalence of health risk behaviour
among the learners. The highest prevalence of health risk behaviour in boys and girls combined
are; alcohol intake (47%) and overweight/obesity (39%) respectively, followed by smoking
(28%) and sexual activity (25%). For the boys, alcohol intake (46%), sexual activity (30%) and
smoking (30%) ranked first, second and third respectively, while for the girls, overweight/obesity
(61%) showed the highest prevalence with alcohol consumption (47%) and physical inactivity
(28%) in the second and third place respectively. The age group (boys and girls) which revealed
the highest prevalence of health risk behaviour is the 15-year-old boys (70% alcohol intake) and
14-year-old girls (80% alcohol intake). It also appears that participation in physical activity can
be associated with a decreased prevalence of risky behaviour, although different responses
occurred between boys and girls – as well as between age groups in the same gender. This study
reveals alarming red flags that should not be ignored by the public and authorities
The effect of whole-body vibration training on selected anthropometric and biochemical parameters in sedentary men: rehabilitation
No full textThe information on the use of whole-body vibration training (WBVT) on some health-related
risk factors such as body composition and biochemical parameters is limited. The purpose of the
study was therefore, to assess the effect of progressive WBVT on selected anthropometric and
biochemical parameters in healthy sedentary men. Fifty (50) sedentary male volunteers aged 18-
40 years were recruited and randomly assigned to two equal groups of 25 each (i.e. an
intervention group (IG) that had underwent 12 weeks of progressive WBV training and a control
group (CG) that remained sedentary). The baseline assessment included a full blood lipid profile
from capillary whole blood, following a fasting period of 12 hours, and some anthropometric
measurements, namely body weight (BW), waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI)
and percentage body fat (%BF). The intervention programme consisted of supervised progressive
WBVT, three times per week for 12 weeks. All pre-test measurements were repeated after the
intervention. Twenty-three participants in the intervention group and 17 in the control group
completed the study. Whole-body vibration training resulted in a practical significant change in
waist circumference (pre-test-mean=96.3±10.7 & post-test-mean=94.3±11.1; Cohen d=1.10),
total cholesterol (pre-test-mean=3.99±0.99 & post-test-mean=3.7±0.9; Cohen d=.29) and lowdensity
lipoprotein (pre-test-mean=2.91±0.65 & post-test-mean=2.32±1.11; Cohen d=0.62) for
IG. The CG experienced non-significant increase in BW, BMI, %BF, waist circumference, total
cholesterol, and triglyceride over the 12 weeks. It can be concluded that progressive WBVT over
a period of 12 weeks had a significant positive effect on waist circumference, serum total
cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in young, sedentary men. Based on these
findings, it is recommended that more studies on WBVT involving larger samples are neede
Cardiovascular responses in sedentary adult men, following a 12-week whole-body vibration training
No full textWhole-body vibration training has become increasingly popular as a training modality in fitness and health centres hence some evidence also indicates that it can produce salutogenic outcomes in patients suffering metabolic such as blood pressure and other defects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of a 12-week whole-body vibration training intervention on cardiovascular performance of apparently healthy, but sedentary male adults. Fifty (50) adult males (age 18 – 40 years) were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups to participate in a 12-week intervention study. During baseline testing, the following parameters were determines namely; heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and double product (SBPxHR). Cardiac ultrasound recordings were used to determine end-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume, stroke volume and ejection fraction. The intervention group (IG) followed a 12-week progressive whole-body vibration training (WBVT) regimen, while the control group (CG) continued with their normal daily activities. Following the 12-week WBVT, 23 and 17 participants in the IG and CG respectively were re-assessed. Results showed a statistically significant changes after 12 weeks of WBVT in the following cardiovascular parameters: systolic (132 mmHg vs. 116 mmHg) and diastolic (85 mmHg vs. 78 mmHg) blood pressure, double product (9176 vs. 8446) and end-diastolic volume (312 ml vs. 437 ml) in the IG, while in the CG, a significantly lower ejection fraction occurred in the post-intervention assessment. During pre-intervention assessment significant differences were observed between the IG and CG in the variables, viz. systolic blood pressure (132 mmHg v. 124 mmHg), double product (9196 vs. 8902), enddiastolic volume (312 ml vs. 363 ml) and end-systolic volume (141 ml vs. 101 ml). In the posttest assessment all differences in the pre-test assessment were statistically corrected for. The results in this study therefore indicate that WBVT could be used as an effective training modality to improve cardiovascular function in adult males. As such, WBVT is recommended for use in sedentary adults given its benefit
The Prosecution of Public Corruption in the United States. Political and Judicial Strategies - and, in the Background, an Expression of the Legality Principle Crisis
No full textThrough the exam of the jurisprudence of the U.S.Supreme Court and of the federal criminal courts, the Author identifies two different trends of the political and judicial strategy in the field of repression of public corruption in the U.S. The first trend (as in McCormick v. U.S. and in McDonnell v. U.S.) aims to avoid criminal liability in campaign cases; the second trend (as in Evans v. U.S., in Skilling v. U.S. and in Ocasio v. U.S.), instead, tends to affirm criminal liability in the other cases. This latter trend seems to the Author uncoherent with the legality principle. A broad interpretation of criminal law federal statutes is affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court and by the federal courts and prosecutors using vague federal statutes different from the bribery statutes: the Mail and Wire Fraud (i.e., the honest services fraud); the Hobbs Act (i.e., the extortion under color of official right) and the general conspiracy statute (§ 371 U.S.C.). The aim of the federal criminal justice is to harshly punish and investigate corruption by affirming the federal jurisdiction. However, the consistency of this aim with the principle of legality and the related guarantees is particularly problematic
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