Date Available

6-2-2014

Year of Publication

2014

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Document Type

Master's Thesis

College

Education

Department/School/Program

Kinesiology and Health Promotion

First Advisor

Dr. Jody Clasey

Abstract

Periodic cues, including scheduled exercise, social interactions, sleep habits, and feeding time, have been shown to alter the circadian system. A disruption in circadian rhythms has been shown to have negative effects on health. Frequent skin temperature measures have been shown to be a valid method of assessing circadian rhythm parameters. The purpose of this study was to determine group mean differences in temperature amplitude, stability and lag measures among groups of young men of varying (optimal, fair and poor) adiposities. The strength of the association among the temperatures parameters and measures of body composition, physical fitness and activity, nutritional intake, lipid concentrations, and sleep were also examined. Findings indicated that men with poor adiposity had significantly lower mean amplitude and stability than the optimal or fair groups; with no significant differences in lag among the groups. Factors including physical fitness, physical activity and late night eating contributed to the variance in amplitude; physical activity, time spent in moderate to vigorous activity, late night snacking, and fat mass to stability; and sleep hours and lipid ratios to lag. These findings contribute to the identification of targeted intervention strategies that may improve the circadian synchrony and health of young men.

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