Diverse Body Types Research Articles

Trabecular Bone Score to Enhance Fracture Risk Prediction and Treatment Strategies in Osteoporosis.

The Trabecular Bone Score (TBS), a gray-level textural assessment derived from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry images, serves as a validated index of trabecular bone microarchitecture. Over the past decade, significant evidence has highlighted the usefulness of TBS in primary and secondary osteoporosis, leading to its integration with the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) and bone mineral density (BMD) T-score adjustments. This review explores the role of TBS in fracture prediction, treatment initiation, and monitoring. Studies confirm that TBS enhances fracture risk prediction in both primary and secondary osteoporosis when combined with BMD and clinical risk factors. Evidence also suggests that including TBS alongside BMD and FRAX offers significant potential for treatment stratification, considering the overall skeletal profile, such as bone mass, bone quality, and clinical risk factors. Consequently, TBS has become a standard part of clinical care worldwide. Future enhancements hope to adjust for soft tissue thickness, broadening the applicability of TBS across diverse body types and pediatric populations.

Clothes shopping is a chore: Plus-size men’s experiences of clothes shopping in the United Kingdom

The body positivity movement has called for greater inclusion of diverse body types within the fashion industry. Although a growing number of high street womenswear brands now include plus-size ranges and employ curvier models to represent them, UK menswear is still trailing far behind. Fashionable clothing for larger men is scarce, and the lack of research literature on the clothes shopping experiences of UK plus-size male consumers reflects this gap. The current research is the first study to explore male plus-size consumers’ experiences of clothes shopping in the United Kingdom. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online with ten plus-size men, and reflexive thematic analysis was used to generate two key themes. First, the ‘we struggle to fit in’ theme explores plus-size men’s problematic experiences of fitting into shopping environments, fitting in with their peers’ shopping experiences and fitting into clothes. The second theme, ‘we little care about what we wear’, identifies how the men dismissed clothes shopping, fashion and appearance concerns and identified gender differences as a means to justify these actions. Together, these themes demonstrate that plus-size men experience clothes shopping as a chore. Ultimately, we advise menswear brands to use these findings to facilitate a more welcoming, supportive and enjoyable shopping experience for plus-size men.

P.016 Re-norming medical education: centering patient experience and diverse bodies in Lumbar Puncture (LP) instruction

Background: Medical curricula are often created with limited patient and student input and underrepresent certain body types. Traditional medical education often prepares learners to perform procedures, such as lumbar punctures (LPs), on a young white able-bodied 70kg male. When approaching diverse patients, this educational gap can lead to medical learners’ lack of confidence, skill, and knowledge, resulting in poor patient experiences. Methods: This co-design project involves patient and student input. We interviewed five patients who underwent LPs and explored their experience through a trauma-informed approach. To visualize landmarking across body types, we recruited nine volunteers of diverse body sizes, ages, tattoos, and skin colour (Fitzpatrick Scale). Incorporating patient narratives, as well as videos and photographs showing landmarking on diverse bodies, we crafted an online LP instructional module. Focus groups of 6-10 students will be held to collect student perception of the effectiveness of the module. Results: Our learning module and related media will be built into Western University’s Undergraduate Medical Education curriculum, available under a Creative Commons license through the Western Health Education Media Library. Conclusions: Integrating patient experience and student feedback, we are developing a comprehensive educational tool to better equip medical learners to deliver patient-centered LPs across diverse body types.

Assessing the Accuracy of ECG Chest Electrode Placement by EMS and Clinical Personnel Using Two Evaluation Methods

Background and purpose: A valid 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) depends on correct acquisition technique, particularly on the accurate location of precordial (chest) electrodes. The emergency medical services (EMS) segment of the care continuum is under-represented in previous clinically oriented studies of electrode placement. This study sought to assess the accuracy of chest electrode placement by EMS and clinical personnel in one geographic area, to identify patterns of misplacement to inform future training and continuing education, and to compare two methods of assessing electrode placement. Methods: This prospective observational study recruited a convenience sample of EMS and clinical personnel. Participants placed simulated electrodes on a CPR-style manikin and completed a questionnaire about their training and experience. A subset also marked electrode locations on a printed diagram of the ribcage. Digitized placement data and questionnaire responses were analysed statistically. Results: Findings from 149 participants showed misplacement patterns consistent with prior studies, with 41.6% rated as “acceptable” and 34.2% placing £ 3 electrodes acceptably. Correctness of electrode placement was comparable between EMS and clinical participants. More correct electrode placement correlated with classroom vs. on-the-job training, frequent vs. infrequent practice, and greater self-confidence. The diagram data collection method proved not equivalent to, and probably less reliable than, the hands-on manikin method for assessing placement skills. Conclusions: Significant variation in ECG chest electrode placement by EMS personnel was comparable to that previously reported for clinical personnel, suggesting that existing concerns about placement errors by clinical personnel may apply equally to EMS personnel. More frequent practice and classroom-based initial ECG training were associated with significantly greater placement accuracy. Participants used diverse strategies to identify electrode locations. Further research is warranted to clarify optimal strategies for placing chest electrodes, especially on diverse body types. Sound initial ECG training and continuing education are necessary to reinforce high-quality ECG skills.

Going Beyond Management and Maintenance: Occupational Therapy's Role in Primary Prevention for Adults at Risk of Obesity-Is the Elephant in the Room Still the Biggest Challenge?

In this response to the Schwartz & Proffitt (2024) letter to the editor, Muntefering et al. (2023) agree that the profession has a duty to support the occupational participation of diverse individuals, including diverse body types, but also affirm that health management is an area of occupation within the practice framework.

THE EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR PRODUCT-MARKET FIT IN APPAREL SECTOR

In this highly competitive market, ensuring that apparel products fit customers well is crucial for success. This abstract examines various strategies employed by companies to achieve optimal product market fit, taking into account factors such as garment design, size charts, and consumer feedback. Additionally, it investigates the importance of inclusive sizing and customization options in catering to diverse body types and individual preferences. The findings suggest that there is a significant relationship between value proposition for both product fit and market fit. Additionally, user experience demonstrates a substantial correlation with both product fit and market fit. Nevertheless, the feature set exhibits no statistically significant correlation with product fit and only a marginally insignificant correlation with market fit. This abstract aims to provide insights into how apparel brands can enhance their product market fit strategies to differentiate themselves, drive customer satisfaction, improve conversions, and ultimately boost revenue in todays increasingly discerning consumer market. KEYWORDS: User Experience, Feature Set, Value Proposition, Product Fit, Market Fit.

Fat Liberation: How Social Workers Can Incorporate Fat Activism to Promote Care and Justice

Despite serious health and mental health problems associated with weight stigma and dieting, many health providers consider intentional weight loss to be a positive pro-health intervention. Alternatively, the fat activist movement challenges weight prejudice and advocates for the equitable treatment of individuals with diverse body types. Inspired by the work of fat activists, this article encourages social work educators and practitioners to critically deconstruct anti-fat social norms and to integrate body-positive interventions within micro, mezzo, and macro practice. Fat activism complements critical feminist, queer, and disability justice frameworks that are relevant to this special issue on critical feminist inquiry.

Vision-Based Quadruped Pose Estimation and Gait Parameter Extraction Method

In the study of animal behavior, the prevention of sickness, and the gait planning of legged robots, pose estimation, and gait parameter extraction of quadrupeds are of tremendous importance. However, there are several varieties of quadrupeds, and distinct species frequently have radically diverse body types, limb configurations, and gaits. Currently, it is challenging to forecast animal pose estimation with any degree of accuracy. This research developed a quadruped animal pose estimation and gait parameter extraction method to address this problem. A computational framework including three components of target screening, animal pose estimation model, and animal gaits parameter extraction, which can totally and efficiently solve the problem of quadruped animal pose estimation and gait parameter extraction, makes up its core. On the basis of the HRNet network, an improved quadruped animal keypoint extraction network, RFB-HRNet, was proposed to enhance the extraction effect of quadruped pose estimation. The basic concept was to use a DyConv (dynamic convolution) module and an RFB (receptive field block) module to propose a special receptive field module DyC-RFB to optimize the feature extraction capability of the HRNet network at stage 1 and to enhance the feature extraction capability of the entire network model. The public dataset AP10K was then used to validate the model’s performance, and it was discovered that the proposed method was superior to alternative methods. Second, a two-stage cascade network was created by adding an object detection network to the front end of the pose estimation network to filter the animal object in input images, which enhanced the pose estimation effect of small targets and multitargets. The acquired keypoints data of animals were then utilized to extract the gait parameters of the experimental objects. Experiment findings showed that the gait parameter extraction model proposed in this research could effectively extract the gait frequency, gait sequence, gait duty cycle, and gait trajectory parameters of quadruped animals, and obtain real-time and accurate gait trajectory.

Analysis of Nipple-Areola Complex Localization Using Male Cadavers: Considerations for Gender-Affirming Surgery.

BackgroundMasculinizing chest reconstruction is the most common gender-affirming surgery in transgender males. Despite the current literature’s acknowledgment of the vital role that proper placement of the nipple-areola complex (NAC) plays in a masculine chest contour, there is still much debate regarding the best anatomical landmarks to achieve the desired result.ObjectivesThe primary aim of this study is to determine which landmarks for NAC placement can be applied across diverse body types and aid surgeons in creating a masculine chest.MethodsTwenty-five formaldehyde-embalmed male cadavers were analyzed by conducting various measurements of the NAC, nipple, and surrounding bony and muscular landmarks to identify the most consistent landmarks for proper NAC placement. Linear regression analyses were run to determine how the distance between nipple to respective landmarks varied based on antemortem body mass index (BMI), height, weight, and age.ResultsThe measurements for the inferior and lateral borders of the pectoralis major muscle (PMM) displayed the least amount of variance of all the anatomical landmarks studied. Additionally, there was no significant change in these pectoral measurements with varying BMI, height, weight, or age, indicating that these measurements are reliable landmarks for NAC placement across various body types. The average NAC placement in relation to the inferior and lateral borders of PMM was around 2.5 and 2.0 cm, respectively.ConclusionsOur cadaveric analysis indicates that aesthetically pleasing masculine chest results can be produced consistently across varying body types when adhering to a simple pectoral approach in NAC placement.

A Critical Analysis of the Body Positive Movement on Instagram: How Does it Really Impact Body Image?

Instagram, a photo based social networking site, is one of the most popular forms of social media. The Body Positive Movement campaign surfaced on Instagram in 2012 and aimed to confront the unrealistic expectations and unrepresentative portrayals of women in popular media and advertising. The present study aimed to analyze whether posts that were tagged #bodypositive or #bodypositivity upheld the initial goals of the movement by taking note of the characteristics (including race, sex, gender, and body type) of people that were featured in the top posts of the #bodypositive or #bodypositivity tags. Resultant fieldnotes were coded into the following themes: 1) Hegemonic views of beauty, 2) Homogenous properties of popular posters and posts, 3) Body image centered posting, 4) Crossposting, and 5) Achieving fame and gaining publicity and exposure. It was found that top #bodypositive or #bodypositivity posts often upheld hegemonic beauty standards that are common in popular media. These findings suggest that the Body Positive Movement strayed from its initial goals, thereby failing to provide an outlet for bodies that diverge from the ideals set by popular media. The present study suggests two alternative hashtags-- #effyourbeautystandards and #bodycompassion--that both represent diverse body types and identities while empowering women to be accepting and loving of their bodies. These tags have created a space where the hegemonic views of beauty are questioned and opposed, therefore succeeding in the ways that the Body Positive Movement is failing.

The ever-changing ideal: The body you want depends on who else you’re looking at

The body positivity movement—celebrating bodies beyond the thin ideal—has gained traction on social media. In an online study of North American women, we aimed to determine how ideal body perceptions shift based on the presentation of more diverse body types. In Study 1, women (n = 115, aged 19–75) responded to arrays of bodies ranging from primarily small to primarily large bodies, selecting the body closest to their ideal body. Results showed that the BMI of the ideal body increased as the body sizes in the array increased. Participants were also less likely to select an underweight ideal when viewing larger bodies. In Study 2, women responded to arrays with either primarily small (n = 132, aged 20–68) or primarily large (n = 130, aged 20–75) bodies. Results suggested that ideal body perceptions only shifted around current societal standards, and not to extremes. The participants presented with the larger-bodied arrays were more likely to select a normal weight ideal body than those who saw the smaller-bodied arrays. Results suggest ideal body size is malleable, and shifting toward a more diverse perception of the ideal body is achievable with increased exposure beyond the thin ideal.

Missed Fit

This article examines how the technical fit of a garment can affect an individual’s ability to fit in. It challenges the tool box used by practitioners working with anthropometric data (the surface measurements of the human body) and has produced new methods that are less reliant on published averages. Some of the article’s questions are: how does anthropometric data and the study of human anatomy influence notions of an ideal body? In what ways do anthropometric data and patternmaking principles include or exclude diverse body types? And what tools can be developed to assist designing for diverse bodies? The article takes a multi-method and multi-theory approach to the research and investigates concepts of fit through phenomenology, semiotics and anatomy. By exploring experimental methods in cut, it challenges the meaning of a key example of conservatism and uniformity in tailoring, the grey flannel suit, and reflects on the question, what is good fit?

The Body Image Project: Mobilizing Policy Research for Children’s Health

Knowledge mobilization projects attempt to make theory and research available in order to inform policy and practice. This paper describes a knowledge mobilization project at a Canadian university. A database of Canadian health curriculum policies was analyzed to discern the general approaches to body image across the country. The findings show that learning how to cultivate a positive body image is inconsistently addressed across the education policies of the thirteen provinces and territories. Secondly, many Canadian curriculum policy documents have missed opportunities to teach acceptance of diverse body types and other protective factors. Third, health is more strongly associated with fitness in policies than with more holistic approaches. A knowledge mobilization website project was established to encourage more critical understandings of healthy self-esteem and body image. The website contains summaries of current research pertaining to body image, child and adolescent development, and key messages about body-positive health. The online and open source material available includes ageappropriate lessons for teachers and parents. These materials have been designed to translate research into activities, lessons, and key messages that promote healthy body image and self-esteem.

Refining the high-dose streptozotocin-induced diabetic non-human primate model: an evaluation of risk factors and outcomes

In preparation for islet transplantation, diabetes was induced using streptozotocin (STZ) in non-human primates ranging from juveniles to adults with diverse body types: we studied the process with respect to the diabetic state and emergence of adverse events (AEs) and their severity, and identified risk factors for clinical and laboratory AEs. Pharmaceutical-grade STZ was given based on body surface area (BSA) (1050-1250 mg/m(2), equivalent to 80-108 mg/kg) or on body weight (BW) (100 mg/kg) to 54 cynomolgus and 24 rhesus macaques. AEs were related to risk factors, i.e. obesity parameters, BW and BSA, age and STZ dose in mg/m(2). Clinical AEs during the first days after infusion prompted euthanasia of three animals. Except for those three animals, diabetes was successfully induced as shown by circulating C-peptide levels, the intravenous glucose tolerance test and/or arginine stimulation test. C-peptide after infusion weakly correlated (P = 0.048) with STZ dose in mg/m(2). Grade ≥3 nephrotoxicity or hepatotoxicity (serum markers >3× baseline or >5 × baseline, respectively) occurred in about 10% of cases and were generally mild and reversible. Grade ≥2 clinical AEs occurred in seven of 78 animals, reversed in four cases and significantly correlated with obesity parameters. Taking girth-to-height ratio (GHtR) as an indicator of obesity, with threshold value 0.92-0.95, the positive predictive value of obesity for AEs was 92% and the specificity 94%. We conclude that diabetes is successfully induced in non-obese animals using a 100 mg/kg pharmaceutical grade STZ dose. Obesity is a significant risk factor, and animals with a higher than normal GHtR should preferably receive a lower dose. The incidence of relevant clinical or laboratory AEs is low. Careful monitoring and supportive medical intervention can result in recovery of AEs.

Brassiere Pattern Development Based on 3D Measurements of Upper Body - Focused on Women in Their 30's -

The purpose of this study presents bra pattern using the 3D measurements of the upper body subject to women in their 30's. Brassieres available in the market are mostly designed for straight body shape and many women seem to have experienced bearing discomfort in a great extent as they grow older. Brassieres should be designed to cover diverse body types and the accurate measurement of body type and breast shape is needed to accomplish that. As for the study method, 3D human body types were analyzed with RapidForm 2006, and the upper-body types and breast shapes were statistically classified through technical statistics analysis, cluster analysis, t-test, variance analysis, and cross analysis. The wearing tests went through the comparison of the brassieres of three makers in the market and the experiment brassieres(first and second) and then the evaluations were made by the subjects, the outer appearance assessment by experts, and 3D measurements. The results of this study showed that the evaluation of experiment brassieres was excellent in every item, and the significant difference was found out particularly in the items of pressure, rear center, front center, breast underneath, adequate level by wing, and adequate level by armhole. According to the results of 3D evaluation, experiment brassieres had a highest point in fitness with no physical pressure at the wing part and no overall deviation at the cup part.

Grass or Grain? Assessing the Nature of the US Bison Industry

By looking at recent developments in the US bison industry this article illustrates some of the inadequacies of the productive/post-productive divide in contemporary agriculture. To this end, conceptions of quality are examined to indicate the factors that move the industry towards or away from conventional modes of production. These perspectives have become manifest in attitudes regarding the use of grain in the production process. Increasingly, the use of grain conflicts with the pre-modern image of the animal, thus casting the productive/post-productive dichotomy into doubt. In order to circumvent this problem, the concept of hybrid agriculture is put forth as an alternative form of description and assessment in an attempt to redirect attention toward critical aspects of nonhumans. Hybrid agriculture stresses the need to recognise and foster the agency of nonhumans, whether it is exemplified by diverse body types or by the capacity for nonhumans to redistribute themselves within the physical environment.

The Amateur Pornographer and the Glib Voyeur

The Amateur Pornographer and the Glib Voyeur