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Biomedical subjects

H A Guthrie

Publications and source records attributed to H A Guthrie.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Hyperactivity: is candy causal?

Adverse behavioral responses to ingestion of any kind of candy have been reported repeatedly in the lay press. Parents and teachers alike attribute excessive motor activity and other disruptive behaviors to candy consumption. However, anecdotal observations of this kind need to be tested scientifically before conclusions can be drawn, and criteria for interpreting diet behavior studies must be rigorous. Ingredients in nonchocolate candy (sugar, artificial food colors), components in chocolate candy (sugar, artificial food colors in coatings, caffeine), and chocolate itself have been investigated for any adverse effects on behavior. Feingold theorized that food additives (artificial colors and flavors) and natural salicylates caused hyperactivity in children and elimination of these components would result in dramatic improvement in behavior. Numerous double-blind studies of the Feingold hypothesis have led to the rejection of the idea that this elimination diet has any benefit beyond the normal placebo effect. Although sugar is widely believed by the public to cause hyperactive behavior, this has not been scientifically substantiated. Twelve double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of sugar challenges failed to provide any evidence that sugar ingestion leads to untoward behavior in children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or in normal children. Likewise, none of the studies testing candy or chocolate found any negative effect of these foods on behavior. For children with behavioral problems, diet-oriented treatment does not appear to be appropriate. Rather, clinicians treating these children recommend a multidisciplinary approach. The goal of diet treatment is to ensure a balanced diet with adequate energy and nutrients for optimal growth.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1994

Characterizing nutrient intakes of adolescents by sociodemographic factors.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to provide a description of the current dietary intake of a large sample of U.S. adolescents and to identify sociodemographic risk factors for nutrient intakes that did not meet recommended levels. METHODS: The 1987-88 USDA Nationwide Food Consumption Survey was used to assess the nutrient intake of 933 adolescents aged 11 to 18 years. Analysis of covariance was used to determine the effect of the following on the nutrient intakes of males and females: household income and size, race, geographic region, degree of urbanization, and head of household status. Subject age was entered as a control variable. RESULTS: Vitamin A, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, and zinc were the nutrients most often consumed below recommended levels. In addition the females consumed low levels of phosphorus and iron. Percent calories from total fat and saturated fat and mean sodium intakes were above recommended levels for the majority of the sample. Females were more likely to meet cholesterol recommendations than males. Race and region affected the most nutrient intake variables. For the females, living in the south was a significant predictor for low intakes of several essential vitamins and minerals. CONCLUSIONS: On average, the adolescents consumed diets that were low in several essential vitamins and minerals and high in some nutrients related to increased incidence of chronic disease. There were groups of teens who had dietary patterns that placed them at especially high risk, in particular the black and Southern females.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Nutritional intervention: a key to child survival.

In a collaborative relationship, researchers from the Cebu Institute of Medicine and from the United States have carried out a series of longitudinal studies of breast feeding and infant growth in a rural Philippine community. On the basis of our findings, we have conducted field experiments designed to have mothers improve their infants' diets using locally available food. Contingent reinforcement strategies were used successfully to get mothers to change their behavior and beliefs about infant feeding practices. The use of reinforcements resulted in improved diets and very high rates of continuation of participation in the field experiments. We believe that this is a highly productive and cost effective way to approach the problem of gaining cooperation and continued involvement in a nutrition intervention effort.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1989

Interpretation of data on dietary intake.

Although this discussion has focused on the interpretation of dietary data, assuming that it is representative of actual and usual intake and that the nutrient analysis based on it involved the use of up-to-date food composition tables, the readers should be sensitive to other potential sources of error or bias in obtaining information on food and/or nutrient intake. These include errors due to irregularity of food consumption, under- or overreporting of intake, errors in reporting either the amount or the description of the food consumed, recording errors on the part of the interviewer or coding errors on the part of the coder, limitations in the tables of food composition due to missing data for certain nutrients in certain foods or to biologic variability in the same foods from different sources or in those marketed under different conditions, imputed values, the unknown composition of formulated foods or foods prepared from home or commercial recipes, differences in bioavailability of nutrients as a function of the diet, or the use of abridged tables of food composition. In spite of the many unresolved issues relating to dietary standards and the interpretation of dietary intake data, we are still able to make a reasonable assessment of dietary adequacy of groups and individuals with our current system, which is viewed as a unique federal resource. It is hoped that the eventual passage of the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act will provide both the impetus and the resources to permit us to develop a more sophisticated system for assessing both food intake and nutritional status.

Data Interpretation, Statistical↗
PubMed1989

Accuracy of food portion estimation by overweight and normal-weight subjects.

We found no definitive differences in the ability of overweight and normal-weight subjects to accurately estimate food portions. Therefore, our data do not support conclusions by others that overweight subjects are significantly less accurate than the normal-weight subjects in their estimates. However, our overweight sample included only 50% obese and was homogeneous as to education, income, and ethnicity. Nevertheless, we found serious errors in food portion estimation by all subjects. Moreover, our data support the findings of Rapp, which show inaccurate portion estimation even when subjects were actively involved in a diet counseling program. And, in general, our data support researchers who have concluded that inaccurate estimation of portion size is a major problem. If the results hold true across populations, the magnitude of errors could have a profound effect on the accuracy of our food composition data for therapeutic or monitoring purposes and requires creative modification of methods taught for monitoring and reporting food intake.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The effects of variety in food choices on dietary quality.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of overall dietary variety, variety among major food groups, and variety within major food groups on dietary quality. Nutritional adequacy, one aspect of dietary quality, was measured by a Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR)--an index of the percent of recommended intake for 11 nutrients. Other dietary quality measures included the percent of calories from fat and sugar and total intakes of energy, cholesterol, and sodium. A study sample of 3,701 individuals was selected from USDA's 1977-78 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey, excluding pregnant and lactating women and children under 1 year of age. Multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the relationships between each type of variety and each diet quality measure, controlling for age, sex, the number of foods, and all of their two-way interactions with variety. The variety terms added a significant increment to the variation in MAR that was explained by each of the models. Variety among five major food groups explained as much of the variation in MAR as did variety within those groups. Thus, dietary variety might best be defined as simply including foods from each of the major groups. Increases in this type of variety were associated with greater increases in MARs for females than for males and for persons with lower vs. higher numbers of foods. None of the types of variety could account for a sizeable proportion of the variation in the intakes of energy, fat, sugar, sodium, or cholesterol. That is, those measures were not related in any appreciable way to variety per se--either to the expansion or to the restriction of food choices. The key to limiting the intake of those constituents may be to selectively alter the scope of food choices to include more of some foods and less of others.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Infant formula samples and breast feeding among Philippine urban poor.

An experiment was performed on the maternity wards of three public hospitals in Cebu City, Philippines to determine whether the distribution of free samples of infant formula reduced the likelihood that mothers would breast feed or caused mothers to terminate nursing early. Samples were given or withheld alternately for 2 week intervals to mothers as they left maternity wards. They were followed for 8 months in the first experiment (N = 273) and for 2 months in a replication (N = 284). We found that there were no statistically significant differences between those who received samples and those who did not in initiation or maintenance of breast feeding. Mothers in both groups frequently turned to mixed schedules, but these varied from day to day depending on money to buy other forms of milk, or on the mother's health, or her plan to be away from the baby for one or more feeding periods. After the baby reached an age of 2-3 months, mothers, with few exceptions, used diluted sweetened condensed milk as a supplement and/or substitute for their own milk. It was found that, while mothers recognize the nutritional, economic and health benefits of breast feeding, they may terminate early on the basis of folk beliefs. Receiving formula samples, however, had no measured effect on their breast feeding practices.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Variability of nutrient intake over a 3-day period.

This study was designed to assess the magnitude of variation in nutrient intake of individuals over a 3-day period. It is based on an analysis of 3-day food intake records of 21,867 participants in the Nationwide Food Consumption Study (NFCS), 1977-78. Results from a subsample of 7,287 subjects showed a significantly greater variation from the median than from the mean for protein, vitamin A, and iron. Fewer than 30% of the respondents had intakes of any of the 11 nutrients studied within +/- 15% of the mean on all days. For all nutrients except energy and magnesium, less than 50% of the respondents had intakes within +/- 25% of the mean. Variability in intake was greatest for vitamins A and C, with 85% and 82% of respondents, respectively, having low and high daily intakes deviating by more than 25% from the mean. These findings document that 1-day food records alone are of limited value in assessing nutrient adequacy of an individual and quantify the magnitude of the variation over a 3-day period. The more adequate the mean nutrient intake, the less variability in intake from day to day. Similarly, the more consistent the meal pattern, the less the variability in intake.

Diet↗
PubMed1985

Nutrition clinic: an integral component of an undergraduate curriculum.

Piloted in 1972 in collaboration with the University Health Services, Pennsylvania State University's Nutrition Clinic and Consultation Center was designed to provide supervised beginning counseling experiences for undergraduate nutrition students, a nutrition counseling service for university students and area residents, and an applied research program. The clinic program has evolved over time and has received enthusiastic response from students, clients, health professionals, faculty, and university administration. The clinic has now become an integral part of the University Health Services program, an essential element in the undergraduate curriculum, a contributing factor in graduate education, and a nutrition counseling resource for area residents and physicians. The staff has identified several research and communication needs and fostered an interdisciplinary counseling skills research program. In addition, the clinic investment has stimulated more applied nutrition experiences for students and raised nutrition consciousness levels throughout the university and the community. Elements of this model can be adapted to available budgetary and academic resources.

Counseling↗
PubMed1984

Selection and quantification of typical food portions by young adults.

This study was designed to assess (a) the amount of food young adults selected as an average portion and (b) the accuracy with which they could, without the assistance of food models or probing by an interviewer, describe the amount in quantifiable terms. One hundred and forty-seven adults between 18 and 30 years of age selected average portions of either breakfast or lunch items and then described the amount. Selected amounts of butter on toast, sugar on cereal, milk as a beverage, and tossed salad corresponded closely with generally accepted standard portion sizes. For dry cereal, orange juice, tuna salad, and fruit salad, selected portions were above accepted standards, but the portion for salad dressing was below the standard. Men almost consistently selected larger portions than did women. The ability to describe the amount chosen without the aid of measuring devices was poor, with from 8% to 68% of respondents being able to estimate individual items within +/- 25% of actual amount; from 0 to 67% overestimated portion size by more than 51%; and from 0 to 25% underestimated by more than 51%. The results suggest a need to provide respondents with help in estimating portion sizes or to develop alternative methods of assessing dietary intake that do not assume an ability to describe portion size accurately.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Variability in nutrient intake in a 28-day period.

This study of food logs showed that although individual intake varied widely, there were no significant differences in the intake of energy or seven selected nutrients from week to week over a four-week period. With the exception of protein, there was no difference attributable specifically to the day of the week. Thus, it is concluded that 7-day records most accurately reflect intake over periods of up to 28 days. A 4-day record, covering a weekend (Friday through Monday), also correlates well with information collected for 7, 14, and 28 days.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

A self-instruction nutrition program for pregnant women.

The Prenatal Nutrition Program (PNP), a self-instruction program, consists of a videocassette and three pamphlets concerning nutrition during pregnancy. An evaluation study made PNP available to 52 white, middle-class, well-educated pregnant women in their physician's waiting room. PNP improved their knowledge but had no significant effect on their attitudes (initially very positive) or dietary behavior. On the basis of combined pre- and post-PNP program testing, significant correlations were found between the pregnant women's knowledge and attitudes and between their knowledge and dietary behavior. All subjects rated PNP very favorably. It is concluded that self-instruction programs offer a viable and less costly alternative to individual nutrition counseling.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Hemoglobin criteria with respect to obesity.

To determine whether Hb criteria should be adjusted for obesity, the ranges and medians of Hb concentrations for 354 obese and 1894 nonobese, white children, aged 6 to 14 yr from HANES I were compared. Although median Hb concentrations average 0.125 g/dl higher in obese individuals with or without exclusion of iron-deficient individuals this slight difference is not significant (t tests p less than 0.1). It is suggested that while age, sex, altitude, and potentially, race are valid considerations when screening for anemia, a further adjustment for obesity appears unwarranted and would complicate efforts in optimizing screening for anemia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Validity of a dietary score for assessing nutrient adequacy.

An evaluation of 212 24-hour dietary intakes showed than an assessment using a nutrient adequacy score and comparing actual nutrient intakes to Recommended Dietary Allowances was similar to an assessment with a dietary score based on food groupings. This suggests that the simple dietary score can be substituted for the more complete and time-consuming dietary analysis when program effectiveness is evaluated.

Diet↗
PubMed1980

Impact of providing milk options and nutrient information in school lunch progams.

The impact of offering junior and senior high school students a choice of whole, skim, and low-fat milk within the Type A lunch pattern, with and without providing nutritional information at point of purchase, was investigated. When such an option was offered, approximately 13 per cent of the students chose either skim or low-fat milk. When nutritional information was made available concurrently, this percentage increased to 20, with more than 80 per cent of those students choosing low-fat milk. The older students used the options significantly more frequently than did the junior high students. Waste of skim milk, the taste of which was described as watery, was greater than that of the other types of milk. Although most students chose the type of milk they had at home, 16 per cent indicated that their choice was influenced by information on the fat and caloric content of milks provided by posters.

Adolescent↗