Pera Jambazian | PubMed Health

PubMed2004

Dieting practices in high school students.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to determine the patterns and frequency of dieting behaviors in a high school population in a metropolitan area. DESIGN: Dieting practices were assessed by using a survey instrument consisting of demographic questions and questions regarding dieting practices. SUBJECTS/SETTING: The survey was administered to 10th-grade male and female students at a multiethnic, urban, public high school in the Los Angeles area. One hundred fifty-three surveys were distributed in the classroom setting, with 146 usable surveys analyzed. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Statistical analyses included simple frequencies, chi 2, Fisher exact test, t tests, and two-way analysis of variance. A significance level of.05 was used for all statistical analyses. RESULTS: The population with a body mass index greater than 25 was 26.6% and, therefore, at risk of being overweight. Of those who have tried dieting, 54.7% often diet to control their weight. Limiting portion size was practiced by about 34% of those who had tried dieting techniques. In addition, counting calories and counting grams of fat were reported by 31.4% and 41.9% of these students, respectively. Of interest, 64.8% of the students who had tried dieting reported that they tried to eat and/or purchase foods that were low in fat. Approximately, 44% of these students used meal skipping to control their weight. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of dieting behaviors suggests that urban adolescents should be reached with appropriate interventions. Safe dieting strategies should be an integral part of any nutrition education and weight loss intervention.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Serum lipid response to the graduated enrichment of a Step I diet with almonds: a randomized feeding trial.

BACKGROUND: Frequent consumption of nuts may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by favorably altering serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations. OBJECTIVE: We compared the effects of 2 amounts of almond intake with those of a National Cholesterol Education Program Step I diet on serum lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, and glucose in healthy and mildly hypercholesterolemic adults. DESIGN: In a randomized crossover design, 25 healthy subjects (14 men, 11 women) with a mean (+/- SD) age of 41 +/- 13 y were fed 3 isoenergetic diets for 4 wk each after being fed a 2-wk run-in diet (containing 34% of energy from fat). The experimental diets included a Step I diet, a low-almond diet, and a high-almond diet, in which almonds contributed 0%, 10%, and 20% of total energy, respectively. RESULTS: Inverse relations were observed between the percentage of energy in the diet from almonds and the subject's total cholesterol (P value for trend < 0.001), LDL-cholesterol (P < 0.001), and apolipoprotein B (P < 0.001) concentrations and the ratios of LDL to HDL cholesterol (P < 0.001) and of apolipoprotein B to apolipoprotein A (P < 0.001). Compared with the Step I diet, the high-almond diet reduced total cholesterol (0.24 mmol/L or 4.4%; P = 0.001), LDL cholesterol (0.26 mmol/L or 7.0%; P < 0.001), and apolipoprotein B (6.6 mg/dL or 6.6%; P < 0.001); increased HDL cholesterol (0.02 mmol/L or 1.7%; P = 0.08); and decreased the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol (8.8%; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Isoenergetic incorporation of approximately 68 g of almonds (20% of energy) into an 8368-kJ (2000-kcal) Step I diet markedly improved the serum lipid profile of healthy and mildly hypercholesterolemic adults. Total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations declined with progressively higher intakes of almonds, which suggests a dose-response relation.

Adult↗