Category Archives: Diet Choices

Aging, Diet Choices

Healthy Diet Associated with Better Quality of Life in Older Adults

As we age and increase our risk for a variety of ailments and diseases, quality of life becomes very important to our overall well-being. Healthy diets have been shown to decrease the risk

Photo by Flickr user U.S. Department of Agriculture (https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/13473984523)
Photo by Flickr user U.S. Department of Agriculture (https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/13473984523)

and/or severity of many of these diseases, which begs the question “does a healthy diet result in an overall increase in quality of life as we age?”

A new study accepted into the journal Experimental Gerontology asked this very question and examined associations between diet and reported quality of life in older adults.

2457 (53% women) Australian adults between the ages of 55 and 65 participated in this study. Diet and quality of life were determined via a self-reported mail-in questionnaire.

Diet quality was scored based on the Dietary Guideline Index (DGI), recommended food score (RFS), and the Mediterranean diet score (MDS).

Quality of life was scored based on the RAND-36 test.

Important Findings:

  • For men, higher DGI and RFS scores were associated with higher energy.
  • For men, higher DGI scores were associated with better overall health, both physical and mental.
  • Photo by Flickr user moodboard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/67835627@N05/7267002470/)
    Photo by Flickr user moodboard (https://www.flickr.com/photos/67835627@N05/7267002470/)

    For women, higher DGI and RFS scores were associated with better physical function, and better overall health.

  • For women, higher DGI, RFS, and MDS scores were associated with better emotional well-being and better energy.

The results of this study suggest that diet quality is positively associated with a better quality of life in older adults. Specifically, a better diet (and one that focuses on Mediterranean-style diet patterns) resulted in happier, more physically fit, and self-reported overall better health in older Australian adults.

Source:

Milte, C.M., Thorpe, M.G., Crawford, D., Ball, K., and McNaughton, S.A. 2015. Associations of diet quality with health-related quality of life in older Australian men and women. Experimental Gerontology http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2015.01.047

Diet Choices, obesity

Daily Soft Drink Consumption Increases Waist Circumference and Risk of Obesity in Spanish Adults

The USDA recently released new dietary guidelines, part of which highlight the importance of reducing sugar intake.

Photo by Flickr user Rex Sorgatz (https://www.flickr.com/photos/fimoculous/114450483)
Photo by Flickr user Rex Sorgatz (https://www.flickr.com/photos/fimoculous/114450483)

One source of excessive sugar intake seen across the globe (and particularly in a Western-style diet) is in sugary drinks, including soft drinks. Soft drinks have been linked to increase abdominal fat, leading to increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and other dietary-based diseases.

A new study published in The Journal of Nutrition: Nutritional Epidemiology examined the relationship between nonalcoholic beverage consumption on waistline measurements and odds of obesity in Spanish adults.

2181 participants were followed for 10 years and were between the ages of 25 and 74. Weight, height, waist circumference, dietary and exercise habits were determined using self-reported questionnaires.

Beverages included in the analysis were: soft drinks (including carbonated soft drinks), fruit juice, whole milk, skim milk, and low-fat milk.

Important Findings:

  • 100kcal increase in daily soft drink consumption was associated with 1.1cm increase in waist circumference.
  • Swapping out the daily 100kcal in soft drinks with 100kcal of whole milk or 100kcal of fruit juice was associated with a 1.3 and 1.1cm decrease in waist circumference, respectively.
  • Increasing soft drink consumption led to increases in waist circumference compared to abstaining from consuming soft drinks all together.
  • Increased soft drink consumption was positively associated with an increased risk of obesity.
Photo by Flickr user Shardayyy (https://www.flickr.com/photos/shardayyy/7539177816/in/photostream/)
Photo by Flickr user Shardayyy (https://www.flickr.com/photos/shardayyy/7539177816/in/photostream/)

Overall, this study indicates that daily soft drink consumption is positively associated with the waistlines of Spanish adults. In other words, consuming soft drinks daily led to increased waist circumference and also increased risk of obesity over a 10 year period.

Important to note: there are about 140 kcal in one can of regular soda, so according to this study, it takes less than one can of soft drinks per day to increase waist circumference in adults.

The study did not distinguish between diet and “regular” soft drinks.

The results of this study support the new USDA dietary guidelines and suggest that excess sugar intake, particularly in the form of daily soft drink consumption, should be avoided.

Source:

Funtikova, A.N., Subirana, I., Gomez, S.F., Fitó, M., Elosua, R., Benítez-Arciniega, A.A., and Schröder, H. 2015. Soft drink consumption is positively associated with increased waist circumference and 10-year incidence of abdominal obesity in Spanish adults. The Journal of Nutrition: Nutritional Epidemiology 145(2): 328-334.

Diet Choices

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Greek Youths Associated with Mother’s Education Level and Two-Parent Households

The Mediterranean diet is frequently touted as being highly beneficial toward human health, however, some studies have

Photo courtesy wikimedia.com (Public Domain)
Photo courtesy wikimedia.com (Public Domain)

suggested that in the locations where this type of diet originated, adherence has dropped as more people adopt a more Western-style diet.

A new study in the journal Nutrition aimed to examine adherence to the Mediterranean diet by Greek youths and to attempt to understand possible trends by comparing adherence to a variety of demographic, lifestyle, and socio-economic factors.

A total of 525 Greek youths living in Athens or Heraklion, between the ages of 12 and 18, were included in this study.

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was determined by questionnaires. Other data used in the analysis included: gender, age, height, weight, place of residence, parents education, parents employment, family structure, number of times “going out” per week, hobbies, TV watching, and sleeping habits.

Important Findings:

  • 21% of Greek youths had a strong adherence to the Mediterranean diet.
  • Strong adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with:
    • Mother’s educational level.
    • Living with both parents.
    • Living in a smaller city.
  • Weak adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with:
    • Using the computer 4 or more hours per day.
    • A lack of physical activity.
  • There was no correlation with adherence to the Mediterranean diet and body mass index.

The results of this study show that only 21% of Greek youths maintain a relatively strict Mediterranean diet. Youths with mothers

Photo By Fredler Brave (Fredler Brave; uploaded to Wikipedia) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Photo By Fredler Brave (Fredler Brave; uploaded to Wikipedia) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
having higher education levels, youths living with both parents, and youths living in a smaller city all seemed to correlate positively with strong adherence to the Mediterranean diet, while youths with mothers who had lower educational levels resulted in a poor adherence to the Mediterranean diet.

Not included in this study was economic information, which, as we’ve seen in previous studies, may also have a strong influence on adherence to the Mediterranean diet.  Economic factors could also have associations with the factors in this study shown to have influence on Mediterranean diet adherence.

Source:

Papadaki, S., and Mavrikaki, E. 2015. Greek adolescents and the Mediterranean diet: factors affecting quality and adherence. Nutrition 31: 345-349.

Diet Choices, Environment

Mediterranean-Style Diets Have Lower Carbon Footprints Than High-Protein Diets

When you think of the Mediterranean diet and other diets in general, you tend to think of the health impacts on those that eat it. One thing that does not always come to mind is how specific diet choices affect the environment. In this time of climate change, understanding how diet choices impact the environment, and in particular carbon emissions or “carbon footprints”, is just as important as how it affects us as individuals.

A new study in the Journal of Health Services Research & Policy

Photo from wikimedia.com. Public domain.
Photo from wikimedia.com. Public domain.

aimed to evaluate the carbon footprints of various diets in the setting of a Spanish hospital, in a preliminary attempt to possibly provide menu change recommendations in other industries.

Diet data was collected from Juan Ramón Jiménez Hospital in Huelva, Spain. In addition to the typical diet found at this hospital (one weeks’ worth in the winter), information on 17 other therapeutic diets published by Benidorm Clinical Hospital was used for this analysis.

Continue reading Mediterranean-Style Diets Have Lower Carbon Footprints Than High-Protein Diets →

Diet Choices, Weight Loss

The Best Diet for Weight Loss: Or Maybe Just Questionable Experimental Design?

The Western-style diet (higher in sweets and heavy on the meat) is often associated with higher risks of developing a variety of health problems, with obesity and diabetes two of the more highlighted diseases related to consumption of this type of diet.

A new study aimed to compare a variety of plant-based diet to the Western/meat-heavy diet, to determine if there were advantages to any one or more particular diet on weight loss.

Photo by Flickr user TipsTimesAdmin (https://www.flickr.com/photos/tipstimesadmin/11375928206/)
Photo by Flickr user TipsTimesAdmin (https://www.flickr.com/photos/tipstimesadmin/11375928206/)

Overweight adults between the ages of 18 and 65 from South Carolina were recruited for this study. Adults were randomized into one of 4 plant-based diets: 1) vegan; 2) vegetarian; 3) pesco-vegetarian (probably closest to a Mediterranean-style diet); and 4) semi-vegetarian. A 5th omnivorous group served as the control. 50 adults completed the study.

Participants were given instructions and consumed their respective assigned diets for 6 months. Instructions did not include any caloric restrictions, but instead guided the participants to what types of foods they could eat.

Participants in the plant-based diet groups attended weekly group meetings, while participants in the omnivorous control group attended monthly group meetings and participated in weekly email sessions.

Weight and BMI were measured for each participant at baseline, 2 months, and 6 months after beginning the study.

Important Findings:

Continue reading The Best Diet for Weight Loss: Or Maybe Just Questionable Experimental Design? →