Health Studies

Health Factor

Med Diet Assessment Tool Captures Obesity Risk

Spanish researchers involved with the PREDIMED Trial wanted to determine whether a 14-item Mediterranean Diet assessment tool could be used as a quicker and less expensive alternative to a 137-item food frequency questionnaire in predicting obesity risk. They found that the 14-items, considered those most typical of a traditional Mediterranean Diet, did indeed correlate to various obesity markers. High consumption of nuts and low consumption of sweetened sodas were most strongly associated with reduced likelihood of obesity.
PloS One. 2012; 7(8):e43134. [Epub 2012 Aug 14] [Martinez-González et al.]

Mediterranean, weight control / BMI

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Obesity in Costa Rica

Commercially available sugar-sweetened beverages have not been traditionally consumed as part of the Costa Rican diet. Because of the rising obesity rates in Latin American countries, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health designed a study to determine the association between consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity in Hispanic adults in Costa Rica. The study involved more than 2000 adults and compared sugar-sweetened beverage consumption to BMI and skinfold thickness. Overall, higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with increased measures of adiposity and increased BMI in Costa Rican adults.
Public Health Nutrition, August 2012; 15(8): 1347-1354 (Rhee J et al.)

diet quality / nutrients, Latino, weight control / BMI

Fast Food Restaurants -- and Childhood Obesity -- Boom in China

This report documents the problem of childhood obesity in China. One of the key contributing factors is the consumption of fast food. Fast food establishments are growing rapidly in China. Eating at McDonald’s is convenient for Chinese families and also signifies social status.
International Journal of Cardiology. 2012 June 14;157(3):315-317. (Cheng)

Asian, weight control / BMI

Green Tea May Aid Weight Control

Chinese researchers seeking to evaluate the effect of green tea in combination with inulin for potential impact on body weight and fat mass asked 30 obese and overweight adults to drink either regular tea or catechin-rich green tea with inulin, for six weeks. Researchers concluded that continuous intake of green tea and inulin may support weight management, and that the positive effects continued were sustained two weeks after ending consumption.
British Journal of Nutrition. 2012 Mar; 107:749-754 (Yang et al.)

Asian, weight control / BMI

Obese Eat Fewer Fruits and Vegetables

The Health is Power (HIP) study was conducted in order to increase physical activity and improve the dietary habits in African American and Hispanic women in Texas. HIP enrolled more than 400 women in a 5-year, multi-site study. They found that obese women did not meet physical activity guidelines and consumed significantly fewer fruits and vegetables as compared to normal weight women regardless of ethnicity.
Journal of Community Health, December 2011; (Lee R et al.)

diet quality / nutrients, Latino, weight control / BMI

Med Diet More Effective Than Low-Fat Diet

Researchers at University Hospital in Basel, Switzerland systematically identified randomized controlled trials comparing Mediterranean to low-fat diets for overweight or obese subjects. Only those studies with a minimum follow-up of six month, and that included data on cardiovascular risk factors were included. The researchers concluded that, in the six studies examined, people assigned to the Med Diet group showed more weight loss, lower BMI, lower blood pressure, better blood sugar control, reduced cholesterol, and lower C-reactive protein than those following a low-fat diet in these interventions. 
The American Journal of Medicine. September 2011; 124(9):841-851 e2

blood pressure / hypertension, cholesterol / serum lipids, diabetes / insulin / glucose, inflammation, Mediterranean, weight control / BMI

Med Diet Trumps Weight Loss in Reducing LDL

If you improve your eating habits, lose weight, and subsequently lower your LDL ("bad") cholesterol, is it the weight loss or the healthier eating that's responsible? That's the question scientists at Quebec's Laval University set out to answer when they asked 19 men with metabolic syndrome to follow a control Western diet (5 weeks), a Mediterranean diet without cutting calories (5 weeks), a calorie-restricted free-living diet (20 weeks), and then a calorie-restricted Mediterranean Diet (5 weeks). They found that the Mediterranean Diet in the absence of weight loss made the most significant reductions in unhealthy blood lipids.  
British Journal of Nutrition, July 26, 2011: 1-7 [Epub ahead of print]

cholesterol / serum lipids, Mediterranean, weight control / BMI

Fitting In But Getting Fat

In an ingenious experiment, researchers at the University of California at Berkeley set out to learn if the desire to fit in might cause U.S. immigrant groups to eat less healthy foods. Asian Americans questioned about their ability to speak English were three times more likely to name a prototypically American food as their favorite food; when their American identity was challenged they ordered and ate more typically American dishes, with 182 additional calories and 12 extra grams of fat than when their identity was not challenged.
Psychological Science. July 2011; 22(7):959-67 (Guendelman et al.)

Asian, diet quality / nutrients, weight control / BMI

Body Image Among Latinas and African-American Women

University of Houston researchers surveyed 262 African American women and 148 Latinas to determine their actual weight and their perceived weight. In this group of middle-aged (mean 45.2 yrs), educated (44% college graduates) and obese (mean BMI 34.6) women, most women did not perceive normal weight as desirable. In fact, of those who were normal weight, 73.9% of African-Americans and 42.9% of Latinas desired to be obese.
Ethnicity and Disease. Summer 2011; 21(3):281-7. (Mama et. al.)

African Heritage, Latino, weight control / BMI

Cardiac Rehab Program: Med Diet Treats Metabolic Syndrome

People with any three of five common symptoms – high blood pressure, high blood sugar, large waist circumference, low HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides – are said to have Metabolic Syndrome, a condition associated with many health risks, including diabetes and heart disease. Because Metabolic Syndrome usually leads to serious disease, researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School set out to design a lifestyle program to combat Metabolic Syndrome. 126 obese over-50 adults with Metabolic Syndrome followed a program consisting of 12 weekly ninety-minute sessions, evenly divided between exercise and nutrition education focusing on the Mediterranean Diet. At the end of the program, patients had lost on average 6.2kg (13.6 lbs), with significant reductions in waist circumference, body fat, blood pressure, triglycerides, and depression. About 20% of those finishing the program no longer had Metabolic Syndrome, and 42% had lost at least one symptom, thanks to the Med Diet and exercise. 
Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention, July 4, 2011 [Epub ahead of print]

abdominal / visceral fat, blood pressure / hypertension, cholesterol / serum lipids, depression / mood control, diabetes / insulin / glucose, Mediterranean, metabolic syndrome, weight control / BMI