Diabetes is a global epidemic that has unfortunately been significantly increasing in number of cases annually. It is currently the 7th leading cause of death in the United States and leads to many further complications including cardiovascular disease, neuropathy, retinopathy, and kidney failure. With the increase in Western dietary patterns there has been a subsequent rise in both obesity and diabetes. In fact, type 2 diabetes makes up 90% of diabetes cases and is, in most cases, preventable with lifestyle changes and weight loss. The aim of this review is to look at the option of a plant-based diet as a means of prevention and treatment for type 2 diabetes. In order to understand type 2 diabetes the basics of pathophysiology, risk factors, statistic, complications and current treatments is discussed. Based on an analysis of a low-fat, plant-based diet compared to current conventional type 2 diabetes treatments there is evidence that a vegan diet increases insulin sensitivity, decreases body weight, lowers cardiovascular risk factors, and decreases need for oral antidiabetic treatments. A review of the efficacy of a plant-based diet for treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes is also discussed in-depth. Further studies may be helpful to validate adopting a low-fat, plant-based diet in treatment of type 2 diabetes. Overall, it is important for physicians to address the individual needs of their patients and allow for the option of lifestyle changes with adequate guidance and support.

Plant-based diets have recently been gaining popularity due to emerging research that highlights their positive impact on long-term health outcomes. These studies have recently become a topic of interest among the medical community, as plant-based diets have shown to decrease the risk of obesity, stroke, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and type II diabetes in adults. However, research on plant-based diets is more limited in pregnancy and pediatrics. There are several studies that link predominantly plant-based maternal diets during pregnancy to decreased incidence of various pediatric diseases, including asthma and cancer. While the mechanism is not entirely understood, the theory is that these effects are a result of epigenetic mechanisms known as “metabolic programming”. However, more research is needed to determine whether or not plant-based diets in pregnant women would have the same beneficial epigenetic effects on cardiovascular risk factors in the offspring, given the positive cardiovascular effects they have in adults. The proposed study is a longitudinal study in which researchers will follow female patients through the course of their pregnancy and then through the development of the offspring, in order to define the link between maternal diet during pregnancy and the incidence of childhood obesity and diabetes in the offspring. With the high incidence of obesity in children in the United States, it would be worthwhile to determine whether or not prenatal factors, such as the maternal diet, are contributing to this public health problem.

Lifestyle medicine is the use of lifestyle interventions in the prevention, treatment and management of disease. A faith-based community, which is the subject of much health lifestyle research, is the focus of this study. The Seventh-day Adventist church has promoted a healthy lifestyle, including a plant-based diet, since its foundation in 1863. Research shows that Adventists are much healthier and live significantly longer than the general population. Adventist vegetarians are even more healthy, and live about five years longer than non-vegetarians. The present study was designed to investigate how church leaders relate to the Adventist health lifestyle, and to what extent information about the benefits of adopting this lifestyle is communicated to church members in Sweden. Survey interviews with specific health-related lifestyle questions were used to collect the data. 60% of the respondents reported being vegetarian or vegan. Many agreed that pastors should be health educators as much as gospel preachers, but a majority did not have any academic or other education on health. Only a minority stated that they often preach or share the Adventist health message, but most respondents agreed that every church should be a school of health. The educational program for pastors and other church leaders should include adequate training and experience in health and lifestyle medicine from a faith-based perspective. Seventh-day Adventists should be the first to take full advantage of an evidence-based healthy lifestyle and live as examples to others.

Kentucky has a health crisis and most of the causes can be linked to diet, smoking and physical activity. Vegetarian and vegan diets have numerous benefits for many diet related health problems such as obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. There has been limited research on vegetarians and vegans in the United States and none in Kentucky. This study used an anonymous electronic survey to examine the different characteristics, behaviors, experiences and opinions of adult vegetarians and vegans in Kentucky. Results were compared to statistical data reported on the general population of Kentucky. Calculated body mass index (BMI) from self-reported height and weight showed 36% of vegetarians and 21% of vegans to be overweight or obese compared to 67% of the general Kentucky population being overweight or obese. The impact on BMI due to type of plant based diet (vegetarian or vegan) was found to be of greater significance (p=0.0030) than that of exercise. Reports from both groups indicated that they may be underserved by health care professionals. These findings have important implications for dietitians, dietetics education programs and health care providers concerned with high rates of obesity and chronic diseases.

abstract: Multiple health-related benefits have been associated with adherence to plant-based diets, including vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian dietary patterns. Despite a consistent body of evidence on the importance of healthy diets, Americans continue to find difficulty in establishing and adhering to dietary goals that could elicit long-term health benefits. Recent research suggests an important role for goal-setting strategies in health behavior change attempts, with some success shown in dietary behavior change, specifically. The current study thus aimed to explore whether having multiple goals alongside one primary goal of following a vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian diet would increase the achievability of that goal. Participants of this study were broken into two groups: currently following a plant-based diet (ADHERE) and striving to follow a plant-based diet (STRIVE). Researchers hypothesized that the number of health and/or diet related alternative goals set by participants would differ between the two groups, that the ADHERE group would report that their alternative goals were more helpful and less interfering in achieving their dietary goal than the STRIVE group, and that a higher rank of importance of the dietary goal would predict being in the ADHERE group. Results showed that the number of health and/or diet related alternative goals did not differ between groups. The ADHERE group and STRIVE group did not have significantly different helpfulness and interference reports. Although, in an exploratory analysis, it was shown that those participants who reported at least 2 health/diet related alternative goals found those goals to be significantly more helpful than those who reported 0 or 1 health/diet goal. Results showed that rank of dietary goal did not predict group assignment. Overall, the results from this study showed that the type of alternative goal was very important when pursuit of multiple goals was in effect. Type of alternative goal seemed to be a higher predictor of the perceived helpfulness of the alternative goals than previous achievement of goals. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Nutrition 2018

abstract: In 2002, a scientifically derived food guide pyramid for vegetarians, the Modified Food Guide for Lacto-ovo-vegetarians and Vegans was published and well received. Now that 10 years have passed, new scientific literature regarding the bioavailability of the nutrients of key concern in vegetarian diets has been published, and the graphical format of the nation's food guide has evolved from a pyramid shape into a circular plate. The objective of this research was to examine the post-2002 literature regarding the bioavailability of key nutrients in vegetarian diets; to use this information to update the recommendations made in the 2002 Modified Food Guide Pyramid for Lacto-ovo-vegetarians and Vegans; and to adapt this revised food plan to the new USDA MyPlate format. This process involved reviewing the scientific literature to determine if the DRIs for the nutrients of key concern in vegetarian diets are adequate for the vegetarian population and using this information to develop new recommendations for vegetarians if necessary, analyzing the nutrient content of representative foods in different food groups, reconfiguring the food groups so that foods with like nutrient components were grouped together, determining the number of servings of each food group required to meet vegetarians' nutrient requirements at three caloric levels, and developing sample menus. A circular plate graphic, the Vegetarian Plate, was designed to illustrate the recommendations of this updated food guide. This updated, scientifically derived food guide provides a sound base for diet planning for lacto-ovo-vegetarians and vegans. Further research is needed to assess the Vegetarian Plate's adequacy for children, pregnant and lactating women, athletes, and individuals with medical conditions or chronic diseases. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Nutrition 2013

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur manliga veganer uppfattar sin maskulinitet i relation till att de utesluter animalier från sin kost. Genom åtta kvalitativa djupintervjuer med män som äter en växtbaserad kost ville jag få svar på frågeställningarna: Upplever manliga veganer att det finns en koppling mellan maskulinitet och köttkonsumtion? Hur tar sig i så fall denna koppling uttryck? Och anser manliga veganer att deras kostval påverkar deras sociala interaktioner med köttätare och hur förklarar samt förhåller de sig i så fall till detta? Ett tematiskt analysförfarande användes som metod för att analysera insamlad data. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna för denna studie var Judith Butlers uppfattning om kön och att det är något som formuleras i sociala processer och R. W. Connells teori om hegemonisk maskulinitet och att det manliga könet är dominerande över det kvinnliga. Att vara kvinna i dagens samhälle upplevs som något sekundärt och den kost som associeras med det kvinnliga könet ses i förlängningen också som sekundär. Studien tillämpar också Carol J. Adams teori om att köttkonsumtion är associerat med män och maskulinitet. Resultatet visar att manliga veganer upplever att det finns en koppling mellan maskulinitet och köttkonsumtion, även om de själva inte upplever att det behöver vara så. Uppfattningen att köttkonsumtion är associerat med maskulinitet yttrar sig genom att det finns en indikation på att inte vilja uppfattas som en stereotypisk vegan. På så sätt vidhålls uppfattningen om den hegemoniska mannen, trots att de i själva verket tar avstånd från den. / The purpose of this study was to investigate how male vegans perceive their masculinity in relation to excluding animal products from their diet. Through eight qualitative in-depth interviews with men who eat a plant-based diet I wanted to get answers to the questions: Do male vegans feel that there is a connection between masculinity and meat consumption? If so, how does this connection manifest itself? And do male vegans believe that their dietary choices affect their social interactions with carnivores and how do they explain and relate to this in that case? A thematic analysis method was used for analyzing collected data. The theoretical starting points for this study were Judith Butler’s view of gender and that it is something that is formulated in social processes and R. W. Connell’s theory of hegemonic masculinity and that the male sex is dominant over female. Being a woman in today’s societyis perceived as something secondary and the diet associated with the female gender is in extension also seen as secondary. The study also applies Carol J. Adams theory that meat consumption is associated with men and masculinity. The results show that male vegans feel that there is a connection between masculinity and meat consumption, even though they themselves do not feel that it needs to be so. The perception that meat consumption is associated with masculinity is expressed by the fact that there is an indication of not wanting to be perceived as a stereotypical vegan. In this way, the perception of the hegemonic man is maintained, even though they are in fact distancing themselves from it.

Despite an increasing number of healthy lifestyles throughout the country, Americans, including Native Hawaiians, keep gaining weight. Unlike several American lifestyles that have resulted in weight gain within the American population, the vegetarian lifestyle is a scientifically proven method for decreasing body weight and maintaining the weight loss for more than 1 year. This study aimed to compare the lifestyle patterns of 4 vegetarian lifestyles and 1 nonvegetarian lifestyle among Native Hawaiians aged 21 and older using their body mass index (BMI). This quantitative study utilized a correlational design, which is particularly suitable for examining the relationship of BMI to eating lifestyle and such variables as physical activity. A survey with 18 questions was administered to participants (n = 300) who have chosen a specific lifestyle and have been following this lifestyle for 1 year or more. The main research question investigated the difference in the body weight of Native Hawaiians aged 21 and older who followed and maintained a vegan, lacto-ovo vegetarian, semivegetarian, or nonvegetarian diet. Participants' BMI was affected by the factors of age, self-efficacy, disease status (high blood pressure, no health risks), and eating habits (Vegetarian Lifestyle Scale). While the Vegetarian Lifestyle Scale was a significant predictor of BMI, there was no significant difference in the effect of the 2 lifestyle classifications of nonvegetarian and vegetarian on BMI, after controlling for other relevant factors. This study aimed to effect social change in the Native Hawaiian community by demonstrating the health benefits of a plant-based diet and better informing public health officials to guide their development of more effective nutrition and weight loss programs for Native Hawaiians.

Dans le contexte du développement spectaculaire de l’aquaculture, les farines et huiles de poissons, qui étaient les composantes principales des aliments aquacoles, ont progressivement été remplacées par des mélanges de produits végétaux. Cependant, le remplacement total n’est pas encore possible sans dégrader les performances des poissons (croissance et survie). Pour continuer son développement durable, l’aquaculture doit davantage s'affranchir de ces matières premières. Une voie de progrès possible est l'utilisation de la variabilité génétique existante dans les populations de truites pour la capacité à survivre et grandir avec des aliments à base de végétaux (Aliments V). Cependant très peu d'études se sont intéressées aux mécanismes mis en place par certains génotypes pour utiliser plus efficacement ces aliments. L'objectif de la thèse était d'étudier les caractéristiques à l'origine d'une meilleure utilisation des aliments V chez différents génotypes de truite arc-en-ciel (trois lignées isogéniques et lignée sélectionnée). L'originalité de ce travail repose sur l'étude de la réponse de différentes lignées à un aliment 100 % V, en combinant des approches de physiologie nutritionnelle et de biologie moléculaire sans a priori ou ciblées. Ainsi les transcriptomes de trois lignées isogéniques, ayant des performances contrastées lorsqu'elles sont nourries avec des aliments V, ont été comparés à court et long terme. Puis des caractères liés à la nutrition, ainsi que l'expression de certains gènes, identifiés grâce à l'étude transcriptomique, ont été étudiés chez une lignée sélectionnée pour sa capacité à survivre et grandir avec un aliment V. Les résultats obtenus ont permis de conclure que l'acceptation de l'aliment V joue un rôle clef, notamment lors des stades précoces. Les résultats obtenus mettent également en avant le rôle prépondérant de la composante immunitaire qui est impactée différemment en fonction des génotypes. Finalement, après 6 mois d'alimentation, alors que le métabolisme des lipides participe à expliquer les différences d’utilisation de l’aliment V chez les lignées isogéniques, il ne parait pas déterminant chez la lignée sélectionnée. Globalement, nos résultats suggèrent l'existence d'une grande diversité de mécanismes dans les populations de truites leur permettant de survivre et grandir avec un aliment à base de végétaux dépourvu de farine et huiles de poisson. / In the context of the exponential development of aquaculture, fish meal and oils, previously the main components of aquaculture feed, have been increasingly replaced by a blend of plant products. However, total replacement is not yet possible without impairing fish performance (survival and growth). To continue its sustainable development, aquaculture must further decrease its reliance on both fish oil and fish meal. In addition to the changes in diet composition, a possible way forward is the use of the genetic variability for the ability to survive and grow with plant-based diets (V diets) existing in trout populations. However, very few studies have investigated the mechanisms implemented by some genotypes to use these diets more efficiently. The objective of this thesis was to study the characteristics that led to a better utilisation of V diet in different rainbow trout genotypes. The originality of this PhD work relies on the genetic rainbow trout lines whose responses to a 100% V diet were studied by combining nutritional physiology and molecular biology with or without a priori approaches. Thus, the transcriptomes of three isogenic lines, which have contrasting performances when fed V diets, were compared at short and long term. Then nutrition-related traits, as well as the expression of some genes identified through the transcriptomics analysis, were studied in a line selected for its ability to survive and grow with a V diet. The results obtained led to the conclusion that the acceptance of V diets plays a key role, particularly in the early stages. The results also highlight the essential role of the immune system, which is impacted differently according to genotypes. Finally, after 6 months of feeding, while lipid metabolism seems to play a role in the differences between genotypes for their ability to efficiently utilize the V diet, this pathway does not appear to play a determinant role in the selected line. Overall, our results suggest that there are a wide variety of mechanisms allowing trout to survive and grow with a total plant-based diet, devoid of both fish meal and oils.

Sustainable communication is intensively being done through social media platforms such as YouTube to create awareness among people. It is imperative to encourage people to adopt sustainable eating to have better health and a better environment—this research study aimed at analyzing the persuasive discourse in videos related to sustainable eating on YouTube. For this, the research has applied rhetorical analysis to three YouTube videos, focusing on the basic persuasive strategies: ethos, pathos, and logos. The analysis discussed how the speakers in these videos encourage their viewers to adopt sustainable eating. Through comparing these videos, the findings suggested what made the videos more persuasive and what weakened their ability to appeal to the audience. The results of the study contribute to the sustainable communicators who are willing to persuade their viewers to adopt sustainable eating.