Three-day dietary records were analyzed for nutrient content and 24 hour urine samples were analyzed for calcium, phosphorous, total nitrogen, and free alpha-amino nitrogen for 210 elderly people. Dietaries and urine samples were collected twice, October and March at five month intervals, for each subject. Increases were found in both dietary intake and urinary components October to March. Based on a criteria of high dietary protein, low dietary calcium, high urinary nitrogen and low calcium, 23 subjects were selected as osteoporotic and and 25 were selected as non-osteoporotic. This method of prediction was not supported by radiological evaluations. Bone density and percent cortical area of the second metacarpal and the trabecular pattern of the femoral head were evaluated for each subject. A negative correlation of trabecular pattern with age indicated a general loss of bone with age. Decreased percent cortical area was the most consistent bone phenomena associated with osteoporosis. No significant difference was found between sexes in any of the radiological analysis. The osteoporotic condition is more closely associated with a loss of bone quantity than decreased bone quality. As yet, osteoporosis is not associated with specific nutrient(s) consumption or urinary excretion(s).

No description available.

The aim of this thesis is to study 31 individuals from an early christian cemetery in Varnhem, Sweden and through the use of XRF, study the strontium concentrations and the strontium to calcium ratios in bone and use that as an indicator for diet. The material consists of femurs and teeth and through analyzing this I will compare previous dietary studies using stable carbon, nitrogene and sulphur isotope analyses to see wether quantitative strontium analysis can be used as a way to study diet in prehistoric societies. The conclusion is that XRF is not as thorough as an isotope study but it provides a general knowledge of what the population has been eating where we can determine which individuals has had diet consisting of more meat or terrestrial plants.

Abstract not available

Two hundred non-insulin dependent diabetic patients, predominantly from three health facilities in Lahore, Pakistan were assessed for metabolic control, weight status, diabetes knowledge, and six areas of diabetes self-care activities as well as dietary intake. A questionnaire was administered in an interview format followed by a 24-hour recall of dietary intake. Glycosylated haemoglobin status were determined on ninety subjects. The care levels appear to be inadequate for satisfactory diabetes control. Only 5 subjects had HbA1c levels within the normal range, while 21 showed extremely high levels. Complications and associated medical conditions were present in more than half of the sample. Diabetes knowledge averaged 4 correct responses out of a total of 11. Considerable variation was noted in the reported care regimens including the dietary regimen. Analysis revealed a number of areas of concern including high fat intake and a low intake of leafy vegetables, pulses and fruit which along with nutrient analysis results suggests a low fibre intake. The data points towards the need for improved diabetes education at all levels and identifies several areas of concern to be address / Master of Science (Hons)

This thesis investigates whether fats, akin to other taste stimuli, exhibit sensory properties such as mixture interactions. In order to determine gustatory, rather than tactile or olfactory effects, viscosity-controlled emulsions of deodorised oils were used as the base to which taste stimuli were incorporated and presented to a panel of trained assessors. In preliminary qualitative assessments, panellists described the 10% olive oil emulsion as saltier, stronger, fattier and having a more lingering aftertaste than the non-oil control, suggesting that oil modulates taste duration as well influencing taste intensity and/or perceived quality. Panellists were unable to rate the oil/fat taste per se with any degree of certainty hence further experiments examined the effect of oil on the perception of taste mixtures. In mixture interaction experiments, the addition of oil did not result in mixture suppression or enhancement for sweet, salty, sour or bitter while it significantly enhanced umami. To determine the locus of interaction, when MSG and oil were presented to each side of the tongue separately, the enhancement effect disappeared indicating a peripheral mechanism of interaction, similar to the attenuation of chilli burn by oil. In contrast, suprathreshold sucrose sweetness was enhanced by the contralateral presentation of oil, indicating sensory processing at a higher locus. Furthermore, the addition of oil significantly reduced bitterness in a caffeine-MSG mixture. Since earlier experiments did not indicate any interaction between oil and bitterness, the decrease in the perceived bitterness of this binary mixture is attributed to an increase in umami which is likely to have suppressed bitterness, the perceptually dominant component in this mixture. These findings suggest a gustatory role for fats in modulating the taste profile of mixtures, in particular, enhancing total taste intensity, prolonging taste duration, and enhancing umami. A taste receptor-based model of fat perception provides for an orosensory mechanism capable of signalling the arrival of the most energy-dense nutrient, essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins. The chemosensory signal may also be the basis for hedonic responses with subsequent implications for intake.

There is much interest in the nature and quality of the diet consumed by adolescents. To determine whether there are significant associations between diet and gain in height and weight in this age group, the present study analysed data on food intake and weight and height obtained on three occasions over a 30-month period from a total of 326 adolescents aged between 12 and 15 years. Information on sociodemographic and other lifestyle factors, including an indicator of physical activity, was also obtained. Energy intake was found to be a significant positive predictor of both height and weight gain. In addition intake of fat, calcium and riboflavin were found to be significant positive predicators of height gain and intake of carbohydrate and starch significant positive predictors of weight gain. After controlling for energy intake only riboflavin approached significance as a positive predictor of height gain. A food group analysis identified intake of dairy foods as a significant predictor of height gain. Although statistically significant the dietary predictors explained only a small proportion of the variability in height and weight (≤3.5%). Given the difficulties in obtaining complete dietary records from this age group and the generally adequate nature of the diet in the study group, the small proportion of height and weight gain explained by diet is not unexpected. Nevertheless the nutrient predictors identified are consistent with nutrient requirements for growth during adolescence and highlight the importance, for this age group, of an adequate intake of nutrients specifically provided by dairy foods. Few significant associations were found between growth rates and the sociodemographic and the lifestyle factors measured in this study. The ethnic diversity of the study sample may have contributed to this outcome.

The importance of marine versus terrestrial foods in prehistoric Pacific and New Zealand diets, and the adaptation of the Polynesian diet to new enviroments, is examined through the analysis of the ratios in human bone of the stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur. In particular, this study seeks to obtain quantitative information which could provide answers to five main questions, relating to the subsistence focus of the early Lapita colonists in the Pacific, the significance of suger cane in the diets of early Pacific populations, the proportions of reef versus open ocean and terrestrial versus marine foods in these diets, and the identification of populations with pronounced marine or pronounced terrestrial diets. One hundred and nineteen samples of human bone from 13 sites throughtout the Pacific and New Zealand were processed. Nitrogen values were obtained directly from bone powder, while carbon values were determined from collagen produced by digesting bone powder in phosphoric acid. Sulphur evaluations were determined from a BaSo⁴ precipitate, produced after combustion of the collagen samples in a Parr bomb. Interpretation of results is approached from a comparative point of view, which enables the proportions of marine and terrestrial foods in the diets of each study group to be assessed in relation to the diets of all the other groups. Additional information on the composition of the diets is gained by comparing the stable isotope values obtained in this study with published values of other human populations, and of marine and terrrestrial plants and animals. The potential of stable isotope analysis to identify the composition of prehistoric New Zealand and Pacific diets is confirmed. A unique marine adaptation is revealed from the analysis of the Chatham Islands Moriori who appear to have focused almost exclusively on marine resources. In contrast, a highly terrestrial diet is suggested for groups from Nebira in Papua New Guinea and Lake Rotoiti in New Zealand.

<p>Fetma och övervikt är ett hot mot folkhälsan. Många med övervikt och fetma försöker gå ner i vikt, men få lyckas bibehålla viktminskningen. Studiens syfte var att ta reda på erfarenheter av betydelsefulla faktorer och strategier för en bestående viktminskning, samt motivation för bibehållandet av vikten. Enligt Self-determination theory (SDT) blir beteendeförändringar bestående om de är autonoma och om motivationen är intern. Åtta kvinnor som deltagit i Itrims viktminskningsprogram intervjuades. Resultatet visade att förändringar i kost, motion och förhållningssätt var för egen vinning och viktiga för en bibehållen vikt. Andra faktorer var kunskap, psykiskt och fysiskt välmående samt vilja. Bibehållandet av viktminskningen var ett självständigt arbete där kunskaper från programmet och från inre reflektion införlivades i livsstilen, vilket överrensstämmer med SDT.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D. (Nutrition))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.