A dietary nutrient intake study of ninety-five residents of a nursing home in rural community was conducted. Nutrient intakes were determined for seven consecutive days using the method of weighing food served and weighing food left by subjects. Patients on in the study. Snacks consumed between meals and vitamin and mineral supplements were included in the nutrient intakes. Height, weight, body mass index, tricep skinfold measurement and serum blood laboratory data were obtained for each subject. Activity levels were also determined. Results showed the mean caloric intake of the men was 2152+331. For the women the mean caloric intake was 1869+251. Nutrients less 100 percent standard (RDA 1974) were energy, calcium, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin C, potassium, fiber and fat for the men and for the women energy, calcium, iron, thiamin, niacin, vitamin C, potassium, fiber and fat. Mean Index of Nutritional Quality values for selected nutrients indicated that for men protein, vitamins A, C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, iron, calcium and phosphorus and INQ ratios of 1.0 or greater. INQ ratios for the women indicated that protein, vitamin A, C, riboflavin, niacin, iron, calcium, and phosphorus were greater than 1.0. Correlations were found between BMI and tricep skinfold measurement and a weak correlation between kilocalories and BMI for both men and women. All of the mean serum blood values were within normal limits except for albumin. Further studies using these methods will need to be done to determine whether high caloric intake of both men and women compared to other studies of nutrient intake of elderly subjects was possibly the result of more careful analysis or because subjects were more active.

Nutritional problems of var ious population groups throughout the world are constantly being emphasized, It has been pointed out that life expectancy at birth is only thirty to forty years for over half of the world's population , while for those people who have been able to take advantage of modern medical and nutritional science, it is sixty five to seventy years, Hunger, as well as preventing economic advancement, promotes unrest and political upheavals. The United States, in the interest of preserving its own security and way of life has a vital stake in solving world nutritional problems as well as its own. Without doubt, we are all aware of this need today of improving the nutritional needs of our own people in practically all parts of the United States. However, the nutritional needs have to be defined before improvements can be recommended. More exact and reliable criteria are needed for identifying borderline cases of malnutrition for various groups of people. This problem is gradually being solved through correlated medical, biochemical, and dietary studies. Thus, as one of the criteria on which to rely, dietary studies are one of the means of measuring the nutritional adequacy of the diet. An evaluation of the school lunch by means of a dietary study cannot be made without also considering the other foods eaten during the day. The benefit of a good school lunch to health and dietary habits, therefore, may be greatest for those children whose family food supplies and habits are the poorest. The benefit will be greatest in the extent to which the foods provided in the school lunch supplement those supplied in the home. A study of the dietary habits of school children in terms of the nutritive value of the school lunch and the rest of the day's food would help to evaluate the nutritional status for the group studied and measure the effectiveness of the school lunch program for improving the dietary habits of the children. Since the school lunch and its contribution tot the total day's diet had not been studied in Utah, seven-day dietary records of the 8th grade Logan Junior High and 8th and 9th grades Wellsville Junior High students were used in evaluating the nutrient intake of the children. The purpose of this study was to determine the contribution of each meal ( breakfast , noon meal , and evening meal) to the total day's diet with emphasis on children eating school lunch versus the children not eating school lunch . The between-meal foods were also studied to see to what extent this supplementary intake improves the overall adequacy of the adolescent's diet .

The present study examined the relationship between the variables weight status (expected weight, at-risk for overweight, and overweight), ethnicity, and gender and the dependent variables dietary intake and physical activity behaviors among adolescents. Data presented in this study were collected using the Nutrition and Exercise Survey for Students, which was completed by 535 6th grade and 9th grade students across 3 middle and 2 high-schools in southwest Florida. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to identify differences in dietary intake and physical activity behaviors between groups. The primary questions related to interactions and main effects between the variables weight category, ethnicity, and gender and the dependent variables dietary intake and physical activity behaviors. Weight category was determined by computing each participant's body mass index percentile (BMI = weight in kilograms/height in meters2). The findings of this study indicate that there are group differences in dietary intake behaviors among 6th graders and physical activity behaviors among 6th and 9th grade participants. With respect to dietary intake behaviors, an interaction was observed for gender and ethnicity, and main effects were observed for weight category and gender. Follow-up univariate F-tests were significant for weight category on meat/beans and junk food consumption; and gender differences on meat/beans consumption. All obtained effect sizes were small. For physical activity behaviors, a main effect was observed for gender among 6th grade participants and interaction was observed for gender and ethnicity among 9th grade participants. The follow-up univariate F-tests were significant for gender differences on total and vigorous activity behaviors (males had higher means than females) and small effect sizes were observed. The follow-up univariate F-tests for the gender and ethnicity interaction were not significant. Implications for the field of school psychology are discussed within the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention model. Within this framework, a discussion of how school psychologists can assist in creating environments that encourage health-supporting behaviors at the individual and school-wide levels will be presented. Further, the need for school psychologists to collaborate with other health professionals to address overweight and some of its physical and mental health consequences is provided.

The present study examined the relationship between the variables weight status (expected weight, overweight), ethnicity, and gender and the dependent variables dietary intake and physical activity behaviors among adolescents. The data presented in this study were collected using the Nutrition Questionnaire for High School Students, which was completed by 199 adolescents in a high school in southwest Florida in February of 2004. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to identify differences in dietary intake and physical activity behaviors between weight status groups. The primary questions in this study related to interactions and main effects between the variables weight category, ethnicity, and gender and the dependent variables dietary intake and physical activity behaviors. Weight category was determined by computing each participant's body mass index (BMI = weight in kilograms/height in meters²). A BMI > 24.9 was considered overweight and a BMI < 25.0 was considered expected weight. Ethnicity and gender were based on self-report. The findings of this study indicate that there are group differences in dietary intake behaviors and physical activity behaviors. With respect to dietary intake behaviors, main effects were observed for weight category, gender, and ethnicity. However, follow-up univariate F-tests were not significant. The lack of statistical significances may be to due the very small sample sizes which reduced statistical power. Medium effect sizes were reported for gender differences on milk consumption (males had higher means than females), and for ethnic differences on junk food consumption (African Americans had the highest consumption followed by Caucasians and Latinos, respectively). For physical activity behaviors, main effects were observed for gender and ethnicity, but not for weight category. The follow-up univariate F-tests were significant for gender differences on vigorous activity behaviors (males had higher means than females), and for ethnic differences on moderate activity behaviors (Caucasians had the larger mean followed by African Americans and Latinos, respectively). Medium effect sizes were also observed on these pairwise comparisons. Implications for the field of school psychology are discussed with example opportunities for school psychologists to assist in the development of accommodation plans, to collaborate with medical professionals to address overweight and some of its physical and mental health consequences, to help create environments that encourage health-supporting behaviors, and to assist in the development of individual and school-wide interventions.

No description available.

Mild thiamin deficiency is prevalent in diabetes, and high dose thiamin ameliorates some diabetic complications, but there are no definitive studies addressing thiamin intake, diabetes control and thiamin status in diabetes. Subjects were 113 people with diabetes (58 type 1, 55 type 2), 43 with and 70 without thiamin supplementation. Dietary thiamin was estimated by 24-hour recall, diabetes control by HbA1c. Age, BMI, albumin excretion, activity level and smoking status did not correlate with red cell thiamin (RCT) in either group. RCT correlated with serum thiamin (ST) (p < 0.01). In those unsupplemented, adequate dietary thiamin did not ensure normal RCT, with 15.7 % of subjects below the reference range. Supplementation to intake > 4 mg/d, was significantly associated with normal RCT (p = 0.028), with 97.7% of supplemented subjects having normal RCT. Supplementation was also significantly associated with elevated serum thiamin 24 hours post supplementation, contrary to other reports. HbA1c was not significantly associated with RCT. Conclusions: In diabetes, adequate dietary thiamin does not ensure normal red cell thiamin, but supplementation to > 4 mg/day does, raising questions about actual thiamin requirements in diabetes and supporting evidence that thiamin deficiency in diabetes is not primarily due to dietary deficiency. Diabetes control was not significantly related to thiamin status.

The estimation of the distribution of usual intake of nutrients is important for developing nutrition policies as well as for etiological research and educational purposes. In most nutrition surveys only a small number of repeated intake observations per individual are collected. Of main interest is the longterm usual intake which is defined as long-term daily average intake of a dietary component. However, dietary intake on a single day is a poor estimate of the individual’s long-term usual intake. Furthermore, the distribution of individual intake means is also a poor estimator of the distribution of usual intake since usually there is large within-individual compared to between-individual variability in the dietary intake data. Hence, the variance of the mean intakes is larger than the variance of the usual intake distribution. Essentially, the estimation of the distribution of long-term intake is equivalent to the estimation of a distribution of a random variable observed with measurement error. Some of the methods for estimating the distributions of usual dietary intake are reviewed in detail and applied to nutrient intake data in order to evaluate their properties. The results indicate that there are a number of robust methods which could be used to derive the distribution of long-term dietary intake. The methods share a common framework but differ in terms of complexity and assumptions about the properties of the dietary consumption data. Hence, the choice of the most appropriate method depends on the specific characteristics of the data, research purposes as well as availability of analytical tools and statistical expertise.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Maternal factors prior to conception and during pregnancy may influence the development of the metabolic, cardiovascular and endocrine systems of the offspring and subsequent disease pathogenesis. This thesis explores the concept of the developmental origins of health and disease. Human observational research studies were undertaken to test the relationships amongst maternal dietary intake, weight gain during pregnancy and changes in biochemical markers between pregnancy and postpartum for the mother and infant. This thesis presents three chapters of original research related to maternal and fetal nutrition, and one chapter of empirical data concerning the methodological challenges faced when recruiting for research purposes. An analysis of dietary intake data from the young cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health was used to determine the overall diet quality in a contemporary cohort, and to assess whether those who are pregnant eat differently to those who are not. Only small differences in diet quality and nutrient intakes were detected between pregnancy groups, and diet quality scores were consistently low. When the intake data were compared to Australian recommendations it appears that many young women fail to reach key nutrient targets, including those set for folate, fibre, calcium, iron, potassium and vitamin E. The research focus then shifted to prospective longitudinal data collection for women and their children during pregnancy and after birth. Low recruitment to this component of the studies threatened the potential to achieve the research aims. Rather than jeopardising the power of the investigations efforts were made to understand what had gone wrong and how the situation could be rectified. An investigation of the relationship between fetal adiposity and maternal weight changes in pregnancy was performed. Pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and weight changes during pregnancy were taken as broad markers of maternal nutritional status and energy regulation. Intrauterine growth, including the accumulation of adipose tissue, was assessed using serial ultrasounds. Fetal size was positively related to maternal pre-pregnancy weight (and BMI) and weight gain (change in BMI) during pregnancy. Maternal pre-pregnancy weight was positively associated with adiposity at the fetal abdomen, but not the thigh. However, overall maternal weight gain was not associated with fetal adiposity. To determine whether maternal vitamin B12 and folate (methyl donors) in pregnancy could influence the offspring’s homocysteine metabolism at birth, changes in plasma vitamin B12, plasma folate and red cell folate were characterised for the cohort of more than 100 women during pregnancy and up to six months after birth. A small sub-sample of infants also had blood collected at six months postpartum. Average maternal plasma folate during pregnancy was significantly predictive of infant plasma homocysteine. In conclusion, the research outlined herein demonstrates important interactions between the mother and her offspring during the critical windows of early development. The research is multidisciplinary in its application and contributes to our understanding of some of the nutritional influences in pregnancy and postpartum for women and their children.

This thesis describes a series of three experiments designed to estimate the nutritional cost of the immune response to the gastrointestinal nematodes Trichostrongylus colubriformis and Teladorsagia circumcincta in sheep. For each experiment, animals were allocated hierarchically by liveweight into one of four groups that were either infected (group IF), similarly infected and concurrently immuno-suppressed with weekly intramuscular injections of 1.3mg kg liveweight (LW)-1 of methylprednisolone acetate (group ISIF), immuno-suppressed only (group IS) or remained as controls (group C). Body composition of all animals was estimated using x-ray computer tomography prior to infection and at the conclusion of each study with bodyweight and faecal nematode egg counts (FEC; eggs gram-1 of fresh faeces (epg)) measured along with blood samples taken for the determination of levels of serum proteins, phosphate and antibodies. In the first trial (Chapter 3), the nutritional cost of both the acquisition and maintenance of immunity to gastro-intestinal nematodes was investigated using immunologically naive 5-month-old lambs and immunologically competent 17-month-old ewes during infection with 2,000 and 4,000 L3 infective T. colubriformis larvae d-1, respectively (80 L3 T. colubriformis larvae kgLW-1 d-1). Profiles of FEC and comparative worm burdens at slaughter indicated an effective immune response was maintained in IF ewes and developed in IF lambs while successfully suppressed in both ISIF lambs and ISIF ewes and was confirmed by serum antibody titres. The typical reduction in voluntary feed intake as a consequence of infection was observed in IF lambs (0.30, p&lt0.001) but not in IF ewes, ISIF lambs or ISIF ewes, and appeared to be associated with L3 IgA. Gross efficiency of use of metabolizable energy (ME) for net energy (NE) deposition was reduced by 0.20 in lambs during acquisition of immunity and by 0.16 in ewes maintaining an established immunity. Infection in immuno-suppressed animals reduced efficiency by 0.05 and 0.15 for lambs and ewes. These findings allowed the hypothesis that the reduction in feed intake and nutrient utilization in young parasitized sheep is caused by physiological signalling associated with the acquisition phase of the host immune response to infection, rather than simply the damage caused by the parasite per se. The second trial (Chapter 4) investigated the influence of metabolizable protein (MP) supply on the metabolic disturbances associated with the acquisition phase of the immune response during infection with 2,000 L3 T. colubriformis d-1. Groups of lambs were offered either a low protein (L; 62g MP kgDM-1) or high protein diet (H; 95g MP kgDM-1). Patterns of total daily egg excretion indicated that an effective immune response was developed in HIF, but not LIF, HISIF nor LISF and was confirmed by comparative worm burdens. The proportionate reduction in feed intake in immunologically normal animals was reduced through the provision of additional protein, being 0.12 in HIF and 0.23 in LIF. Regardless of diet, infection did not cause a reduction in feed intake in immuno-suppressed animals (p&gt0.05). Infection proportionately reduced the gross efficiency of ME utilization in immunologically normal animals by 0.23 in HIF (p=0.09) and by 0.51 in LIF (p=0.01), but not in immuno-suppressed animals. Immuno-suppression did not suppress serum L3 IgA levels in seven of the eight HISIF and four of the eight LISIF animals. Furthermore, only four out of the eight immunologically normal animals from both the HIF and LIF groups displayed an L3 IgA response. Consequently, regardless of immuno-suppression treatment, animals were termed as IgA responders (HR or LR) or non-responders (HN or LN). Feed intake was proportionately reduced from day 22 by 0.15 in HR (p=0.03) and by 0.32 in LR (p=0.01), but was not significantly reduced in HN or LN. Gross efficiency of ME utilization was significantly reduced for LN animals only, being proportionately 0.59 (p&lt0.01). These findings allowed the conclusion that additional MP reduced the consequence of immunological signalling that was displayed in reduced feed intake and in nutrient utilization, both of which appeared to be associated with an IgA response. It is hypothesized that the lessening of nutritional disturbance observed in high protein and immuno-suppressed animals could be a consequence of altered physiological signalling during the immunological cascade. The third trial (Chapter 5) utilized lambs infected with the abomasal parasite T. circumcincta to explore the possibility that the reduction in feed intake and nutrient utilization is a universal phenomenon of the acquisition phase of the immune response to nematode parasites inhabiting different organs along the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, immunological changes at the site of parasite infestation in the abomasal mucosa were measured from serial biopsy tissue samples taken from a further twelve animals that were surgically fitted with an abomasal cannula and either infected (CIF) or concurrently infected and immuno-suppressed as described previously (CISIF). The development of immunity in IF animals was accompanied by a 0.17 proportional decrease in feed intake between days 15 to 28 of infection (p&lt0.05) and a 0.20 proportional reduction in nutrient utilization (p=0.07), none of which were observed in ISIF animals. While FEC and worm burdens indicated successful immuno-suppression in ISIF animals, both serum IgA and total antibody production were not reduced. The development of immunity in CIF was reflected in an increase in both mast cells and globule leukocytes in serial abomasal tissue biopsies, both of which were reduced in CISIF (p&lt0.01 for both). In serial biopsy tissue, immuno-suppression did prevent a rise in tissue IgA that was apparent in CIF animals (p&lt0.01) although these changes were not reflected in serum IgA levels. It appears that the alleviation of the reduction in feed intake and nutrient utilization in young lambs through the use of corticosteroid induced immuno-suppression may be a universal phenomenon for both intestinal and abomasal parasites, but the association with and/or role of IgA during infection with T. circumcincta is unclear. In summary, the reduction in feed intake and nutrient utilization in sheep during infection with both the abomasal nematode T. circumcincta and the small intestine nematode T. colubriformis appears to be associated with a component(s) of the acquisition phase of the host immune response, rather than, as conventionally assumed, the direct mechanical damage of the parasite per se. It is hypothesised that the nutritional disturbance as a consequence of infection in young lambs may be the result of pro-inflammatory cytokines involved in immunological signalling that may also be associated with the production of IgA, the effects of which can be reduced through the provision of adequate MP. These studies provide evidence that the immune response to gastrointestinal parasites is nutritionally costly to the animal and have implications for application of manipulations that are intended to promote the development of a strong immune reaction in high producing animals.

This thesis investigates the use of scientific evidence in the process of making public health policy. A case study located within a food regulation setting is used. The aim is to test theory against this case study. The outcome is a theoretical understanding of the use of scientific evidence in the policy-making process in a food regulation setting. Food regulation can influence food composition and food labelling and thereby affect the population's dietary intake. Frequently there are contested values, beliefs, ideologies and interests among stakeholders regarding the use of food regulation as a policy instrument to effect public health outcomes. The protection of public health and safety, taking into account evidence based practice, is generally employed by food regulators as the priority objective during the policy-making process to adjudicate among the competing expectations of stakeholders. However, this policy objective has not been clearly defined and is vulnerable to interpretation and application. The process by which folate fortification policy was made in Australia, in response to epidemiological evidence of a relationship between folate intake during the periconceptional period and reduced risk of neural tube defects, was analysed as a case study of the policy-making process. The folate fortification policy created a precedent for both food fortification and subsequently health claims policy in Australia. A social constructivist method was used to analyse the case study. The method involved deconstructing the food regulatory system into three levels; decision-making process; procedural; and political environment. Data aligned with each level of analysis was collected from 22 key informant interviews, documentary sources, field notes and surveys of both a random sample of the Australian population's knowledge of folate and use of folic acid-containing supplements (n = 5422), and the implementation of folate fortified food products into stores (n = 60). The insights that emerged from each of the three levels of analysis were assessed iteratively to identify a pattern of interrelationships associated with the policy-making process within the food regulatory system. The identified pattern was interpreted against existing theory to gain a theoretical understanding of the public health policy-making process in this political setting. The central argument of this thesis extends Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith's Advocacy Coalition Framework theory to a food regulation setting. The argument is that within the contemporary political climates of neoliberalism and globalisation, a coalition between corporate interests and the values of scientists with a positivist-reductionist approach to public health research is privileged so as to invoke certain scientific evidence to, in turn, legitimise food regulation policy decisions. The theory will help to inform policy-makers about how and why the public health policy objective in a food regulation setting is interpreted and applied. This will contribute to improving policy practice intended to effect public health outcomes. It is concluded that irrespective of the quantity and quality of the scientific evidence that is being made available, scientific evidence cannot be assumed to speak for itself Policy-making is an inherently political and value-laden process and the potential for politically motivated interpretation and application of otherwise value-neutral scientific evidence can undermine the investment in its generation. From this perspective, evidence based practice, far from liberating policy-making from political influence, can itself become part of the problem rather than the solution. Nevertheless, rational evidence based practice is an ideal to strive for and a series of recommendations is proposed to help make the use of evidence in current food regulation policy processes more transparent and democratic.