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Several reports[1-4] have urged the development of reliable and reproducible methods for assessment of dietary intake, particularly for large-scale studies. A trend in health-related research is to use telephone-assisted data […]

Cardiovascular disease, in particular coronary heart disease, remains the leading cause of mortality in the United States, accounting for more than 500,000 deaths each year (1). Despite the high prevalence [...], The National Cholesterol Education Program advocates dietary interventions in persons with high and moderate blood cholesterol levels and in the general population as a preventive measure for coronary heart disease. For these efforts to be successful, it is necessary to understand consumer characteristics and behaviors, including nutrient intake and dietary patterns. We studied the relationship of plasma cholesterol levels to consumer characteristics and dietary behaviors by examining 127 men (aged 20 through 71 years) and 187 women (aged 18 through 67 years) as part of a cholesterol screening project in the administrative offices and academic departments of Boston University from March 1988 through June 1988. Our results showed that specific consumer characteristics and dietary behaviors significantly differentiated male and female groups with low, moderate, and high cholesterol levels. Factors that should be considered in planning dietary interventions aimed at cholesterol reduction in men include spouse involvement and support in lipid-lowering interventions; weight reduction; increase in exercise; reduction in beef intake; and increases in dietary fiber and carbohydrates, particularly fruits. For women, recommendations include weight reduction; possible interventions aimed at reducing blood pressure (ie, behavioral modification aimed at reducing stress, increasing exercise, and cooking low-salt meals); reduction in beef intake, dietary fat, and saturated fat; and increases in carbohydrates and dietary fiber. J Am Diet Assoc. 1992; 92: 434-440.

The 1991 Consensus Conference of the Nutrition Screening Iniiative (NSI), Nutrition Screening I: Toward a Common View (1,2) has led to increased professional awareness of poor nutritional status and better [...]

To determine whether the lower rates of heart disease in Taiwan than in the United States could be related to associations between plasma lipoproteins and dietary intake, we assessed these indexes in 423 adults in Taipei matched with 420 adults in Framingham, MA. Concentrations of LDL cholesterol were 14% lower, HDL cholesterol 9% higher, and LDL cholesterol: HDL cholesterol 27% lower in Taipei than in Framingham. Dietary intakes of total fat (34%), saturated fatty acids, and cholesterol (338 mg) were, respectively, 16%, 41%, and 19% lower in Taipei men, whereas polyunsaturated fatty acid intake was 89% higher than in Framingham men. Similar differences were seen for women except for total fat and cholesterol intakes, which were similar. From stepwise analyses of all subjects, we observed significant associations of lower LDL cholesterol: HDL cholesterol with higher polyunsaturated fatty acid intakes and lower body mass indexes in both men and women. Our data indicate that the more favorable lipoprotein profiles observed in Taipei subjects may be partly due to differences in type of dietary fat consumption as well as in body mass index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]