Jay Kandiah

Effects of Stress on Eating Practices Among Adults

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between comfort food preferences of adults when under normal (nonstressful) and stressful conditions. A total of 185 university faculty completed on InQsit, a 31-item Stress-Eating Survey. Sixty-seven percent experienced changes in appetite when stressed, with 69% having an increase in appetite and 31% a decrease. Under stressful conditions, participants chose a wider variety of sweet (p ≤ .001) and salty/crunchy foods (p = .004). High-restrained eaters chose significantly more types of sweet foods (p = .031) and beverages (p = .020) than low-restrained eaters. Variety of mixed dishes significantly decreased (p = .048) with increased age. This research suggests that majority of adults may experience an increased appetite with stress and may choose more types of sweet and salty/crunchy foods. Under normal and stressful conditions, it appears that gender, age, and restraint level may also influence comfort food choices.

Nutrition Knowledge and Food Choices of Elementary School Children

This research investigated the effect of a three-week school based nutrition education program on the nutrition knowledge and healthy food choices of 187 fifth graders who were randomly divided into a control ( n =97) or an experimental ( n =90) group. The control group received no nutrition education while the experimental group received 45 minutes of nutrition education, 4 days a week for 3 weeks. Nutrition knowledge scores and 3-day food records were collected at the beginning of the study and after 3 weeks. Food records were used to evaluate healthy food choices ( i.e. Dietary Guidelines recommended intake for macronutrients and the recommendations of the Food Guide Pyramid for each food group). In the experimental group there was a significantly greater increase in nutrition knowledge score ( p =0.001) and significant change in compliance in meeting the Dietary Guidelines ( p =0.0001) and the Food Guide Pyramids recommendations ( p =0.0001). This study showed the effectiveness of a nutrition education program on nutrition knowledge scores and healthy food choices of fifth grade children.

Impact of tofu or tofu + orange juice on hematological indices of lacto-ovo vegetarian females.

The purpose of this study was to investigate iron status of premenopausalvegetarian women consuming tofu or tofu plus orange juice. Following athree day pre-period, 14 lacto-ovo vegetarians were randomly divided intotwo experimental periods of 30 days each. For the first 30 days, one halfof the subjects (n = 7) received 6 oz (173 grams) of tofu/day (T) while theother half of the subjects (n = 7) received 6 oz of tofu/day along with303 mg of vitamin C/d (TO). After 30 days, there was a crossover ofthe diets. Iron status was assessed by measuring serum ferritin andhemoglobin concentrations on the first day of the study and at the end ofeach experimental period. The Mann Whitney-U test was significant duringthe first (W = 17.5; Z = –2.095; p = 0.0361) and over the second (W = 40.0; Z = –2.611; p = 0.009) experimental periods which indicated thechange in hemoglobin levels for the T and TO groups were different. Meanranks showed a greater increase in hemoglobin levels for the TO group.There was no significant difference in the change in serum ferritin levelsbetween the T and TO groups over the first and second experimentalperiods. In conclusion, bioavailability of iron from tofu is enhancedby supplementation with ascorbic acid.

Are Registered Dietitians Following the food Guide Pyramid

Abstract From a pool of 1020 active registered dietitians in a Mid-Western state4n the US, 120 ELD (RDs who had been practicing in dietetics for 3yrs or less) and 200 NELD (RDs who had been practicing in dietetics longer than 3yrs) were randomly selected and mailed a 57-item food frequency questionnaire that included portions sizes used in the Food Guide Pyramid. Of the 320 questionnaires mailed, responses were usable only from 55 ELD and 120 NELD. There was no significant difference in compliance between ELD and NELD in the bread, meat, milk and fruit groups. In the bread group, more ELD (82.1%) then NELD (79.3%) met the recommended servings. Compliance in the meat group between ELD and NELD was 71.4% and 74.4%. In the milk group, the ELD were slightly more compliant (71.4%) then NELD (63.3%). Mean intake in the milk group, for ELD (2.32 servings/d) and NELD(2.23 scrvings/d), showed both groups met the recommended servings of the FGP. More NELD (71.1%) than ELD (69.9%) were in compliance with the FGP in the fruit group. The vegetable group had relatively low compliance with NELD (45.5%) having a higher compliance compared to ELD (33.9%). Greater than 80% of ELD and NELD indicated moderate (

National School Breakfast and Lunch Meals: Blood Lipid Levels in Prepubescents

ABSTRACT This research investigated changes in blood cholesterol levels in children who participated in the national school lunch (L) or breakfast and lunch (BL) programs. Fasting blood samples were collected at baseline and 4 months from thirty, 11–15 year old children (16 L and 14 BL) who ate school meals three times/week. Regardless of the type of program, there was a statistically significant decrease in mean total cholesterol (p=0.001) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (p=0.007) from baseline to 4 months. Although breakfast and lunch meals served to the children were above the recommendations, decrease in blood cholesterol levels may be associated with hormones during puberty.

Interdisciplinary Discrepancies Between Parenteral Nutrition Macronutrient Prescribing and Recommendations: Is Body Mass Index a Factor?

Background: Formal nutrition training in medical schools and residencies is lacking and needed. Registered dietitians (RDs) are formally trained in nutrition support and considered experts in the nutrition field. Our purpose was to examine prescribing and recommending discrepancies of parenteral nutrition macronutrients between medical residents (MRs) and RDs and compare results with the ASPEN clinical care guidelines. We also looked at discrepancies among obese patients, due to their increased risk of mortality. Materials and Methods: The primary end point of this retrospective review was discrepancies in nonprotein calories (NPCs) and grams of protein (PRO) between MRs and RDs. The secondary end point was discrepancies in NPCs and PRO between MRs and RDs among patients stratified by body mass index category. Results: MRs prescribed 300 NPCs more versus RDs (P < .001). When compared with RDs, MRs prescribed fewer NPCs for underweight patients and more for obese patients (P < .001). The same analysis found that the PRO discrepancies significantly varied by body mass index classification as well (P = .022). When these results were compared with the ASPEN clinical care guidelines, RDs adhered closer to the guidelines than did MRs in terms of permissive underfeeding of obese patients. Conclusion: It is widely accepted that MRs are in need of increased formal training, and the results of our study confirm this need and suggest a short-term solution of increasing order-writing privileges for the RD. RDs with this privilege may adhere more closely to clinical care guidelines and therefore increase patient safety.