Nutrition and Health

This synopsis reviews published in vivo studies on possible health consequences of genetically modified food and feed where the ingredients in question have consisted of genetically modified plant materials. The following, however, have not been taken into consideration:

ingredients consisting of genetically modified microorganisms or parts of animals/fish

According to a Norwegian report “Gen-mat” (NOU 2000:29), and a more recent search in Medline and Citations Index, to our knowledge a total of ten studies have been published on the health effects of GM-foods and feeds. In this minireview the data made available in these published studies is discussed.

Persuasive health education messages can either stress the positive consequences of performing a healthy behaviour (gain-frame) or the negative consequences of not performing a healthy behaviour (loss-frame). Based on studies on topics such as sun protection and breast self-examination there is evidence that messages in different action frames may differ in persuasive effects. Three randomised controlled trials were conducted to test framing effects in nutrition education on specific nutrition-related attitudes and intentions. In study 1, effects of gain-framed and loss-framed messages were studied among 152 adult education students on attitudes and intentions related to fat, fruit and vegetable consumption. In study 2 we confronted 149 regular students with differently framed messages related to a (more or less fictive) preventive dietary behaviour that was expected to be unknown to the study population, intake of flavonoids and risk for chronic disease. The impact on attitudes and intentions to use flavonoid-enriched spreads was studied. In study 3 we studied the effects of differently framed messages on attitudes and intentions related to more immediate and more personally relevant diet nutrition behaviour: folic acid supplement use before and during pregnancy among 100 female students.

No significant differences in attitudes or intentions to perform the preventive nutrition behaviours were found between the gain-frame conditions and the loss-frame conditions in all three studies. The (lack of) effects were not moderated by factors such as perceived personal relevance, credibility or novelty of the information, or the perceived importance of the topic addressed. The results of the present studies suggest that action-frame choice has a very limited impact on the effectiveness of nutrition education in changing precautionary motivation.

Ten variables were assessed as they influence the under five (U5) nutritional status of children at Oranfe, a semi-rural community in Ife East Local Government Area of Osun state, Nigeria.

The two types of protein energy malnutrition (PEM) that are prevalent in the community are stunting and wasting. Of the 230 children assessed using Waterlow's technique, 23% and 22.6% were stunted and wasted respectively. The results confirmed that mothers' educational level, age, parity, types of family and children's immunization status and age are some of the key determinants of nutritional status of U5 children.

The intensification of exclusive breast feeding, female education, a compulsory food demonstration unit in all health centres, use of complementary feeds from 7 months upwards, growth monitoring and promotion are some of the strategies to reduce the high prevalence of PEM in both rural and urban areas of developing countries.

The aim of this study was to report breakfast food patterns among the rural and urban Croatian schoolchildren in the post-war socioeconomic changes. A quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire was used. Subjects were 7–18 year old schoolchildren (815 from urban and 375 from rural areas). The average energy intake was 27.5 and 23.0% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) in the urban and rural area respectively. Urban subjects tend to choose healthier options when older, while the rural subjects displayed the opposite (significantly correlated age with energy intake (% RDA) and dietary fibre intake (% of ‘age + 5’ rule). The same applied to age versus iron intake (urban positive, rural negative correlation). Breakfasts providing 20–30% RDA for energy and more than 300 mg of calcium were consumed by 20.7 and 32.4% of the urban and rural subjects respectively. Cereal products and milk and dairy products were the major breakfast constituents everywhere. Meat and its products, and eggs seem to be uncommon breakfast foods. The urban subjects had a more adequate energy intake at breakfast, but better food choices were observed among rural subjects.

The computer-assisted menu design still remains a difficult task. Usually knowledge that aids in menu design by a computer is hard-coded and because of that a computerised menu planner cannot handle the menu design problem for an unanticipated client. To address this problem we developed a menu design tool, MIKAS (menu construction using incremental knowledge acquisition system), an artificial intelligence system that allows the incremental development of a knowledge-base for menu design. We allow an incremental knowledge acquisition process in which the expert is only required to provide hints to the system in the context of actual problem instances during menu design using menus stored in a so-called Case Base.

Our system incorporates Case-Based Reasoning (CBR), an Artificial Intelligence (AI) technique developed to mimic human problem solving behaviour. Ripple Down Rules (RDR) are a proven technique for the acquisition of classification knowledge from expert directly while they are using the system, which complement CBR in a very fruitful way. This combination allows the incremental improvement of the menu design system while it is already in routine use.

We believe MIKAS allows better dietary practice by leveraging a dietitian's skills and expertise. As such MIKAS has the potential to be helpful for any institution where dietary advice is practised.

Following the development of coronary heart disease in 1989 I was introduced to an alumnus of the Pritikin Longevity Center in California and I adopted the regimen of diet and exercise. Within five months I was able to abandon all medication and was symptom free. My medical colleagues maintained that, because I had recovered, the Consultant's diagnosis must have been wrong—there can be no cure of coronary heart disease by lifestyle changes alone.

As a result of my experience I decided to review the literature to study the natural history of coronary heart disease. My findings strongly suggest that the increase in incidence in the last hundred years from virtually nil to epidemic proportions is due to lifestyle changes and that the disease can be reversed. I list a number of doctors who have influenced large numbers of people to change their lifestyles with great success. They have utilised mainly plant-based diets whose composition is the same or similar to that which Pritikin originally used and which is still extant at the Longevity Center.

I conclude by suggesting that the possibility of reversal of coronary heart disease has profound implications for its treatment with enormous potential savings for the National Health Service.

Chocolate has a number of extremely appealing sensory qualities, and often are given by patients to those working in hospital wards as a token of their gratitude. This study examines whether this has any harmful effects. Eighty nine qualified nurses, 21 ward assistants, and 18 nursing students completed a structured questionnaire, showing that on average 5.4 chocolates were eaten each day. About 2/3 of the recipients ate 1–5 chocolates a day, while a few (3% ) ate more than 20 per day. The most common reason given for eating them was simply because they were there. However, a quarter felt that a healthier alternative would be an adequate alternative gift. Around a third of those surveyed felt that the chocolates had a detrimental effect on their well-being.

It is unlikely that chocolates will ever be scarce on hospital wards because there is a never-ending supply from grateful patients. Consequently, it will be difficult to restructure the chocolate-eating habits of those working on hospital wards.

Teent is an unripe fruit of Ker (Capparis decidua) a xerophytic bush. It contains 15.1% protein and 42.88% fibre. Being a rich source of fibre, the process for preparation of teent powder and other recipes were standardized for feeding hyperlipidemic subjects. The diet of 15 hyperlipidemic adults (40–60 yrs.) was supplemented with teent for three months and plasma triglycerides, total lipids and phospholipids were analysed before and at the end of the experiment. Significant reductions in plasma triglycerides, total lipids and phospholipids concentration were noticed.