Areas Of Diet Research Articles

Integrative Oncology Approaches to Reduce Recurrence of Disease and Improve Survival.

After a cancer diagnosis, patients ask what they can do in addition to the recommended treatments to increase their survival. Many turn to integrative medicine modalities and lifestyle changes to improve their chances of survival. Numerous studies have demonstrated that lifestyle changes can significantly improve survival rates for cancer patients. Less support exists for the use of natural products or supplements to improve cancer survival. In this manuscript, we review key findings and evidence in the areas of healthy eating habits, physical activity, stress management and social support, and sleep quality, as well as natural products and supplements as they relate to the cancer recurrence and survival. While more research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms underlying the associations between lifestyle changes and cancer survival, findings suggest that lifestyle modifications in the areas of diet, physical activity, stress management and social support, and sleep quality improve clinical cancer outcomes. This is especially true for programs that modify more than one lifestyle habit. To date, outside of supplementing with vitamin D to maintain adequate levels, conflicting conclusion within the research remain regarding the efficacy of using natural products or supplement to improve cancer recurrence of disease or cancer survival. A call for further research is warranted. Lifestyle screening and counseling should be incorporated into cancer treatment plans to help improve patient outcomes. While the scientific community strives for the pursuit of high-quality research on natural products to enhance cancer survival, transparency, dialogue, and psychological safety between patients and clinicians must continue to be emphasized. Proactive inquiry by clinicians regarding patients' supplement use will allow for an informed discussion of the benefits and risks of natural products and supplements, as well as a re-emphasis of the evidence supporting diet and other lifestyle habits to increase survival.

Linking perception and reality: Climate-sustainability perception and carbon footprints in the Nordic countries

Nordic countries are often recognized as leaders in climate-sustainability. A potential dissonance exists, however, between this perception and the measured sustainability of their lifestyles. In global terms, they are highly affluent countries spreading their climate impact beyond their borders by importing a large share of the energy and resources used by their residents. In this research, we focus on the potential dissonance between the self-perceived climate-sustainability of the lifestyles in the Nordic countries and the actual consumption-based carbon footprints (CBCF), estimated through a survey-based CBCF calculator with ∼8000 respondents across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. Using bivariate and regression analysis, the study found that across all levels of climate-sustainability perception the CBCF the respondents ranged from 6.3 to 11.3 tCO2-eq/capita, representing a significant difference (79%) between the highest emitting (very low perception) and lowest emitting groups (high perception). A general negative correlation between elevated levels of climate-sustainability perception and CBCF was found, predominantly in the areas of diet, vehicle possession, and consumption of goods and services. Intriguingly, a counterintuitive increase in CBCF at extremely high levels of climate-sustainability perception was seen. Additional factors that contribute to higher climate-sustainability perception are explored, such as age, climate literacy, and pro-climate attitude (PCA). Conversely, individuals with high incomes or belonging to households with children display lower levels of climate-sustainability perception. Across all perception groups, however, the results confront the perception of the Nordics as climate leaders as Nordic CBCFs were still far above the average CBCF for the lowest global 50% of Earth's population and were far above (∼2–4x) suggested 2030 targets to remain below 1.5 °C warming. The findings of this study serve as an invaluable resource for policymakers aiming to align public perception with effective sustainability measures, thereby assisting in reducing CBCF and achieving global climate goals.

Factors Related to Self-Care Behaviors in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam

Introduction: T2DM causes a heavy burden on individuals, patients' families and communities because it affects quality of life, requires a long-term and comprehensive health care. Self-care behavior is an important factor in reducing the disease impact and progression. Objective: The study was conducted to investigate the status and factors related to self-care behaviors of self-care behavior of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 408 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus at Thai Nguyen National Hospital through a questionnaire to assess self-care behaviors in people with diabetes mellitus (SDSCA). Results: The highest percentage of patients who performed good self-care behaviors (from 5 to 7 days) was physical activity (88.0%) and the lowest was blood glucose level testing (2.7%); the rates of patients who followed the diet well, took care of their feet, and adhered to medication was 62.3%, 17.6%; and 13.0%, respectively. Number of people in the family were related to the diet (t* = -2.294, p = 0.022). Number of people in the family (t* = -1.984,; p = 0.048), education qualification (t* = -2.112, p = 0.035), and income (t* = -2.147, p = 0.032) were related to physical activities. Education qualification was related to blood glucose level testing (t* = -2.501, p = 0.013). Duration of diabetes mellitus was related to drug adherence (F** = 6.412, p = 0.002). Education qualification (t* = -2.340, p = 0.02), and income (t* = -3.356, p = 0.001) were related to foot care activities of people with diabetes mellitus. Self-care knowledge was related to self-care behavior in the areas of diet, physical activity, blood glucose level testing and foot care activities (p = 0.001, 0.00, 0.00, 0.008). Conclusion: This study has proven that people with diabetes mellitus had low self-care behaviors in many areas. There were many factors related to self-care behaviors. Therefore, health workers need to personalize in counseling, health education, and provide knowledge about self-care activities of people with diabetes mellitus.

A META-REGRESSION AND BAYESIAN REGRESSION FRAMEWORK FOR COMBINING RESULTS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND SURVEYS OF PEOPLE’S LIFESTYLES TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHAT INTERVENTIONS WILL HELP THEM LIVE LONGER AND HEALTHIER

There has been increasing research into interventions that people can do in areas of diet, exercise, nutritional supplements, sleep, and stress management to improve their health and even slow down or reverse their aging process. Challenges that people face applying these research findings to their daily lives include the fact that this research is evolving and not yet “settled science,” most research looks at single interventions in order to maintain experimental control (whereas people are interested in maximizing their benefits by adopting multiple interventions), and different interventions or combinations thereof may be differentially effective for different people. The present paper presents a methodology that uses meta-regression and Bayesian regression to combine results from the scientific literature and surveys of people’s lifestyles into an overall predictive model that can make recommendations to people based on their individual characteristics and lifestyles as to what interventions are likely to produces the largest gains in wellness and lifespan extension.

Mechanistic evidence underpinning dietary policy: bringing the jigsaw pieces together?

Observational research, mainly prospective cohort studies (PCS), has represented a long-standing challenge for those attempting to draw up consistent policy recommendations in the area of diet and health. This has been due to the inherent limitations in ascribing causality from observed associations due to problems of confounding of the findings and publication and citation bias. Developments in nutritional epidemiology research over the past 20-30 years have enabled causal criteria to be derived from observational studies and the totality of the primary literature to be reviewed objectively, reducing previous focus on narrative accounts of individual studies. The gold standard approach to assessing causal relationships is via randomised controlled trials (RCT), but neither RCT nor PCS provide direct evidence for biological plausibility, which is a key criterion for assessing causality. Although extensive mechanistic data are available in the literature, a systematic approach to select and assess quality and relevance of published studies has not been available. This limits their use in the development of diet and health policy. Recent studies have investigated a proposed two-step framework and novel methodologies for integrating heterogeneous data from cell, animal and human studies. Pilot and feasibility studies have shown this to be a useful novel approach to studies of diet and cancer, but further refinements are required, including development of appropriate quality criteria which are less dependent on RCT designs. Future studies are needed to fully verify the approach and its potential for use in other diet-disease relationships.

Counting, Coping, and Navigating the Flux: A Focused Ethnographic Study of HIV and Diabetes Self-Management.

Approximately 10-15% of people living with HIV are also diagnosed with diabetes. To manage their two chronic conditions, people must undertake certain activities and adopt behaviors. Due to overlapping symptoms, complex medication regimens, and heavy patient workloads, implementing these self-management practices can be difficult. In this focused ethnography, data were collected from semi-structured interviews and limited participant-observation with a selected subset of participants to gain insight into self-management challenges and facilitators. We conducted interviews and multiple observations with 22 participants with HIV+T2DM over the period of 9months. Participants experienced numerous barriers to self-management in the areas of diet, medication adherence, and mental health. Social and familial support, as well as consistent access to care, were facilitators for optimal self-management. At the same time participants' lives were in a unique flux shaped by the dual diagnoses, and therefore, required constant mental and physical adjustments, thus illustrating challenges of managing chronicity.

Does Type of Food Affect The Prey Preferences of Three-Spined Sticklebacks?

Three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) are carnivorous feeders that can eat a wide variety of foods, although this animal's relatively small size limits its prey choice. An assessment of the diet and feeding patterns of fish can provide helpful insights. In this study, a three-spined sticklebacks model system was used to hypothesize that, whether a number of factors including the prey’s visual appearance in terms of coloration, texture, size, shape, and movement capability of food can affect the preference for food, it might be expected that patterns for food consumption will alter. Therefore, changes in feeding behavior may be caused by the size, color, smell, visibility, and palatability.
 The current study examined the effects of host nutrition on the preferences of diet. Here present the results of a diet type study in which fed sticklebacks on a diet of either Artemia spp., Daphnia, or bloodworms (Chironomus larvae). The results showed significant effects of preferences of diet. Further, fish showed preferred bloodworm and Artemia rather than Daphnia. In the total number of different bites consumed, the time (sec) spent by sticklebacks in various diet areas, and the number of visits by sticklebacks to the three diet areas. The results have demonstrated that the influence of factors such as variation in nutritional composition, color, size, coloration, texture, size, and shape as well as the movement of nutrients in the diet has a significant effect on the preferences of diet the fish in the study.

Qualitative study on public health nurses' experience and assessment of nutritional and physical activity counseling of women with gestational diabetes.

INTRODUCTIONThe number of pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has increased worldwide. GDM is a known risk factor for pregnant mothers and their fetuses that may increase various complications and health concerns. Nutrition and physical activity (PA) counseling during pregnancy can be crucial in supporting pregnant women to adopt healthier lifestyle practices and reducing these risks. This study describes public health nurses’ (PHNs) experiences of nutrition and PA counseling and their assessments on how to develop the counseling for pregnant women with GDM.METHODSThis is a descriptive qualitative study containing theme-interviews of 11 PHNs working in an antenatal maternity care setting. The data were analyzed using inductive content analysis.RESULTSFive main themes were identified related to PHNs’ experiences and assessment of nutrition and PA counseling for pregnant women with GDM: competency of nutrition and PA counseling, challenges of counseling, positive experiences of counseling, printed material, and counseling practices. PHNs considered nutrition and PA counseling both challenging and rewarding. There was lack of knowledge and skills to provide proper counseling and adequate material to support versatile counseling.CONCLUSIONSMaterial related to nutrition and PA counseling should be updated and standardized. PHNs need further training to improve knowledge in the area of diet and exercise.

Prevalence Rates of Loneliness and Its Impact on Lifestyle in the Healthy Population of Madrid, Spain.

Background: The Spanish population presents higher levels of loneliness than citizens of countries in Northern Europe. Numerous studies have linked loneliness to increased morbidity and mortality, but very few studies have associated loneliness with healthy lifestyles. The objectives of this research are to identify the feeling of unwanted loneliness in various age and gender groups in the city of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid, Spain), to determine lifestyle habits in the areas of diet and physical exercise, and to examine the association between lifestyle habits and perceived loneliness. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational and analytical study on the perception of loneliness among men (59.06%) and women (60.06%) in a sample (n = 611) of the general population (N = 198,945), by means of random assignment of a health survey, was conducted. The data were collected using an ad hoc questionnaire. The data were stratified and analyzed with the IBM SSPS® v.25 software package. Results: The frequency of loneliness is stratified by sex and age, and healthy lifestyle habits in terms of diet and physical exercise are analyzed. Conclusions: People with perceived loneliness do not have worse lifestyle habits. However, women living with other people have a higher perception of loneliness than those living alone. Specifically, the perception of loneliness in young adult women could suggest a low level of moderate physical exercise.

Learn to Eat and Get a Move On

Healthy dieting and the practice of physical activities are deemed fundamental for the adequate growth, development and maintenance of health in young people. This project takes into account these priority areas and is directed towards the educational community, giving a voice to the students through projects such as "Ambassadors of Health" and "E- P@articipate". With "Learn to Eat and Get a Move On" a transversal involvement between community partners, projects and disciplinary areas were achieved, namely through the projects "Mediterranean Diet", "Geodesic Greenhouse" and physical education, with activities being developed in the areas of diet, health and environment. In the greenhouse, aromatic seeds were planted to highlight their importance in a diet, as well as a way to reduce or replace salt.

App-technology to improve lifestyle behaviors among working adults - the Health Integrator study, a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundMobile health, mHealth is recognized as a strategy to improve lifestyle behaviors. Research targeting specific lifestyle behaviors has shown that interventions using smartphones can be effective. However, few studies have evaluated solutions with multicomponent interventions, tailoring the intervention to the specific needs of the participant using a combination of mHealth and conventional treatment. To accomplish this, we developed Health Integrator, an mHealth platform with services and offers in the areas of diet, physical activity, sleeping habits, stress, alcohol and tobacco use. In the system, the user selects an area of intervention together with a health coach and set weekly goals. This study protocol presents the design and methodology of the Health Integrator Study, a randomized controlled trial to promote improved lifestyle behaviors.MethodsA three-arm parallel randomized controlled trial (1:1:1) is conducted in the Stockholm County, Sweden. In total, 209 employees at a four different companies representing both white and blue collar workers, have been recruited.Participants are randomized to either a control group or to one of two intervention groups receiving a 3-month lifestyle behavior change program including either 1) use of Health Integrator and monthly health coaching sessions or 2) only Health Integrator.At baseline and follow-up after 3- and 6-months, all participants answer questionnaires assessing lifestyle behaviors and quality of life. At baseline and the 3-month follow-up (end of intervention period), weight, height, waist circumference and blood pressure are measured, and all participants wear an Actigraph accelerometer for 7 days to assess physical activity. Blood lipid profile and HbA1c are measured among all participants at baseline. If baseline measures fall outside the normal range, a second measurement is done after 3 months.DiscussionThe Health Integrator Intervention Study will evaluate if a personalized intervention combining mHealth and conventional programs for lifestyle change, with or without additional health coach sessions, can improve lifestyle behaviors and quality of life. Based on the results from this trial, Health Integrator can easily be implemented within a broad public.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03579342. Retrospectively registered, first submitted May 8, 2018.

Physical activity, diet and other behavioural interventions for improving cognition and school achievement in children and adolescents with obesity or overweight.

Physical activity, diet and other behavioural interventions for improving cognition and school achievement in children and adolescents with obesity or overweight.

Physical activity, diet and other behavioural interventions for improving cognition and school achievement in children and adolescents with obesity or overweight.

Physical activity, diet and other behavioural interventions for improving cognition and school achievement in children and adolescents with obesity or overweight.

KNOWLEDGE OF HEATLH EFFECTS OF DIETARY FIBRE AMONG NURSES AND THE GENERAL POPULATION IN CROATIA: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Introduction: Nurses play diverse roles in educating patients about a healthy diet and in promoting healthy eating habits, through their conversations with patients and families and through their work providing enteral and parenteral feeding to critically ill patients. Given the position of nurses as key providers of dietary guidance, and given the health benefits of dietary fibre, we wanted to assess the level of fibre-related knowledge among nurses in Croatia.Objectives: The primary objective of this cross-sectional s tudy was to compare knowledge between nurses and the general population from Croatia about the health importance of consuming dietary fibre.Methods: Knowledge from 369 nurses and 727 residents from the general population about fibre was assessed using a validated survey developed by the CI&DETS Polytechnic Institute, Viseu, Portugal. Differences between nurses and the general population were assessed for significance using the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test, while associations between study variables and knowledge were explored using Spearman rank correlation coefficients.Results: The level of knowledge among nurses and the general population in Croatia about dietary fibre varies from «undecided» to «partial knowledge». No association was observed between nurse education level and either general knowledge about fibre or knowledge about the health benefits of fibre intake. No significant differences were observed between nurses and the general population in general knowledge (p = 0.894) or in health-related knowledge (p = 0.578).Conclusion: The results suggest the need for updating and expanding nursing curricula. The similar level of knowledge between nurses and the general population about dietary fibre indicates the need to strengthen nurse education and training in the areas of diet and diet therapy in Croatia. Given the role of nurses as diet educators and advisors, this may help improve the quality of health care.

Research Gaps in Diet and Nutrition in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. A Topical Review by D-ECCO Working Group [Dietitians of ECCO

Although the current doctrine of IBD pathogenesis proposes an interaction between environmental factors and gut microbiota in genetically susceptible individuals, dietary exposures have attracted recent interest and are, at least in part, likely to explain the rapid rise in disease incidence and prevalence. The D-ECCO working group along with other ECCO experts with expertise in nutrition, microbiology, physiology, and medicine reviewed the evidence investigating the role of diet and nutritional therapy in the onset, perpetuation, and management of IBD. A narrative topical review is presented where evidence pertinent to the topic is summarised collectively under three main thematic domains: i] the role of diet as an environmental factor in IBD aetiology; ii] the role of diet as induction and maintenance therapy in IBD; and iii] assessment of nutritional status and supportive nutritional therapy in IBD. A summary of research gaps for each of these thematic domains is proposed, which is anticipated to be agenda-setting for future research in the area of diet and nutrition in IBD.

The co-occurrence of depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment and its relationship with self-care behaviors among community dwelling older adults with diabetes.

The aims of the present study were to investigate the co-occurrence of depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment in community dwelling older adults with diabetes and its relationship with specific diabetes self-care behaviors. We analyzed data from two national samples of older adults (65years or older) with self-reported physician-diagnosed diabetes (N=1034), who participated in the 2005 or 2009 National Health Interview Survey in Taiwan. The Mini-Mental State Examination was used to assess cognitive function. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms. The study assessed self-care behaviors including medication adherence, exercise, healthy diet, and self-monitoring of blood glucose. In this study, 8.8% of participants with diabetes had both depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment. After adjusting for other factors, participants with both cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms were less likely to exercise (Prevalence Ratios (PR)=0.66; 95% Confidence Intervals (CI)=[0.47-0.91]; P-value=0.011), and have a healthy diet (PR=0.82; 95%CI=[0.70-0.96]; P-value=0.012). Our results illustrate the high prevalence of combined depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment and that this combination is associated with worse self-care behaviors in older adults with diabetes. These findings highlight the difficulty that some older adults with diabetes may have in maintaining self-care behaviors in the presence of depressed mood and cognitive impairment, particularly in the areas of diet and exercise. The results emphasize the importance of providing more support for these aspects of self-care to such older adults.

The Effect of Family-Centered Empowerment Model on Treatment Plans Adherence of Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft

Background: Coronary artery diseases are among the most important causes of disability and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is considered as one of the most important methods of treatment. The improvement of post-surgery adherence to treatment plan is one of the main healthcare objectives. Objectives: The present study attempted to determine the eect of family-centered empowerment model on the adherence of pa- tients undergoing CABG to the treatment plans. Methods: This research was a clinical trial and a quasi-experimental study, including pre and post tests with a control group per- formed on 102 patients and active family members of the patients hospitalized at the intensive care unit (ICU) of Imam Khomeini hospital of Tehran, Iran in 2014. For the experimental group, the family-centered empowerment model was implemented with four steps. The control group received only common care. The rate of patients' adherence to the treatment plans was then investigated in three areas of diet, medication, and physical activities before and after the intervention, and the data were analyzed using PASW Statistics V18 software. Results: The two groups were similar in terms of demographic variables. After the intervention, there was a significant dierence based on the results of the independent T-test in terms of mean scores of adherence to the treatment plan in the three areas men- tioned above (P = 0.000). Also, before and after the intervention, a significant dierence was observed in the experimental group in terms of the above mean scores (P = 0.000). Conclusions: Based on the research findings, the family-centered empowerment model seems to be practical and feasible for the patients under CABG, which can bring improvement or correction of adherence to the treatment plan.

Diagnosis and management of angina for the cardiac nurse

The burden of treating stable angina is vast, as it is estimated that almost 2 million people currently have or have had angina in the UK ( Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), 2006 ). Angina is the main symptom of myocardial ischaemia, usually caused by atherosclerotic obstructive coronary artery disease, restricting bloodflow and therefore oxygen delivery to the heart muscle ( National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2011 ). Characteristic features of stable angina include tightness or heaviness across the chest, which can radiate to the left arm, neck, jaw and back. However, it is important to be aware that some people present with atypical symptoms. A diagnosis of stable angina can be based on clinical assessment alone or with the addition of diagnostic testing. Diagnosic tests used in this instance can include: exercise testing, computerised tomography (CT), myocardial perfusion scanning and stress echocardiography, in addition to blood tests and electrocardiogram which all patients will undergo. Management of angina includes medical therapy, the aim of which is to help reduce symptoms and prevent cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction and stroke ( Montalescot et al, 2013 ). Guidelines on stable angina by NICE (2011) and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) ( Montalescot et al, 2013 ) provide us with recommendations on which medications should be prescribed. Lifestyle changes are a key aspect of angina management: namely in the areas of diet, exercise, smoking, diabetes, hypertension and psychological issues.

Perceptions and use of sources of health knowledge by young adolescents.

Understanding how adolescents acquire health knowledge and where they currently seek answers to health-related questions may facilitate the development of interventions that will be both engaging and effective, and may help to improve health over the short- and long-term. The present study sought to investigate the perception and use of sources of health knowledge by young adolescents as stratified by gender. Thirty 50-min long focus groups were conducted with 143 participants. Focus group questions were built around the following three main categories: sources of knowledge, including preferred sources, sources accessed for general health, and sources accessed for personal/sensitive health; health information and behaviour change, including characteristics of health knowledge presentation that have influenced behaviour change; and learning preferences to promote behaviour change. Content analysis of focus group transcripts was performed. The use of sources of health knowledge was similar between genders, with some differences noted between sources accessed for general as compared to personal health questions. As well, motivation appeared to be the primary influence of health behaviour change, with knowledge being reported as both as positive and neutral influence, most notably in the areas of diet and exercise. Lastly, adolescents reported several characteristics of health knowledge presentation that they felt would motivate positive behaviour change, including engaging and participatory activities. These results should be considered in the development of interventions to improve health-related behaviour in adolescents, although future research to quantify the use of sources of health knowledge by this population is recommended.

Motherhood and Family Health Advocacy in Nutrition and Exercise: “Doing the Tradition”

ABSTRACTStudies tend to subsume women’s routine family healthcare responsibilities under the larger heading of “household labor.” This study argues that, women’s—and particularly mothers’—family healthcare work in the area of diet and physical activity represents a distinctive area for critical family communication research with potentially serious psychological, emotional, and physical consequences for women and their families. Interviews (N = 30) with young adult-family member dyads supported this assertion. Interview data illustrated that mothers struggled to fulfill incongruous health goals for themselves and their family members, and did so at the expense of their familial relationships (particularly with children) and their own health. Moreover, dyadic data analysis highlighted how young adults ascertained and carried on the “tradition” of the established mother-as-healthcare-provider role. Implications for theory and future research directions conclude this study.