Diet-health Relationships Research Articles

Rationale for an international conference series on dietary assessment methods

The rationale for establishing an international conference series on dietary assessment methods is based on the needs expressed by numerous national and international organizations for better methods of collecting and analyzing dietary data. Dietary assessment is essential for investigating diet-health relationships, formulating policies to reduce health risks, predicting the adequacy of the food supply, and monitoring trends in food use, exposure to contaminants, and compliance with dietary guidelines. The conference rationale is discussed with respect to 1) the need for improved methods to enhance our understanding of diet-health relationships, 2) the need for better methods to facilitate development and monitoring of nutrition-related health objectives, and 3) the importance of international participation. Improved methods for assessing food intakes will enhance our understanding of the role of diet in the etiology and prevention of disease and will facilitate the development of nutrition policy and programs leading to improved health worldwide.

Methodological Considerations on Intra- versus Interpopulation Correlation Studies

Epidemiological studies on the diet-health relationship have frequently resulted in confusing controversies rather than in clear and consistent findings. As an illustration of this phenomenon the relationship between dietary cholesterol and coronary heart disease (CHD) is used in this presentation. The epidemiological evidence favoring a strong and causal relationship between dietary cholesterol, serum lipids and CHD relied until some years ago largely on studies between populations. However these studies are more susceptible to confounding error. Therefore epidemiological studies have been conducted within populations looking into the relationship between dietary cholesterol, CHD risk and CHD frequency on the individual level. Until recently no consistent association had been observed between dietary cholesterol and serum total cholesterol levels or between dietary cholesterol and CHD mortality in homogeneous groups of individuals; this relates probably to methodological problems in measuring the dietary variable with sufficient precision. More recent studies using a more precise dietary methodology and a prospective study design over longer time periods result in observations that are more in line with the interpopulation study observations. Besides epidemiological evidence it is necessary to compare these findings with those from experimental work and from clinical studies. This approach has the best chance to separate ecological fallacy from real existing associations between diet and health.

Nutritional implications of microparticulated protein.

Recent technological developments have permitted the large-scale preparation of ingredients enriched with microparticulated proteins (MPP) that can be used to replace much or essentially all of the fat in a variety of traditional, full-fat foods. These include ice cream, salad dressings, mayonnaise and cheese spreads. In this paper we consider the nutritional implications of MPP, beginning with an assessment of the need for a fat-substitute and then the potential impact of MPP on the fat content of applicable foods and on the diet as a whole. Under projected conditions of maximum use of these MPP-containing foods by the consumer, the mean reduction in the fat content of the "current U.S. diet" would be about 14%. Although not dramatic, this represents a significant move in the direction of dietary changes that have been recommended by national and international authorities concerned with diet-health relationships. The risk/benefit ratio associated with inclusion of MPP in the diet is considered to be very high. This new development by the food industry is of considerable scientific interest and of potential practical importance for the nutrition and well-being of our society.