Helping Women Previously Treated for Breast Cancer Make Dietary Changes
The ongoing nationwide Women's Healthy Eating and Living Study is trying to determine if a diet high in vegetables, fruit, and fiber and low in fat can reduce the recurrence of breast cancer in women. Researchers at the University of California-San Diego at La Jolla and other institutions looked at whether the techniques being used to help women consume this diet are working. The study makes use of individual telephone counseling directed by registered dietitians as well as attendance at group cooking classes. The researchers found that in the first year of the study, involving more than 700 women, the volunteer participants "achieved large increases in intakes of vegetables, fruits and fiber and decreased intakes of fat." They conclude: "It is possible to facilitate major dietary change in women previously treated for breast cancer" using this type of motivational intervention.
When It Comes to Nutrition and Health, Knowledge is Power
Are nontraditional "lifestyle change" programs effective in improving people's health and reducing their risk of chronic disease? Researchers at Brigham Young University studied the Coronary Health Improvement Project, utilized by an Illinois health system. "The program highlights the importance of making more healthful lifestyle choices for preventing, arresting and reversing many common Western diseases and teaches participants how to implement these choices through a change in diet, physical activity, and smoking cessation," the researchers say. They found that participants in the four-week, 40-hour education course learned the importance of a lifestyle that included healthy food choices and regular physical activity. They also found improvements in participants' resting heart rate, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and blood pressure. The researchers conclude the CHIP program is effective in changing nutrition and physical activity behaviors in the short term "and has the potential to dramatically reduce the risks associated with common chronic diseases in the long term."
The Journal of the American Dietetic Association is the official research publication of the American Dietetic Association and is the premier peer-reviewed journal in the field of nutrition and dietetics.
With nearly 70,000 members, the American Dietetic Association is the nation's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. Based in Chicago, ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being. Visit ADA at www.eatright.org.
Journal
Journal of the American Dietetic Association