Fat and cholesterol intake of attendees at two national USA cardiovascular annual meetings

Plasma Cholesterol Concentrations, Dietary Fat Intake, and Cholesterol Intake in Pharmacy Students

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of formal education on hyperlipidemia on pharmacy students' dietary fat consumption and plasma cholesterol concentrations over a 3-month period.

DESIGN

Prospective, open, nonrandomized, controlled trial.

SETTING

College of pharmacy.

PARTICIPANTS

First professional-year (P1) and second professional-year (P2) pharmacy students.

INTERVENTION

P2 students received 6 hours of formal education regarding cardiovascular risk factors and National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines for detection and treatment of hyperlipidemia.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Percentage of total caloric intake from fat and saturated fat and plasma cholesterol concentrations after 1 and 3 months.

RESULTS

Significant differences were found between the percentage of total caloric intake from total and saturated fat for P1 and P2 students at all time points, with P1 > P2. A significant time effect was also found for percentage of total caloric intake from total and saturated fat as well as dietary cholesterol consumption for both groups, indicating no net effect of the formal educational intervention. No differences were found in average percentage of total caloric intakes from total and saturated fat between our student sample and that of a national sample of Americans of similar age from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Series III (NHANES III). Female pharmacy students appeared to have lower plasma cholesterol concentrations than women of the same age group in the general American population.

CONCLUSION

Formal education did not alter students' percentage of total caloric intake from total and saturated fat or plasma cholesterol concentrations. Approximately 20% of pharmacy students may be eligible for more intensive diet and, perhaps, drug therapy for treatment of hypercholesterolemia.

Effects of an obesity prevention program on the eating behavior of African American mothers and daughters

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death in the United States. Obesity is highly related to CVD risk, especially in African American women. This study explored the efficacy of a culturally specific obesity prevention program. Designed for low-income, inner-city African American girls and their mothers, the program addressed the importance of eating a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet and increasing activity. Mother-daughter dyads were randomly assigned to a 12-week treatment or an attention placebo group. Participants were assessed at pre- and posttreatment on dietary intake, including daily fat intake, daily saturated fat intake, percentage of daily calories from fat, and daily cholesterol intake. Results showed significant differences between the treatment and control mothers for daily saturated fat intake and percentage of calories from fat. Differences among treatment and control groups were also noted for the daughters on percentage of daily calories from fat. Implications of the findings for developing culturally specific health risk reduction programs are discussed.