Association of anthropometric measures and hemostatic factors in postmenopausal women: a longitudinal study

Association between Three Waist Circumference-Related Obesity Metrics and Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rates

Studies that have assessed the associations between obesity and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) have reported inconsistent results. This cross-sectional study was performed to investigate the associations between three waist circumference (WC)-related obesity metrics (waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and waist-to-height^0.5 ratio (WHt.5R)) and eGFRs. This study included 2133 men and 3443 women who were older than 40 years with eGFRs ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m² from the Korean Multi-Rural Communities Cohort. We calculated the residual body mass index (BMI) to reduce multicollinearity among the obesity metrics and performed multiple linear regression. For both sexes, among the adjusted models, most of the general obesity metrics were significantly associated with eGFRs. Particularly for women, the WC-related and general obesity metrics had a stronger effect on eGFRs in the quartile models that included the BMI and the residual BMI, respectively. When WC-related obesity metrics had a stronger effect than the general obesity metric, for both sexes, WHtR showed a significant impact than WHt.5R and WHR on eGFRs. Reducing multicollinearity had an important role in assessing the obesity metrics’ association with eGFRs. Overall, applying the residual method in further studies might help with evaluating the obesity paradox on renal function.

Effect of culinary education curriculum on Mediterranean diet adherence and food cost savings in families: a randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

Diet-related diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the USA. While the critical aspects of a healthy diet are well known, the relationship between community-based, teaching kitchen education and dietary behaviours is unclear. We examined the effect of a novel culinary medicine education programme on Mediterranean diet adherence and food cost savings.

DESIGN

Families were randomised to a hands-on, teaching kitchen culinary education class (n = 18) or non-kitchen-based dietary counselling (n = 23) for 6 weeks. The primary outcome was adherence to the validated nine-point Mediterranean diet score, and the secondary outcome was food cost savings per family.

SETTING

The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine, a community teaching kitchen in New Orleans.

PARTICIPANTS

Families (n = 41) of at least one child and one parent.

RESULTS

Compared with families receiving traditional dietary counselling, those participating in hands-on, kitchen-based nutrition education were nearly three times as likely to follow a Mediterranean dietary pattern (OR 2·93, 95% CI 1·73, 4·95; P  <  0·001), experiencing a 0·43-point increase in Mediterranean diet adherence after 6 weeks (B  =  0·43; P  <  0·001). Kitchen-based nutrition education projects to save families $US 21·70 per week compared with standard dietary counselling by increasing the likelihood of consuming home-prepared v. commercially-prepared meals (OR 1·56, 95% CI 1·08, 2·25; P  =  0·018).

CONCLUSIONS

Community-based culinary medicine education improves Mediterranean diet adherence and associates with food cost savings among a diverse sample of families. Hands-on culinary medicine education may be a novel evidence-based tool to teach healthful dietary habits and prevent chronic disease.

Medical school-based teaching kitchen improves HbA1c, blood pressure, and cholesterol for patients with type 2 diabetes: Results from a novel randomized controlled trial

AIMS

A medical school-based teaching kitchen sought to establish proof-of-principle for its hands-on Mediterranean diet (MD)-based cooking and nutrition curriculum for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

METHODS

This pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) allocated 27 patients with T2D between the control and GCCM arms. Mixed effects linear regression with repeated measures was used to investigate differences from baseline to 6 months. The primary and secondary endpoints were HbA1c -0.3% (-27 mmol/mol) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) -10 mmHg and a 25% improved responses in dietary habits and attitudes and competencies in healthy nutrition.

RESULTS

Compared to the control group, the GCCM group had superior HbA1c reduction (-0.4% vs. -0.3%, p = 0.575) that was not statistically significant. There were significantly greater reductions in the GCCM vs. control group for DBP (-4 vs. 7 mmHg, p=0.037) and total cholesterol (-14 vs. 17 mg/dL, p = 0.044). There was a greater proportion increase though not significant of GCCM subjects compared to controls who mostly believed they could eat correct portions (18% vs. -11%, p = 0.124), and who used nutrition panels to make food choices (34% vs. 0%, p = 0.745).

CONCLUSION

This is the first known RCT demonstrating improved biometrics using a novel MD-based hands on cooking and nutrition curriculum for patients with T2D. These results suggest subsequent clinical trials are warranted on the grounds of documented feasibility and clinical efficacy.