Volume 4, Number 2, 1995
Asia Pacific Clinical Nutrition Society award for 1995-- a citation for Professor Gu Jing-Fan. CS Lo
Editorial. Advising about and monitoring food and nutrient intake change and the health consequences. ML Wahlqvist
Book reviews:
Clinical
Sports Nutrition. Louise Burke and Vicki Deakin
The
Diner's Dictionary - Foods and Drinks from A to Z. John
Ayto
Abstracts:
Dietary fibre content and composition of vegetables in Taiwan area
Su-Chien Chang, Meei-Shyuan Lee, Ching-Hui Li, Mou-Liang Chen
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995) Volume 4, Number 2: 204-210
Fifty-three fresh vegetables frequently consumed in the Taiwan area were analysed for their dietary fibre content by an enzymatic-gravimetric method. Of these vegetables, the total dietary fibre ranged from 0.7g (per 100g edible weight) in large cucumbers to 13.2g in lima beans. Further fractionation of total dietary fibre has shown that the majority of vegetables contain more insoluble fibre than soluble fibre with the exception of sponge gourds, burdocks and carrots. Soluble fibre in most vegetables contain mostly uronic acids while the insoluble noncellulose polysaccharides (INCP) fraction is composed mainly of xylose and galactose. Mushrooms are unique in that both their soluble fibre and INCP fractions consist mainly of glucose. These results of dietary fibre content and composition of vegetables are useful for dietary assessments in Taiwan and the Southeast Asian area.
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Australian "Code of Practice for the Weight Loss Industry"
M Wahlqvist and Consumer Advocacy and Financial Counselling Association (CAFCA) working party, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995) Volume 4, Number 2: 211-219
During the period 1993-1994 an Australian committee, concerned about the risks to consumers, and the standing of the industry, convened to develop a "Code of Practice for the Weight Loss Industry". This was catalysed by a report from the Australian state of Victoria's (Consumer Advocacy). The committee had representatives of consumer organisations, Government (State and Federal), Health Care Professions (medical, dietetic and clinical psychology) and Industry and was chaired by Professor Mark Wahlqvist of Monash University, Melbourne. It launched the Code on 24t 1000 h May 1994 when key members of the industry signed an agreement. The principles of the Code are that there are agreed standards and rights for consumers: to be informed, to choose, to be heard, to redress where difficulties have arisen and to consumer education and the objectives are:
This would appear to be the first time such a code has been agreed to by industry. It may serve as a model for other countries where there is an increasing prevalence of obesity and expansion of the weight loss industry. If it fails as a voluntary code, the Consultative Committee has recommended that it be enshrined in law.
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Use of food intake and body mass index (BMI) in the assessment of adult nutritional status in Viet Nam including a maternal-child analysis
Ha Huy Khoi, Tu Giay
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995) Volume 4, Number 2: 220-224
The authors have used food intake and Body Mass Index (BMI) to assess Vietnamese adult nutritional status. Chronic Energy Deficiency (CED) is prevalent in Vietnamese adults with an average percentage about 40%. The mean value of BMI in the 26-40 year old age group is 19.7 but it decreases thereafter except in urban areas. The change in the BMI curve distribution varies among adults living in rural, urban and mountainous areas. There seems to be a relationship between the BMI of mothers and the nutritional status of their children under the age of 5. Some findings revealed a relationship between maternal BMI and birth weight and between CED and health status. The proposed cut-off point of Ferro-Luzzi-James in the classification of CED was applied to data from Vietnam.
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Estimation of losses of iodine during different cooking procedures
Geetanjali Goindi, MG Karmarkar, Umesh Kapil, J Jagannathan
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995) Volume 4, Number 2: 225-227
Iodine is an essential micronutrient. The human requirement of iodine is 150 mcg/ day. About 90% of this comes from food while 10% from the water. The most commonly used method of prophylaxis against iodine deficiency is via fortification of salt with iodine. At the beneficiary level iodised salt containing 15ppm of iodine is supplied. However, very few studies have been conducted to assess the losses of iodine during cooking procedures. Hence, a systematic study was undertaken with the objective to assess the losses of iodine during different cooking procedures. Fifty recipes commonly cooked in Indian families constituted the sample size. It was found that the mean losses of iodine during different procedures used was 1) pressure cooking 22%, 2) boiling 37%, 3) shallow frying 27%, 4) deep frying 20%, 5) roasting 6%, 6) steaming 20%. The findings of the present study indicate that further studies are needed in this field.
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Review. Differences in nutritional status between vegans, vegetarians and omnivores
Heather M Crockart
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995) Volume 4, Number 2: 228-232
Well planned vegetarian diets effectively meet Recommended Dietary Allowances and are a 'healthy' alternative to meat eating. Lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets have similar nutrient composition to omnivore diets. Vegan diets may be low in vitamin B 12. The fat content of the vegan diet is significantly lower and the polyunsaturated:saturated fatty acid ratio higher than in the omnivore diet. The fibre content of the vegan diet is about twice that of the lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet which is about three times that of the omnivore diet. Protein and essential amino acid content of the vegan diet is adequate. Protein intake of vegans is lower than that in omnivores. Blood lipoprotein changes due to intervention with a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet are favourable regarding coronary artery disease risk. Infants and children have special needs. Full discussion of the effect of vegetarianism on child growth is beyond the scope of this report. Several dietary guidelines are given; choosing a wide variety of foods is recommended.
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The IUNS cross-cultural study of "Food Habit 1000 s In Later Life"-- an overview of key findings
Wahlqvist ML, Hsu-Hage BH-H, Kouris-Blazos A, Lukito W and IUNS study investigators:
IUNS Committee on "Nutrition and Aging": ML Wahlqvist (Chairman), L Davies (Deputy chairman), BH-H Hsu-Hage, Y Horie, H Hermanova, A Kouris-Blazos, DM Prinsley, D Roe, NS Scrimshaw, N Solomons, B Steen, M-T Sun, A Trichopoulou, WA van Staveren , X- H Zhao;
Anglo-Celtic Australians: ML Wahlqvist, A Kouris-Blazos, BH-H Hsu-Hage, W Lukito; Greek Australians: A Kouris-Blazos, ML Wahlqvist; Greeks in Spata, Greece: A Kouris-Blazos, A Trichopoulou, E Polychronopoulos, ML Wahlqvist; Swedes in Gothenberg, Sweden: B Steen, E Rothenberg, O Augustsson, BG Eriksson, V Sundh, B Warne; Japanese in Japan: Y Horie, K Horie, K Sugase, R Inai, Y Kasugai, T Teshima, H Nishikawa; Filipinos in Manila, Philippines: P de Guzman; Chinese in Beijing, China: D Roe, Y Wang; Chinese in rural and urban Tianjin, China: S Xi, M-T Sun, G-F Gu.
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995) Volume 4, Number 2: 233-243
The need to understand the nutritionally related health problems of elderly people in developing countries became more apparent following a WHO Workshop in Hyderabad, India, in 1986. On behalf of WHO, Dr Gary Andrews published a study of the social and health status of elderly people in the Western Pacific in 1986. For all of the difficulties in cross-cultural comparisons, there were enough great and important differences in social factors and self-perceived health indicators to make a case for further cross-cultural studies on a wider international scale.
The IUNS Committee on "Nutrition and Aging" began to address the way in which the cross-cultural aspects of nutritional assessment and the social and health status methods could be applied using the socio-anthropological approaches. A project to study "Food Habits In Later Life" was formulated. Communities where there was a concentration on food culture and its relationship to health were recruited into the project to be assessed non-invasively, without the limitations that collection of biological specimens might impose. Results from 13 elderly communities in Australia, China, Greece, Japan, the Philippines, and Sweden studied in 1988-1992 have now been documented in book form. This book also brings together some cross-cultural studies of the elderly which have considered food and health at the same time as the IUNS project: these studies are the EC SENECA study, a study by the National Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene in Beijing of six Chinese communities with distinctive food patterns, a New Zealand-Australian study of two communities and studies in Central America. The IUNS study itself has the attributes of an ecological investigation and the related limitations. The ethnological and anthropological focus, however, represents an advantage in that the range of variation of the nutritional exposure under consideration is much greater among populations than within any particular population. The IUNS study is unique in the scope of the variables studied. Some of these study communities will be followed prospectively to take advantage of what a cohort study can provide in the elderly.
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Serum lipids of castrated rats given hormonal replacement and fed diets with added soybean oil or palm oil
Ima-Nirwana S, Jamaludin M, Khalid BAK, Z Merican and Baharom S
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995) Volume 4, Number 2: 244-248
The effects of castration with/ without testosterone replacement in male rats, and ovarectomy with oestrogen replacement in female rats, on serum lipids were studied. Simultaneous feeding with diets fortified with 20% weight/ weight (w/ w) soybean oil (Sb) or palm oil (P0) were done to determine the influence of these oils on serum lipids in castrated and sex hormone replaced rats. Two month old male and female Rattus norwegicus rats were given the above treatment for 4 months, and their sera assayed for lipid profile. Castration increased HDL-cholesterol (HDLchol) and total cholesterol (Tchol) concentrations. Testosterone or oestrogen replacement in male and female rats respectively increased HDLchol and decreased LDL-cholesterol (LDLchol) concentrations. Testosterone replacement also decreased Tchol concentration back to noncastrated levels, and reduced serum triglycerides (TG) to lower than non-castrated levels. Addition of Sb or P0 to the diet increased the LDLchol in the testosterone or oestrogen replaced male and female rats, but there was no difference between the two groups. P0 raised serum TG of the testosterone replaced group compared to control and Sb groups. In conclusion, testosterone and oestrogen were found to have favourable effects on serum lipids. Sb and P0 did not differ in their effects on lipoprotein cholesterol and Tchol, but P0 raised serum TG as compared to Sb.
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Improvement of liver function in rats subjected to hepatotoxin by a crude protein derived from leaves of Cajanus indicus
Prantosh Bhattacharyya, Sarmistha Dutta, Kalyan Bose, & Debasis Ghoshal
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995) Volume 4, Number 2: 249-250
Rats subjected to hepatotoxicity with CCl4 were treated with crude protein isolated from Cajanus indicus. It was observed that after treatment with the protein for seven days serum bilirubin and GPT were reduced significantly (P< 0.001) compared to CCl4 control. GOT, however, showed no appreciable change.
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Physiological differences of soluble and insoluble dietary fibre fractions of brown algae and mushrooms in pepsin activity in vitro and prote 1000 in digestibility
Y Horie, K Sugase and K Horie
This study was presented in part at the 15th International Congress of Nutrition on, Adelaide, Australia, Sept, 1993.
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995) Volume 4, Number 2: 251-255
Soluble and insoluble dietary fibre fractions were separated from Konbu, Wakame and Hijiki seaweeds and Shiitake, Hiratake and Yanagimatsutake mushrooms, respectively, and the effects of the fractions on pepsin activity in vitro and of those from Wakame on apparent protein digestibility in vivo were studied. Addition of each dietary fibre fraction inhibited pepsin activity in vitro in all the dietary fibre fractions tested, particularly the inhibition by soluble dietary fibre fractions being significantly greater, by 62-99%, than that by insoluble dietary fibre fractions, by 22-36% (P< 0.01 in each food). This suggests that soluble dietary fibres in algae and mushrooms are likely to play a different physiological role from insoluble dietary fibres. Measurement of viscosity of each soluble dietary fibre fraction resulted in the correlation of viscosity with the inhibition of pepsin activity by the soluble fraction. Young adult rats given a normal protein diet containing 5% of the soluble dietary fibre fraction derived from the Wakame seaweed showed a greater decrease in apparent protein digestibility by 9.4% than those given the diet containing 5% of the insoluble one (P< 0.01). This may have resulted in the significantly lower body weight gain of the former rats than that of the latter rats.
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Iodine content of salt in National Capital Territory of Delhi
U Kapil, S Bhasin, G Goindi, D Nayar
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995) Volume 4, Number 2: 257-258
Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) constitute a major public health problem in India. The most commonly used method of prophylaxis against iodine deficiency is via fortification of salt with iodine. The Government of India has issued ban notification on sale of non iodated salt in Delhi since 1984. The present study was conducted to assess the iodine content of iodised salt consumed by beneficiaries in Delhi, with the aim to strengthen the IDD control programme activities implemented by the state government. A total of 763 salt samples, collected from an equal number of households constituted the study sample. It was found that 82.4% of the salt samples had an iodine content of 15 ppm and above. Eleven percent of the salt samples had iodine contents between 10 ppm and 15 ppm and 5% had less than 10 ppm of iodine. The results of the present study indicate that there is a need to continue monitoring the quality of iodised salt at different levels of distribution and consumption to ensure the success of the activities of the National Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme (NIDDCP).
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Diet and oral cancer - a case control study
MPR. Prasad, TP Krishna, S Pasricha, MA Quereshi, K Krishnaswamy
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995) Volume 4, Number 2: 259-264
Apart from strong genotoxic carcinogens, other environmental factors are implicated in both causes and prevention of cancers. A hospital based case control study was conducted to examine the role of diet in the aetiology of oral and oropharyngeal cancers. In this article, past dietary intake and nutrient estimates, obtained through diet history method and biochemical nutritional status at the onset of the disease are presented. The results of the study suggest that poor dietary intake of vegetables and fruits coupled with low estimated intake of betacarotene, thiamine, riboflavin, folate, vitamin C, iron and copper, modify the risk potential. The biological indicators of the nutritional status such as plasma vitamin A, E, red cell folate and plasma zinc were significantly reduced in cases and yielded moderate risk estimates. The risk estimates though of moderate magnitude are of importance in relatively homogeneous subjects with respect to diet and nutrition.
The findings are in line with several other epidemiological observations. The combined effects of micro nutrients appears to be protective in countering the adverse effects of exogenous exposures to tobacco. The protective role of vegetables and fruits is of potential interest in terms of etiologic causes and prevention.
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The effects of McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut meals on recommended diets
Nasseem M Malouf, Stephen Colagiuri
Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1995) Volume 4, Number 2: 265-269
The objective was to study the effect of three common takeaway meals on recommended healthy diets. New South Wales Department of Health recommended diets of 5020, 6275, 9205 and 12,540 kilojoules were used. An evening meal from each of these diets was substituted with one of three common fast food chain takeaway meals 1, 2, 3 and 5 times per week. The 3 takeaway meals were from McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken. The effects of each of these meals on average daily kilojoule, fibre, fat, P/S ratio, protein and carbohydrate intakes were assessed.
The takeaway meals were high in fat and kilojoules and low in fibre and therefore contravened the Dietary Guidelines for Australians. Addition of these meals increased average kilojoule consumption and the percentage energy contribution of fat and decreased the P/S ratio and fibre intake. The magnitude of these deleterious effects was directly proportional to the number of times 54d the meals were included each week and inversely proportional to the energy content of the diet. The adverse effects were greatest with the McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken meals.
Takeaway meals may be convenient but the meals which were tested were too high in fat and kilojoules and too low in fibre to be a regular part of a balanced diet. Even one takeaway meal per week adversely affects the lower kilojoule recommended healthy diets.
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Copyright © 1995 [Asia Pacific Journal of
Clinical Nutrition]. All rights reserved.
Revised: January 19, 1999.