Showing papers by "Barbara E. Millen published in 2010"

Diet Quality, Physical Activity, Smoking Status, and Weight Fluctuation Are Associated with Weight Change in Women and Men

Abstract: The effect of diet quality on weight change, relative to other body weight determinants, is insufficiently understood. Furthermore, research on long-term weight change in U.S. adults is limited. We evaluated prospectively patterns and predictors of weight change in Framingham Offspring/Spouse (FOS) women and men (n = 1515) aged > or =30 y with BMI > or = 18.5 kg/m2 and without cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer at baseline over a 16-y period. Diet quality was assessed using the validated Framingham Nutritional Risk Score. In women, older age (P < 0.0001) and physical activity (P < 0.05) were associated with lower weight gain. Diet quality interacted with former smoking status (P-interaction = 0.02); former smokers with lower diet quality gained an additional 5.2 kg compared with those with higher diet quality (multivariable-adjusted P-trend = 0.06). Among men, older age (P < 0.0001) and current smoking (P < 0.01) were associated with lower weight gain, and weight fluctuation (P < 0.01) and former smoking status (P < 0.0001) were associated with greater weight gain. Age was the strongest predictor of weight change in both women (partial R(2) = 11%) and men (partial R(2) = 8.6%). Normal- and overweight women gained more than obese women (P < 0.05) and younger adults gained more weight than older adults (P < 0.0001). Patterns and predictors of weight change differ by sex. Age in both sexes and physical activity among women as well as weight fluctuation and smoking status in men were stronger predictors of weight change than diet quality among FOS adults. Women who stopped smoking over follow-up and had poor diet quality gained the most weight. Preventive interventions need to be sex-specific and consider lifestyle factors.

An Obesity Dietary Quality Index Predicts Abdominal Obesity in Women: Potential Opportunity for New Prevention and Treatment Paradigms

Abstract: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01-HL-60700, R01-HL-54776); Department of Family Medicine and the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences, Boston University School of Medicine; National Institutes of Health (N01-HC-25195)

Dietary behavior assessment: historical and recent innovations.

Abstract: e p a s s d h ssessment of nutritional status involves the consideration of a complex array of factors across four major domains: dietary behavior, physical anthroometry, clinical history and examinations, and biochemcal parameters (1). Registered dietitians possess the nique training to guide and implement these assessents and to provide the careful interpretation of data eeded to achieve the most accurate appraisal of nutriional risk in individuals and populations. Techniques of ietary behavior assessment and methodological validaion are particularly important topics given their broad pplications in nutrition research and clinical settings nd relatively recent advances that may have profound ractice implications. In this issue of the Journal, Araujo and her Brazilian olleagues’ elegant paper (2), a model for other investigaors, provides an opportunity to comment on historical nd recent advancements in techniques of assessing food nd nutrient intake as well as other dimensions of human ietary behaviors. It also enables the examination of staistical techniques applied in new or innovative ways ith dietary data to improve estimates of food and nutrint intake or to refine the characterization of dietary ehaviors and their determinants. These accomplishents have expanded the validated options for dietary xposure assessment, improved the application of these ethods and interpretation of the data generated, and nhanced the abilities of researchers and clinicians to xamine relationships among diet, disease risk, and ealth outcomes to better inform public policy and pracice.

Nutrient Database Development: A Historical Perspective from the Framingham Nutrition Studies

Abstract: Food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) are commonly used in nutritional epidemiology to assess habitual eating habits. Development of an appropriate food and nutrient database is required for translating information derived from FFQs into estimates of nutrient intake, dietary quality, or for absolute or rank-ordered nutritional risk assessment. We discuss the procedures used recently in designing a historical nutrient database to analyze an FFQ administered in 1984-1988 to Framingham Offspring-Spouse Study members. This systematic approach should inform other research in the field. The self-administered 145-item Framingham FFQ is semi-quantitative with seven nonoverlapping response categories to determine annual consumption frequency. The database development process included selection of the US Department of Agriculture's Nutrient Database for Standard Reference as the primary raw data source, expansion of the 145 FFQ line items to code individual foods to assign nutrient values, a selection process to match foods to appropriate nutrition codes for nutrient information, and a statistical model to calculate nutrient intakes. The historical database contains 449 foods and nutrient data for all 29 nutrients available in 1985. The adequacy with which an FFQ can provide reliable diet assessment data depends on the integrity of the underlying database. We outlined a systematic protocol to derive usual dietary intake from an FFQ using a robust nutrient database that is appropriate for the Framingham Offspring-Spouse Study FFQ and its assessment time-frame. The database can be updated to accommodate changes in the food supply and eating behaviors and creates a foundation for future nutrition research.