Blood pressure, stroke, and coronary heart disease: Part 1, prolonged differences in blood pressure: prospective observational studies corrected for the regression dilution bias

Recently, dietary pattern analysis has emerged as an alternative and complementary approach to examining the relationship between diet and the risk of chronic diseases. Instead of looking at individual nutrients or foods, pattern analysis examines the effects of overall diet. Conceptually, dietary patterns represent a broader picture of food and nutrient consumption, and may thus be more predictive of disease risk than individual foods or nutrients. Several studies have suggested that dietary patterns derived from factor or cluster analysis predict disease risk or mortality. In addition, there is growing interest in using dietary quality indices to evaluate whether adherence to a certain dietary pattern (e.g. Mediterranean pattern) or current dietary guidelines lowers the risk of disease. In this review, we describe the rationale for studying dietary patterns, and discuss quantitative methods for analysing dietary patterns and their reproducibility and validity, and the available evidence regarding the relationship between major dietary patterns and the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Dietary pattern analysis: a new direction in nutritional epidemiology.

行銷硏究 : Marketing research

A review of 144 published studies of the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity reveals a strong inverse relationship among women in developed societies. The relationship is inconsistent for men and children in developed societies. In developing societies, however, a strong direct relationship exists between SES and obesity among men, women, and children. A review of social attitudes toward obesity and thinness reveals values congruent with the distribution of obesity by SES in different societies. Several variables may mediate the influence of attitudes toward obesity and thinness among women in developed societies that result in the inverse relationship between SES and obesity. They include dietary restraint, physical activity, social mobility, and inheritance.

Socioeconomic Status and Obesity: A Review of the Literature

Molecular Mechanisms of Human Hypertension

A data base of the National Center for Health Statistics, Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I (HANES I), was used to perform a computer-assisted, comprehensive analysis of the relation of 17 nutrients to the blood pressure profile of adult Americans. Subjects were 10,372 individuals, 18 to 74 years of age, who denied a history of hypertension and intentional modification of their diet. Significant decreases in the consumption of calcium, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C were identified as the nutritional factors that distinguished hypertensive from normotensive subjects. Lower calcium intake was the most consistent factor in hypertensive individuals. Across the population, higher intakes of calcium, potassium, and sodium were associated with lower mean systolic blood pressure and lower absolute risk of hypertension. Increments of dietary calcium were also negatively correlated with body mass. Even though these correlations cannot be accepted as proof of causation, they have implications for future studies of the association of nutritional factors and dietary patterns with hypertension in America.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/224/4656/1392.full.pdf

Blood pressure and nutrient intake in the United States

Consumption of sugars.

Food, eating habits, and health: a further examination of the relationship between food eating patterns and nutritional health.

Organic foods and local foods have come to the forefront of consumer issues, due to concerns about nutrition, health, sustainability, and food safety. A conjoint analysis experiment quantified the relative importance of, and trade-offs between, apple search and experience attributes (quality/blemishes, size, flavor), credence attributes (conventional vs. organic production method, local origin vs. product of USA vs. imported), and purchase price when buying apples. Quality is the most important apple attribute. Production method-organic versus conventional-had no significant impact on preferences. Key Words: conjoint analysis, organic, locally grown, credence attributes (ProQuest: ... denotes formula omitted.) Two significant trends have been developing in the area of fresh fruit and vegetables. Organic foods and local foods have come to the forefront of consumer issues in the past 5 years. These trends have been influenced by issues related to nutrition, health, sustainability, and food safety. As consumers have become increasingly concerned with the quality, safety, and production features of food, the demand for food products with credence attributes (e.g., origin, organic, locally grown, environment-friendly) on product labels has been garnering increased attention (Dentoni et al. 2009). Studies suggest that credence attributes impact consumer buying intentions. Certain segments of the population are willing to pay more for food products carrying a label identifying specific credence features, including safety and quality characteristics, certified as being present by a trusted source (Mabiso et al. 2005). No area has been more affected by these trends than fresh fruits and vegetables. Although organic foods have received a lot of corporate attention because of fast growth rates, the growth has been from a very low base and the absolute amount is still quite low. In 2008, according to a Nielsen Report, organic sales of fresh produce were only 6 percent of the total fresh produce sales, and only about one percent of total supermarket sales were organic. Additionally, the current economic crisis has made the price differential more of a barrier to purchase. In contrast to organic, buying local has become more in vogue. Whether fact or myth, consumers have seen buying local fresh products as assurance of food safety and as insurance against foodborne illness, and because of the lack of transit, locally grown produce is perceived to be fresher and tastier. Supermarkets are identifying the farmers and producers in advertising, in in-store promotional material, and on their website. Some stores are listing how far their food travels to the store. The objective of this study is to determine the relative strength of two credence attributes, organic and locally produced, within the context of other fresh apple search and experience attributes. Specifically, the study addresses which credence attribute has the higher impact on consumers' preference for the product. A conjoint analysis experiment quantified the relative importance of, and trade-offs between, apple physical search and experience attributes (sweetness,1 quality/blemishes,2 size, crispness), credence attributes (conventional vs. organic production method, local origin vs. product of USA vs. imported), and purchase price on purchase intention when buying apples. Background on Credence Attributes Consumers demand high quality, safety, and freshness in their fruits and vegetables. Quality is a multidimensional attribute, with certain quality dimensions (color, odor, taste) readily discernible by consumers (Anderson and Anderson 1991). These readily discernible dimensions are known as search and experience attributes. "Search" attributes refer to visual attributes of products (such as size, color, and blemishes) for which consumers can seek pre-purchase information, while "experience" attributes (such as taste) are ones that are ascertained on the basis of consuming the product (Nelson 1970, 1974, Stigler 1961). …

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John L. Stanton

Papers

Blood pressure and nutrient intake in the United States

Blood pressure and nutrient intake in the United States

Consumption of sugars.

Food, eating habits, and health: a further examination of the relationship between food eating patterns and nutritional health.

The Relative Importance of Search versus Credence Product Attributes: Organic and Locally Grown