Cigarette smoking, dietary intake, and physical activity: effects on body fat distribution--the Normative Aging Study

Article Abstract:

Many studies have reported that cigarette smokers from all age groups weigh less than people who do not smoke. Also, studies have shown that quitting smoking is associated with weight gain. However, the effects of smoking on body fat distribution are less clear. Previous studies have reported that the waist-to-hip ratio (the ratio of the circumference of the waist to the circumference of the hips - used as a measure of central body fat) is greater in smokers than in nonsmokers when age and body mass index (BMI, a measure of obesity) are taken into account. Cigarette smoking has been reported to be associated with different dietary habits, levels of alcohol consumption, and levels of physical activity. To determine whether these factors affect the relationship between cigarette smoking and body fat distribution, 765 men between the ages of 43 and 85 were evaluated. Information on smoking habits, dietary habits, alcohol consumption, physical activity and measurements of body fat distribution were obtained from the Normative Aging Study (an ongoing study started by the Veterans Administration in 1961). Eleven percent of the subjects were smokers, 31 percent were nonsmokers, and 59 percent were former smokers. The diets of the smokers were higher in saturated fat and lower in fiber and carbohydrate than the diets of those who never smoked. Smokers consumed more alcohol than nonsmokers, and both smoking and alcohol intake were associated with increased central body fat. Greater levels of physical activity were associated with lower levels of central body fat. When age, BMI, dietary habits, alcohol intake and physical activity were taken into account, the smokers still had a larger amount of central body fat (measured as the abdomen to hip ratio) than the nonsmokers. It is concluded that smoking is directly related to body fat distribution, even when other behaviors associated with smoking are taken into account. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Physiological aspects, Smokers, Fat, Fats

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Sensory preferences for fats: relationships with diet and body composition

Article Abstract:

The links between high-fat diets and increased risk of obesity, cancer and heart disease are well established. Studies have shown that the consumption of fat is more closely associated with taste preference than with nutrition knowledge or health consequences. Therefore, taste preference for fat may influence the diet and health of the individual. To investigate the relationships among taste preference for fat, fat content of foods consumed, dietary habits and body composition, 30 volunteers kept a 10-day diary of all foods consumed and were also tested for their taste preference for fat. During the test period, each subject consumed and ranked, based on preference, 10 different foods, each of which was prepared in two to five different versions with different fat contents. The average daily caloric intake for males and females was 2,787 calories and 1,615 calories, respectively, and the average percent body fat was 17 and 28 percent, respectively. For approximately 70 percent of the subjects, fat intake represented 30 to 39 percent of the total calories consumed daily. The sensory preference for fat was related to the percent body fat of the individual subject; in general, those who showed stronger sensory preferences for fat had a higher percentage of body fat than those who showed less sensory preference for fat. However, there was no relationship between sensory preference for fat and the percent of daily calories consumed as fat, nor between the percent of daily calories consumed as fat and the percent body fat of the subject. It is concluded that further studies are needed to determine the relationships among fat preferences and eating behaviors. The relationship between percent body fat and preference for fat may be of diagnostic value for identifying people with an increased risk for obesity. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Food

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Diet and 20-y mortality in two rural population groups of middle-aged men in Italy

Article Abstract:

The diets of 1,536 middle-aged men living in two rural villages in Italy were evaluated in 1965. During the next 20 years, data on their mortality from different diseases were collected. For the analysis of dietary habits, the subjects were separated into four groups; men within each group had similar eating habits that were in turn different from the other three groups. Results showed some trends that may suggest a link between diet and disease. The group with the greatest alcohol intake had the highest death rate from coronary heart disease and stroke. Previous research has suggested that persons with very low and very high alcohol intake have a greater risk of heart disease than persons who drink moderately. Groups that consumed more fat had a higher mortality rate from cancer; this relationship has been observed in other studies as well. Death from liver cirrhosis was most common in the group with the highest alcohol intake, which was expected. Alcohol appeared to be the most harmful component of the diet since mortality of the high-alcohol group was twice that of the three other groups. It should be emphasized, however, that these trends do not imply that diet directly caused disease and mortality and relationships that appear significant can be due to chance. These results are also based on evaluation of the diet at one point in time, whereas the individual subjects' diets most likely changed over time and could have been different both before and after the study. Mortality is clearly influenced by many factors over the entire lifetime.

Italy, Mortality, Causes of, Surveys, Death, Diet

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