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Research Team Area:
Human Nutrition
Project Locations:
Lincoln University; Foster Hall, Small Animal Research Facility, and
Jefferson City Boys and Girls Club
Objectives:
The long-term goal of this project is to produce information for
healthful dietary recommendations and modifications of life-style to
improve cardiovascular health and maintain better cardiovascular health
for the general public of the United States as well as under-served
populations in the State of Missouri. We designed three objectives to
accomplish this goal.
The first objective of this study aims to investigate the effectiveness
of nutrition education and physical exercise on improvement of eating
habits and body mass index in children.
The second objective is to study the effects of race and obesity on risk
factors of cardiovascular disease.
The third objective of this project is to study the effects of diet
energy levels and exercise on energy balance and biomarkers of
cardiovascular health in diet-induced obese rats.
Summary of Work:
To meet the first objective, children 8 to 12 years of age are being
recruited through the Jefferson City Boys and Girls Club to participate
in an after school nutrition education / physical activity program.
Program leaders will provide information about healthy eating habits and
samples of healthy foods with an emphasis on including more fruits,
juices and vegetables in each child’s diet. Children will also
participate in games and activities designed to increase individual
physical activity levels. Weight and height data will be collected and a
questionnaire will be used to assess eating habits, food preferences and
physical activity patterns at the beginning and end of the study.
To meet the second objective, overweight (BMI > 28 kg/m2) adult women
(40 to 60 years) will be recruited to participate in a 6-month study.
Women in the control group will be asked to maintain their usual dietary
and physical activity habits. Women in the intervention group will
receive group education and individual counseling to increase physical
activity, adjust dietary energy and saturated fat intake, and increase
fruit and vegetable consumption for weight reduction. Blood samples,
health history, dietary intake, physical activity level, and
anthropometric data will be collected at the beginning and end of the
study.
To meet the third objective, an animal model for obesity will be
developed by feeding male Sprague-Dawley rats a high-fat diet for a
period of 12 weeks. Based on weight gain, rats will be divided into
diet-induced obese and diet-resistant rats. Rats will be fed either
low-fat or high-fat diet and assigned to a treadmill exercise or
sedentary treatment. Following 10 weeks of diet and exercise treatment,
blood samples will be analyzed for lipid profiles, C-reactive protein,
and leptin levels. Carcasses will be analyzed for total lipid and energy
content.
Impact:
The Human Nutrition Research Team’s project aims to produce information
for life style modification to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
Nutrition is essential for sustenance, health and well-being. Dietary
factors are associated with 5 of 10 leading causes of deaths: coronary
heart disease, some types of cancer, stroke, type II diabetes, and
atherosclerosis. Preventive interventions will improve health of the
population and reduce the Nation’s economic burdens for medical
treatments. Considering the loss of economic productivity attendant to
illness, death and morbidity other than medical costs, preventive
intervention of cardiovascular diseases by life style modification has
great economic impact. Cardiovascular diseases cost the Nation well over
$135 billion. The nutrition information that will be produced from the
current project of the Human Nutrition Research Team will be useful for
preventive dietary intervention programs for residents of Missouri as
well as general public of the Nation to reduce the risks of
cardiovascular diseases. The information also will be useful for
nutrition education for the general public to change eating habits and
increase physical activity for better health.
For More Information, Contact:
Jerry G. Vander Tuig, Professor / Principle Investigator
Lincoln University Cooperative Research
107 Foster Hall
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0029
Phone: (573) 681-5382
E-mail: Dr. Jerry G. Vander Tuig
vandertj@lincolnu.edu
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