Methods to increase fruit and vegetable intake with and without a decrease in fat intake: compliance and effects on...

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Science
• Oncology
• Public Health

Background:

• Dietary patterns emphasizing reduced fat and increased fruit and vegetable (FV) intake are associated with decreased cancer risk.
• Understanding the impact of selective dietary modifications on body weight and energy intake is crucial for cancer prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate intervention methods for selectively modifying dietary fat and/or FV intake in women with a family history of breast cancer.
• To assess the compliance, body weight changes, and energy intake control associated with these dietary interventions.

Main Methods:

• 122 women with a family history of breast cancer were randomized into four diet groups for 12 months.
• Interventions included counseling to increase FV intake, decrease fat intake, or both, using modified exchange list diets.
• Dietary compliance, body weight, and body fat percentage were monitored.

Main Results:

• Low-fat and combination low-fat/high-FV diets reduced fat intake to ~16% of energy.
• High-FV and combination diets increased FV intake to ~11 servings/day.
• The high-FV diet group gained weight (6 lbs) and body fat, while the low-fat diet group lost weight (5 lbs) and body fat. The combination diet group showed no significant changes.

Conclusions:

• Selective dietary modifications can impact body weight and composition.
• Energy intake control was achieved only when increased FV intake was balanced by decreased fat intake, with daily enumeration of both components.
• Maintaining energy balance through dietary composition changes alone, without explicit enumeration, was not consistently achieved.