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Nutrition Counseling Makes a Difference
Posted December 27, 2002
People who receive nutrition counseling to help them lower
their cholesterol levels are more satisfied with their quality
of life and health care than people who try to lower their
cholesterol in other ways.
So says a study in the December issue of the Annals of Internal
Medicine.
The six-month study included 90 people with high cholesterol.
Half the group received special counseling from a registered
dietitian or nutrition professional as part of the medical
care for their high cholesterol.
The patients received personalized feedback on their diet
changes, handwritten instructions and recipe suggestions,
and educational brochures.
The other half of the group received the usual care for high
cholesterol from their doctors. That consisted mostly of verbal
advice and handouts on how to lower cholesterol levels.
The study found the people in the counseled group significantly
lowered their cholesterol levels, improved dietary habits
and activity levels, and lost more weight compared to the
people who didn't receive counseling.
The counseled group also maintained or improved their quality
of life, including their enjoyment of food and convenience
of preparing a low-fat diet.
More information
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about
healthy eating. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
Date: December 19, 2002
Copyright © 2002 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
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