The Corruption of the Food Industry - Part 2

My most recent post has generated quite a bit of discussion (via email and Internet forums). I wanted to follow up with the study regarding whole grain cereal and the lay press article that was published by Reuters. I want to preface this post with the statement that not every company or interest group is corrupt.

For example the Cattleman's association, where I got the cookbook, is genuinely interested in funding studies that will show how beef can be a healthy part of ones diet. Now I know that beef can be part of a health diet but beef has gotten such a bad rap with the whole saturated fat thing that many people don't think so. The Pistachio council is another stand up organization that is interested in further developing scientific studies that examine the benefits of pistachios (ex: healthy fats, plant sterols, phytonutrients, etc).

Back to the studies at hand. I've bolded the part's I find interesting and put my comments in italics. First the lay press article.

---------------------------
High-fiber cereals promote healthy weight loss
Dieting strategy reduces fat and calories, boosts nutrients
Reuters
Updated: 4:10 p.m. ET Sept 15, 2006

NEW YORK - High-fiber whole grains may help dieters lose weight while making gains in some nutrients, new research suggests.

In a six-month study of 180 overweight adults, researchers found that whole-grain cereals helped people lose weight [How? The non grain group lost just as much weight] while boosting their consumption of fiber, magnesium and vitamin B-6.

Their intake of these nutrients was higher than that of dieters who cut calories but did not eat whole-grain cereal. The implication, say researchers, is that fiber-rich cereals can help people cut calories while maintaining or improving the quality of their diet.

The study, which received funding from Kraft Foods, Inc. [at least they were up front about this], is published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

A problem with cutting out calories or certain foods to shed pounds is that nutrients can be lost from the diet. The current findings suggest that whole-grain cereals can help prevent some of these losses, according to Dr. Kathleen J. Melanson, an assistant professor of nutrition science at the University of Rhode Island, Kingston and the study’s lead author.

She and her colleagues arrived at their results by comparing three weight-loss strategies: exercise only; exercise plus a reduced-calorie diet that emphasized whole-grain cereals; and exercise plus a low-cal diet that included no cereals.

The researchers randomly assigned 180 overweight, sedentary men and women to one of the three groups. Those in the “cereal” group were given packets of whole-grain breakfast cereal and were told to eat a serving twice a day for the first half of the study, then once a day for the remaining time.

In the end, both diet groups lost more weight than the exercise-only group, with dieters in each dropping roughly 12 pounds, on average. But the cereal group cut down on saturated fat to a greater extent and bumped up their fiber [this is a plus], magnesium and B-6 intake.

On the other hand, all three groups were short on calcium and vitamin E, the researchers found.

“Many study volunteers who were in the cereal group ate their cereals as snacks from baggies rather than with milk or yogurt,” Melanson explained, “so that may be why their calcium intakes did not increase as much as expected.”

Besides having their cereal with milk, dieters can get calcium from foods like green vegetables, almonds and canned fish with bones, she said.

Vitamin E sources include vegetable oils like canola and safflower, some fish, wheat germ, almonds, peanut butter, avocado and mango.

Some of these foods, like nuts and oil, are high in calories, Melanson noted, so people trying to lose weight will have to exercise portion control.
Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14853327/

--------------------------------
Now the abstract from the actual manuscript.
--------------------------------------

Consumption of Whole-Grain Cereals during Weight Loss: Effects on Dietary Quality, Dietary Fiber, Magnesium, Vitamin B-6, and Obesity

Kathleen J. Melanson, PhD, RD, Theodore J. Angelopoulos, PhD, MPH, Von T. Nguyen, MS, RD, Margaret Martini, PhD, RD, Linda Zukley, MA, RN, Joshua Lowndes, MA, Thomas J. Dube, MA, Justin J. Fiutem, MS, Byron W. Yount, MA, James M. Rippe, MD
<br>Abstract

Objective
While various weight-management approaches produce weight loss, they may differ in dietary quality. We monitored changes in nutrient intakes in overweight and obese subjects on three different weight-management programs.

Design
Randomized clinical trial (pilot study) with two 12-week phases: phase 1, weekly counseling; phase 2, monitoring only.

Subjects/setting
One hundred eighty nonsmoking, sedentary overweight and obese adults began this outpatient study; 134 (body mass index [calculated as kg/m2]=30.9±2.4; age=42.3±1.2 years) were used in analyses.

Intervention
Twenty-four weeks of exercise only (control group), hypocaloric diet plus exercise, or hypocaloric diet with fiber-rich whole-grain cereals plus exercise.

Main Outcome Measures
At weeks 0, 12, and 24, diet quality was assessed by 3-day food records and body weight was measured.

Statistical Analyses Performed
Three-way analysis of variance with repeated measures.

Results
The hypocaloric diet with fiber-rich whole-grain cereals plus exercise decreased energy intake more than exercise only (P=0.032). By week 12, the hypocaloric diet with fiber-rich whole-grain cereals plus exercise and the hypocaloric diet plus exercise decreased total fat more than exercise only, which was sustained in the hypocaloric diet with fiber-rich whole-grain cereals plus exercise at 24 weeks (P<0.001). style="font-weight: bold;">The hypocaloric diet with fiber-rich whole-grain cereals plus exercise increased total fiber, insoluble fiber (both P<0.001), magnesium (P=0.004), and vitamin B-6 (P=0.002)[the vitamin this isn't that huge of a finding] intakes more than the hypocaloric diet plus exercise and exercise only. Calcium and vitamin E intakes were inadequate in all groups. Weight loss was similar in the hypocaloric diet with fiber-rich whole-grain cereals plus exercise and the hypocaloric diet plus exercise.

Conclusions
Weight-reduction strategies may be associated with reduced intake of micronutrients, such as calcium and vitamin E. However, a hypocaloric diet with fiber-rich whole-grain cereal is effective for improving or maintaining other aspects of dietary quality during weight loss.