Childhood Diet Tied to Adult Glycemic, BP Control

Low-fat, high-fiber diet in childhood may improve glycemic, blood pressure control in adult women

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Following a low-fat and high-fiber diet in childhood and adolescence may improve long-term glycemic control and lower blood pressure in adult women, according to a study published online Oct. 12 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Joanne F. Dorgan, M.P.H., Ph.D., from the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, and colleagues investigated the long-term effects of dietary intervention of reduced fat and increased fiber intake during childhood and adolescence on metabolic syndrome prevalence in young adult women. Nine years after completion of the Dietary Intervention Study in Children (DISC), 230 female DISC participants (aged 25 to 29 years), who had not been pregnant or breastfeeding in the previous three months, were followed up from 2006 to 2008. Between the end of the DISC trial and the follow-up visit, no dietary intervention was given. Metabolic syndrome was the primary end point of the study.

The investigators found that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome did not differ between the treatment groups, and the syndrome was not common. After adjustment for nondietary variables, the intervention group had significantly lower mean systolic blood pressure (107.7 and 110.0 mm Hg, respectively) and mean fasting glucose compared with the control group (87.0 and 89.1 mg/dL, respectively). Concentrations of large very-low-density lipoprotein particles were lower in the intervention versus control group. Results were materially unchanged after adjusting for current diet.

"Interventions in childhood and adolescence to decrease total fat and saturated fatty acids and increase fiber intake could have long-term beneficial health effects," the authors write.

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