women health

Researchers observed that African-American women whose main diet consisted of vegetables and fruits gained less weight than those who consumed more meat and fried foods.

The study, published in the ‘American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,’ is the first to establish a link between healthier diet and weight in African-American women, a population which has a high obesity rate.

Study on dietary habits
The study included 41,351 women who were enrolled for the Black Women’s Health study in 1995. They were aged 21-54 years.

The latest study conducted by researchers at the Florida State University, found that apples help in reducing the cholesterol levels and weight gain.

Researchers, led by Dr. Bahram H. Arjmandi, PhD, RD, Margaret A. Sitton Professor and Chair, Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences at the Florida State University, observed a 25 percent drop in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, known to clog arteries, in women who fed on 75 grams of dried apple per day for six months.

The study, conducted on 222 women and children of mostly Hispanic origin in an urban setting, found 65.8 percent of the mothers and 38.9 percent of the children surveyed were overweight or obese.

Not only did the majority of the overweight people, included in the study, weighed more than they thought but also the likelihood of underestimation by them increased with increase in their weight.

Interview of the subjects
In addition to their medical and social background, subjects were also interviewed about their age, income, heart disease risk factors.