MSc

A study on the influence of dietary habits on
atherosclerosis was conducted among patients attending
the Cardiac clinic at Medical College. Trivandrum. An
assessment of the socio economic and food consumption
pattern of the families of atherosclerotic patients.
personal characteristics as well as dietary pattern of
the patients and the effect of diet counselling which was
imparted to selected case studies was also made.
The results of the socio economic and dietary
survey conducted in 100 families of the atherosclerotic
patients, attending the Cardiac clinic at Trivandrum
Medical College, revealed that, most of the patients
belonging to the low socio economic group, resided in the
rural areas and were habitual non vegetarians (95 per cent).
Around 63 per cent of the families spent upto
60 per cent of their monthly income on food, purchasing
staple food articles like cereals and roots and tubers
weekly, perishable foods like milk, fish, leafy vegetables
and other vegetables daily, and other foods like oilseeds,
cooking oils, sugar and spices and condiments monthly.
Pulses, fruits, meat and egg were purchased only occasionally
by majority of the families. All the families used rice
daily but majority of them were not in the habit of using

cereals other than rice and wheat in their daily dietaries.
Milk, fish, vegetables and cereals, palm oil, coconut oil,
sugar, coconut, spices and condiments etc. were consumed
daily by almost all the families.
A comparison of daily food intake with RDA indicated
that consumption of fruits, fish and meat, milk and milk
products and sugar were in excess. The intake of almost
all the nutrients were found to be satisfactory in the
case of male members in the family, while the intakes of
most of the nutrients was found to be higher among the
female members.
The personal characteristics and dietary pattern
of the patients showed that the prevalence of the disease
was high in men and the age at onset of disease was between
41-65 years. Twenty two per cent of the patients had a
family history of the disease. The occurrence of hyper-
tension (54 per cent), obesity (33 per cent) and diabetic
(25 percent) among the patients was found to be prevalent.
Alcoholism, smoking and tobacco chewing were also found in
few patients.
Fried food items prepared in palm oil or coconut oil
were consumed without any restrictions some patients were
in the habit of taking hypocholesterolemic agents like
bittergourd, garlic etc. Inclusion of food exchanges which

supplied more calories was food to be more frequent in
their daily diets.
Diet counselling at Cardiac clinic was imparted
without the help of a dietition and the diet planning was
not according to the individual needs of the patients.
Most of the patients were not satisfied with the modified
diet prescribed in the clinic.
Amount of the actual intake of major nutrients by
patients through food weighment survey indicated that the
proportion of calories from fat was found to be high in
all the patients and the proportion of calories from
carbohydrate was considerably low.
The present study indicated that educating the
patients. With regard to a modified diet suitable to
their individual life styles and economic conditions is
very important in the control of the disease. The diet
counselling which was imparted by the investigator in
selected case studies for six months was found to be
effective in controlling blood lipid levels of atherosclerotic
patients. This implies that a well balanced diet with the
correct proportion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats
according to the patients ideal body weights will bring
about a reduction in the blood cholesterol and triglyceride
levels.