TY  - BOOK
AU  - Leena Joseph P 
AU  - Usha V (Guide)
TI  - Influence of Dietary Habits on Atherosclerosis
U1  - 640 
PY  - 1990///
CY  - Vellayani
PB  - Department of Home Science, College of Agriculture
N2  - 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.

UR  - http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810129720
ER  -