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Eight Week Dietary Intervention of The Effect of Pecans on Cardio‐Metabolic Parameters: Body Composition
Author(s) -
Huebner Grace,
Swope Dana,
Brannan Rebecca,
McCormick Samuel,
MorganBathke Maria,
Gibson Karen
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.971.1
Subject(s) - medicine , diabetes mellitus , body fat percentage , obesity , classification of obesity , endocrinology , physiology , fat mass
The number of individuals with Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) continues to rise in the United States. If poorly managed, T2DM can lead to loss of limbs, blindness, chronic kidney disease, neuropathy and other critical conditions. Previous studies have shown that diets rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAS) can be a method for managing blood glucose, triglycerides and body composition. Managing these three parameters can prevent T2DM in adults. In this study, the effect of adding 1.5oz of pecans, which are rich in MUFAs, into an individual's daily diet for eight weeks was evaluated to determine the effect of pecans on body composition. Visceral body fat, waist to hip ratio (WHR), BMI and total body fat percentage measurements were completed both pre‐ and post‐intervention on 10 subjects (1 Male). WHR was looked at because having a high WHR (being upper body obese) correlates to increased risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes. Pre‐intervention measurements showed that there was no significant difference between age, WHR, body fat percentage or visceral body fat. The mean age in the control group was 55.5 and in the pecan group was 54.7 ( p = 0.9), mean BMI was 35.6 and 32.3 respectively ( p = 0.5), the mean WHR was .91 and .89 ( p = 0.8), the mean body fat percentage was 50.5% and 46% ( p = 0.5), and the mean visceral body fat was 201.5cm 2 and 187cm 2 ( p = 0.8). After the eight‐week dietary intervention experimental parameters were re‐measured. Post‐intervention measurements showed no significant difference between BMI ( p = 0.96), WHR ( p = 0.7), visceral fat ( p = 0.85), and body fat percentage ( p = 0.35) in the control group compared to baseline values. Similarly, we found no difference in BMI ( p = 0.99), WHR ( p = 0.64), visceral fat ( p = 0.99) and body fat percentage ( p = 0.99) for the pecan group post‐intervention when compared to baseline values. There was also no significant difference post‐intervention between the 2 groups in BMI ( p = 0.51), WHR ( p = 0.39), visceral fat ( p = 0.63) and body fat percentage ( p = 0.63). In conclusion, an eight‐week dietary intervention of pecans does not alter body composition in pre‐diabetic individuals. This may be due to the fact that many of the participants have poor dietary habits and solely adding pecans is not sufficient enough to alter the effects of poor dietary intake. In addition, the dietary intervention of pecans may need to be extended to observe a significant change in body composition. Support or Funding Information Texas Pecan Growers Viterbo University Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship