Annual/Termination Reports:

[08/08/2007] [07/31/2008] [08/07/2009]

Report Information

Participants

Attending:

R. Cook, UMaine M. Kantor, UMD
N. Cohen, UMass M. Laus, UMas
J. Curran-Celentano, UNH J. Lee, UDC
C. English, URI L. Marquart, UMN
N. Fey-Yensan, URI D. Mitchell, Penn State
B.M. Harris, UDC W. Rice, UDC
C. Jiles, UDC C. Violette, UNH
O. Jiménez, UDC S. Welch, CSREES
G. Wyche-Moore, UDC

Presiding: Chair, Nancy Fey-Yensan, University of Rhode Island

Brief Summary of Minutes

Presiding: Nancy Fey-Yensan, University of Rhode Island

Welcome and Introductions:

The meeting began at 8:00 AM on Monday, June 4, 2007.

The group was welcomed by Nancy Fey-Yensan. Bill Rice welcomed everyone to Washington DC. He introduced his colleague, Michelle Harris, who will join the project. He also introduced two UDC students (O. Jiménez and J. Lee) attending the meeting.

Dr. Mary Gray, Deputy Administrator of Families, 4-H, and Nutrition for CSREES welcomed us to Washington DC. She highlighted current trends supporting the importance of nutrition research targeting older adults. She thanked us for working on this endeavor.

The minutes of the 2006 Technical Meeting were reviewed and approved.

Gloria Wyche-Moore joined us later in the day to welcome us to Washington. She is now the Dean of Community Outreach and Extension Services for UDC.

Washington Report: Susan Welch
Susan reviewed personnel changes at CSREES and provided a budget update. She described current proposals to reorganize USDA. Two of three proposals would merge CSREES with ARS.

Susan mentioned that a bio-based economy is a rapidly emerging research emphasis in Washington. The American Society for Nutrition has recommended that the 2007 Farm Bill include formation of an NIH-like institute on Food, Agriculture, and Nutrition.

Susan described the current NRI funding situation in Human Nutrition and Obesity and Bioactive Food Components. Nancy Fey-Yensan will chair this year's NRI research panel for Human Nutrition and Obesity.

Susan also provided an update of longstanding and new multi-station projects. She encouraged us to go on online to the NIMSS system for more information.

Presentation on Whole Grains: Len Marquart
Len Marquart from the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota presented an overview of the current research on whole grains. He summarized the research on health benefits, types of whole grains, definition and identification of whole grain foods, labeling, and other issues.

Station Reports
Each station reported its activities over the past year. Hard copies of the reports were provided to meeting participants and are included in this mailing.

Timeline Review: Nancy Fey-Yensan
Nancy and the project group reviewed and discussed progress and changes for each experiment, objective and the timeline. Several minor changes were noted on the timeline. These changes include: add University of Connecticut to the stations listed under Objective 1, Experiment 2; Objective 2, Experiment 2 remove URI from the list of participating stations and check year 5 under Analyze Data for this experiment; Experiment 4 under Objective 2 is mislabeled and should read Experiment 5.

Nancy suggested that the group would need to work on a new proposal during next years Technical Committee meeting. Dick Cook suggested we start planning during this meeting if time permitted. Nancy Cohen asked about the timeline for writing a new proposal. This project ends September 30, 2009. Susan Welch suggested we start writing in June of 2008 as we will need to submit a new proposal in December of 2008.

Nancy Fey-Yensan and Cathy English shared with the group that they will continue to be involved in the project but less actively over the next year.

Coupled with this review, the group discussed objectives and activities for the remaining two years of the project. Nancy asked what "products" we will complete during this project to leverage our next proposal. The group decided to write a summary paper highlighting the major issues concerning whole grains. Issues to be addressed in the paper are: science, regulatory, policy, consumer/behavioral, technologies and labeling, practice points for educators and practitioners, integration of issues, assessment, cultural preferences, and potential unintended consequences of eating more whole grains. Group members volunteered to work in subcommittees on each of these topics.
Potential journals for publication were discussed. Nancy volunteered to type up the outline of the paper and send to the NE 1023 listserv. By September 1, 2007 each subgroup will review and compile relevant data, background literature and draft article components along with a first draft. The full draft will be compiled and forwarded to the entire project group for comment by Sept. 15th.

Executive Committee Meeting
The Executive Committee met late Monday afternoon and discussed the following:
1. Officers:
- Len Marquart was nominated as the third Member at Large, 2007-2010
- Mark Kantor will serve as Chair beginning Oct. 1, 2007
2. Upcoming meetings:
The 2008 meeting will be held on June 9, 10, and 11. Both URI and UNH will investigate meeting facility options and decide later in the summer on the meeting location.
3. For the next proposal, we will submit a letter of intent to the NIMSS system to recruit new members to the project.

Next Project Proposal: Nancy Fey-Yensan
The time allocated for small group meetings and the business meeting on Tuesday morning was used instead to begin the planning process for the next funding cycle: Oct. 1, 2009 to Sept. 30, 2014. The first question discussed was whether to continue our focus on aging. The project group decided that older adults will continue to be our target audience based on identified needs. It was suggested that in addition to older adults we add a comparison group such as middle-aged caretakers.

A discussion of issues and focus areas based on and expanding the past accomplishments of this regional project ensued. The project members discussed strategies to recruit new members as well as research strategies.

Based on the discussion, three draft objectives for the next proposal were developed:
1. Validate tools developed in the NE 1023 experiments.
2. Establish efficacy of nutrition education interventions to affect dietary intake of plant foods, including whole grains, to improve dietary quality of diverse older adult populations.
3. Measure changes in selected physiological parameters by changing diet quality in older adults.

Nancy will summarize the draft objectives and circulate to the group via the NE 1023 listserv.

Meeting Wrap-up
Nancy thanked our hosts. She summarized the major accomplishments of the meeting and timeline for future activities. The meeting adjourned at 11:30 am.

Accomplishments

To be posted (see individual station reports)

Publications

To be posted

Impact Statements

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Report Information

Participants

Participants are listed under "Summary of Minutes" in the next session

Brief Summary of Minutes

NE 1023 Minutes

Technical Committee Workshop
June 9-11, 2008
The New England Center, Durham, NH
University of New Hampshire (host)

Attending:

R. Cook, UMaine J. Lee, UDC
N. Cohen, UMass I. Lofgren, URI
J. Curran-Celenatano, UNH D. Mitchell, PSU
M. Delmonico, URI W. Rice, UDC
P. Ganganna, UDC K. Rocheford, UNH
M. Kantor, UMD C. Violette, UNH
C. Lammi-Keefe, LSU S. Welch, CSREES
G. Wyche-Moore, UDC

Presiding: Mark Kantor, Chair

Welcome and Introductions:

The group was welcomed by Mark Kantor, Chair of the Technical Committee. He thanked the members from UNH for hosting the meeting. Group members introduced themselves during dinner on June 9, 2008. The group was welcomed to UNH by Dr. Chris Neefus, Interim Associate Director of the UNH Agricultural Experiment Station.

The meeting began at 8:10 AM on Tuesday, June 10, 2008.

Joanne Curran-Celentano introduced her graduate student, Kate Rocheford, who is attending the meeting. The group also welcomed Irgrid Lofgren and Matt Delmonico from URI to their first meeting. Mark Kantor indicated that he recruited Nadine Sahyoun from the University of Maryland to join the group but she was unable to attend this meeting. Gloria Wyche-Moore introduced Dr. Prema Gangana, Professor and Director of the DPD program for the University of the District of Columbia, as a new member of this group. Dr. Jiles from UDC has retired and will no longer participate in the NE 1023 project. It was noted that Marla Reicks from the University of Minnesota will no longer be participating in NE 1023 due to other commitments.

The minutes of the 2007 Technical Meeting were reviewed and approved with the following changes:
" The date of the minutes was corrected to 2007.
" Under Executive Committee Meeting section change number 3 to: For the next proposal, the group will explore ways to recruit new members.
" Timeline. Objective 1, Experiment 1  Delete CT as a participating state and add Louisiana.

Reporting and Deadlines for Rewrite/New Proposal

Mark Kantor outlined that one of our meeting goals was to have a plan in place to write and submit our next proposal. He contacted Rubie Mize from USDA to determine the submission process and timeline for our next proposal. We will also need to submit an Annual and Mid-Term Review.

Mark, Gloria, and Susan outlined the following dates and tasks which were discussed by the group:

New Proposal
" June 20, 2008  Deadline for submitting a Request to Write a Proposal. This is a one paragraph justification of our next proposal. This is reviewed by the Multistate Activities Committee (MAC) and a recommendation made to the Northeastern Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors (NERA) at their meeting on July 14-15, in Washington DC.
" If NERA approves our request, then the first deadline for a full proposal is August 29, 2008. If this timeline is too ambitious, the next deadline for a full proposal is January 31, 2009.
" If the January 31, 2009 date is selected then we submit our peer-reviewed proposal to MAC by February 27, 2009.
" March 24, 2009 - NERA approves MACs recommendation. Unsuccessful proposals are returned for rewriting. Approved proposal forwarded to CSREES.
" June 19, 2009  Last opportunity to resubmit proposal for MAC review.
" July 13, 2009  NERA approves MACs recommendation. Approved proposals forwarded to CSREES.

The group discussed the timeline and agreed to submit the full proposal in January, 2009. The group agreed to work on the proposal during the summer of 2008 so that the draft is well developed before the fall semester begins. Mark volunteered to draft the justification paragraph for the June 20, 2008 deadline. Susan suggested we review the statement and justification from our current proposal and position the new proposal so that it builds on the results/outcomes of this proposal. She added that we are unique in that we are the only multistate project focusing on the older adult target audience.

Reports
" August 10, 2008  Annual meeting report due. This report is derived from our meeting minutes and submitted electronically. The Chair submits this report.
" August 29, 2008 Mid-Term Review Report (Completed by Advisor). The group reviewed the Mid-Term Report format sent by Rubie. There are four categories to the report: Progress Report, Linkages, Funding, and Information and Technology Transfer. Each field is limited to 2000 characters if possible. Gloria determined that the report can be longer but would be submitted as a pdf document. Information to complete the report can be gleaned from our annual reports and timeline changes.

Washington Report  Susan Welch
Susan now sends her annual report to individual committees in February. She indicated that there are two funding streams related to nutrition  Bioactive Food Components and Obesity.

Susan reported that the new Farm Bill includes some changes in the leadership of CSREES. As of October 1, 2009, CSREES will become the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The head of NIFA will be a political appointee, though not Senate approved. The Head will be a renowned scientist appointed for a 6 year term. He/she will serve at the discretion of the President and report to the Assistant/Associate Secretary. NIFA will include Cooperative Extension, Competitive Programs, and Capacity Building Programs (formula funded). The Farm Bill includes no new money for nutrition. This Farm bill does not move additional formula funds to competitive. The indirect cost ceiling was raised to 22%. There may be a delay in the NRI RFPs because of the changes.

Susan also updated the group on eXtension. There are two communities of excellence related to nutrition; Families, Food & Fitness and Family Caregiving. Susan encouraged us to join these communities.

URI Research  Older Adults
Matt Delmonico and Ingrid Lofgren from the University of Rhode Island provided an overview of their research project with older adults. Their research integrates diet and exercise to improve physical function and muscle power, decrease CHD risk, and decrease the loss of lean mass. Their intervention targets overweight older adults and will be conducted in two phases.

The group discussed their research protocol and how we can integrate this project into the current NE 1023 project and the next proposal. Matt and Ingrid will coordinate with Nancy Fey-Yensan at URI to complete their Appendix E document so they can officially join the current NE 1023 project.

Station Reports
Each station reported its activities over the past year. Hard copies of the reports were provided to meeting participants and are included in this mailing.

Revised/Updated Timeline
The following changes were made to the project timeline:
Objective 1, Experiment 1  Delete CT as a participating state and add Louisiana. Extend Collect additional blood samples for LA to years 4 and 5. Extend Analysis to year 3.

Objective 1, Experiment 2  Extend Analyze dietary data and patterns to years 3, 4, 5. Extend Data analysis and manuscripts to years 4 and 5. Extend 24-hour recall and FFQestimates of whole grain to include year 5.

Objective 2, Experiment 1  Delete MD from participating states.
Experiment 3  Delete MA as a participating state.
Executive Committee Meeting
The Executive Committee met late Tuesday afternoon. Attending: Mark Kantor, Chair; Catherine Violette, Secretary; Diane Mitchell, Member-at-Large; William Rice, Member-at-Large; and Susan Welch, CSREES Advisor.

The following items were discussed:
1. Officers:
- Matt Delmonico was nominated as a Member at Large, 2009-2011
- Ingrid Lofgren was nominated as Vice Chair, 2009-2010
2. Next annual meeting:
The location of the next annual meeting was discussed and it was decided to hold it in Portland Maine. During the meeting we will recognize Dick Cooks outstanding contributions to this multistate research group since its inception in 1965. Dick is retiring in 2009. Executive Committee members will share in the tasks of organizing the meeting. Meeting dates were discussed to see if there might be another time in early summer with fewer conflicts as early June. The date was finalized as June 7-9, 2009.

New Proposal
The group reviewed and discussed the draft objectives for the next proposal that had been initially developed during the 2007 Annual Meeting. The objectives were revised and potential experiments discussed. A draft title for the new proposal was also discussed.

After much discussion the group agreed to the following:
Title: Changing the Health Trajectory for Older Adults Through Effective Diet and Activity Modification(s)

Objectives:
1. Expand investigative approaches to include physical activity as well as dietary intake (fruit, vegetables, and whole grains) to improve the health of older adults.
" Matt and Ingrid (URI)
" Catherine and Kate (UNH)
" Mark (UMD)
" Bill, James, Prema (UDC)
2. Identify effective biomarkers and other indicators that reflect improvement in diet (fruit, vegetables, and whole grains) and physical activity in older adults.
" Prema (UDC)
" Joanne (UNH)
" Carol (LSU)
" Ingrid and Matt (URI)
" Diane (PSU)

Because of changes in the group membership due to retirements and changing job responsibilities, the group discussed recruiting new members for the next proposal. The following recruiting strategies were proposed:
" Susan suggested that our personal contacts are one of the best ways to recruit new members. She offered to send a request to all Nutrition Department Heads to identify other researchers who may be interested in joining our project.
" Once our new draft proposal title and objectives are approved, we can use that as a recruiting tool.
" We agreed that Matt, Ingrid and Prema be added to the NE 1023 project this year.
" We reviewed our contacts and agreed to the following:
o Catherine will contact colleagues at UVM
o Dick/Joanne/Catherine will contact Beth Caulder and Dorothy Klimis-Zakas at UMaine as Dick will be retiring next year
o New York  perhaps Judy Gilbride could suggest someone
o New Jersey  Catherine will contact Deb Keenan to inquire

Our next steps to develop the proposal include:
o Ask Diane to draft the Issues/Justification section
o Ask all group members to draft an experiment (including a rationale, justification, hypothesis, and methods)
o Once we have established the project framework, recruit additional members
o Plan meetings/subcommittees to work on the proposal this summer and fall

Request to Write a Proposal  Due June 20, 2008
The group discussed the content of our request for a rewrite/new proposal. Gloria suggested we provide an overview of the new project including what we want to do. She suggested we outline how the new project builds and extends our previous project(s). We should include our objectives and expected outcomes.

Mark will draft the request and send to the group for comment by June 13, 2008. He will then revise and submit by June 20, 2008. The group suggested we ask Diane to help with the Issues and Justification section because she recently completed a literature review.

Midterm Report  Completed by August 1, 2008
Gloria submits the Mid Term Report for the group. Gloria needs to submit this Midterm review by Aug. 29, 2008, but would like to receive it from us by Aug. 1, 2008. Mark volunteered to draft the Progress Report section, Funding section and Information and Technology Transfer section. Catherine offered to draft the Linkages section. The report will be based on our written annual reports submitted during each of the previous annual meetings of the current project. However, Mark will send out a request to the entire group requesting additional information. If all group members summarize their activities and accomplishments, the Midterm report will be easier to compile. The deadline for each stations summary to be sent to Mark is July 16, 2008.

Annual Report  Due August 10, 2008
The report of our annual meeting is due 30 to 60 days after our meeting. This report is taken largely from the minutes of the meeting. However, we will need to summarize the individual station annual reports and publications. Mark volunteered to prepare the report. He will ask members to summarize their activities. The format for the report can be found in section D of the Guidelines for Multistate Research Reports.

Whole Grain Intake in Aging Paper
The paper outline drafted during the 2007 annual meeting was discussed. Potential journals for publication were discussed, eg Topics in Clinical Nutrition. The group discussed the various methodological issues associated with whole grains.

We agreed to draft one summary paper with a focus on older adults. Diane will share a literature review she completed recently on whole grain food intake in older adults. Joanne and Kate will contact Len Marquart to redo the overview/introduction to better match a review paper format.

Meeting Wrap-Up
Mark thanked the group for the progress made during the meeting. He indicated that he would send an email detailing what needs to be done with specific time deadlines. He will also let us know what additional information he needs for the new proposal and reports. The meeting adjourned at 11:25 AM on Wednesday, June 11, 2008.

Accomplishments

Accomplishments for NE1023 - 2008 report<br /> <br /> New Hampshire. Biomarkers of risk of age related macular degeneration and dietary patterns to lower risk in the elderly are continuing. The effects of dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin (which accumulate in the retina as macular pigment) on C-reactive protein was studied. CRP was found to be inversely related to macular pigment density. A protocol is being developed to study the association between glycemic index, macular pigment density, and dietary intake of fruits and vegetables and whole grains in young and older adults.<br /> <br /> University of the District of Columbia. 80 elderly African American subjects (mean age = 71 yrs, 56% male) were interviewed using the DETERMINE checklist, a 24-hour diet recall, and a protocol using cognitive interviewing methods. Among the chief findings were: 41% of the subjects were at moderate or high nutritional risk as indicated by DETERMINE; 24% were obese; 56% had been diagnosed with either high blood pressure, diabetes, or both, 96% reported they had attempted to change their diets because of the diagnosis. Furthermore, while all of the subjects were aware that fruits and vegetables are beneficial, 72% did not know why and only 25% ate 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Regarding whole grains, 75% were aware that whole grains are beneficial but only 13% were able to identify whole grain products other than whole wheat bread.<br /> <br /> University of Maine. A grain screener developed by the Univ. of Rhode Island was modified for use with the DETERMINE checklist. Four additional whole grain items (muesli, wheat crackers, wheat pita bread, 100% whole wheat pasta) were included in the screener while enriched white flour was removed from original questionnaire. The screener contained both whole grain and refined grain products, and was used with participants of Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) in Maine. A total of 228 screeners were received from the AAAs but only 122 screeners had valid ID numbers that could be used in the analyses. Screener results (frequency of consumption of items) were compared to the level of nutritional risk of individuals as assessed by the DETERMINE checklists to see if consumption of whole grain items decreased risk scores. The small sample size was a major limitation and consumption of only one item, white pasta, was associated with a significant increase (p=0.04) in the level of nutritional risk. <br /> <br /> An evaluation was conducted on the Maine FarmShare Farmers Market<br /> Programs covering the years 2002-2005. 10,481 surveys were returned by seniors, and 4,087 included comments about the program. In general, participants with health-related problems found the program to be beneficial. Budgeting, income and pricing were of high concern to these low income seniors. Convenience, location, and transportation also were concerns among this group. <br /> <br /> University of New Hampshire. Trained interviewers completed face-to-face interviews with adults 65 years of age or older. The research interview was designed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data on grain and whole grain food intake, factors and barriers related to the selection on whole grain foods, general knowledge of the importance of eating whole grain foods, and cognitive processes and package information used by older adults to identify whole grain foods. A total of 111 interviews were conducted with 99 or the interviews yielding usable audio recordings. In NH, 34 interviews were conducted by trained extension educators, a graduate student, and a member of the experiment planning team. All interview audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and checked for accuracy. To facilitate the analysis of qualitative data, participants responses to individual questions were compiled. Preliminary coding schemes were developed for six of the interview questions. Each research station agreed to code assigned question sets. The coding teams are developing a coding scheme for each question. Results will be discussed until agreement is reached and finalized. Coding will be validated by other core planning team members. Analysis will be completed during he summer of 2008.<br /> <br /> University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Massachusetts researchers recruited 22 older adults from local senior centers after obtaining permission from the MA Executive Office of Elder Affairs and the University of Massachusetts Amherst Institutional Review Board. Interviews were conducted during the summer and fall of 2006 through January 2007 to learn more about food shopping and food choice habits in older adults. A qualitative semi-structured interview instrument was administered to gather data on demographics, whole grain consumption patterns, and factors influencing these patterns. Interviews were recorded by tape; tapes were then sent to NH for transcription. Transcriptions were then returned to participating stations and checked for completeness and accuracy. <br /> <br /> In 2007-8, researchers at MA examined the responses to three of the interview questions from the 110 interviews completed in the 5 participating states, looking for emerging themes related to current perceptions of whole grains. Preliminary analysis indicates that while many respondents were aware of whole grains, some had misinformation about the meaning of this term. When asked what foods they think of when we use the term whole grain, about half of subjects mentioned breads and cereals in general. While many participants mentioned whole wheat or whole grain bread, only some respondents listed particular grains such as barley or oats. In contrast, some subjects considered fruits, vegetables, beans, peas and nuts when thinking about the term whole grain.<br /> <br /> When asked how they would explain the term whole grain to a friend, the majority of responses related to foods not processed or refined or having components added or taken out. Many mentioned particular foods or ingredients in the definition, and cited nutrition or health benefits. (Theyre not processed as much. Theyre more natural. And theyre healthy. I would tell them theyre good for us to eat.) Others associated a specific color or texture as being whole grain. However, seeds and nuts were also listed in the definitions of several participants. <br /> <br /> When asked what they had heard or read about whole grains lately, about one-third of people interviewed either did not respond or said they had not heard or read anything. Those that did respond pointed to the benefits of whole grains either in a specific way (e.g. colon health from roughage) or in general as promoting health. Nutritional misinformation was also noted; for example, two respondents mentioned that whole grains means no additives or no saturated or trans-fats. The fiber content was also frequently mentioned. Subjects used a variety of information sources to learn about whole grains: magazines were cited most frequently, and the food label and newspapers were also important sources. <br /> <br /> University of Maryland. During the past year, Maryland has been working on Experiment 2 (identification of food choice factors associated with fruit, vegetables and whole grains using cognitive interviewing techniques with older adults) and has been collaborating with New Hampshire (lead station), Minnesota, and Massachusetts on transcribing, checking for accuracy, and analyzing the taped interviews we conducted with older adults (>65 years of age). These interviews were designed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors with respect to whole grain foods. In particular, we were interested in exploring the process that older adults follow when examining packaged food products in trying to decide whether or not the product is a whole grain. <br /> Previously, we had developed a survey and a semi-structured cognitive interview instrument addressing whole grain. The materials developed included a script with instructions for doing a food identification activity involving three food products, a grain food inventory, an attitudinal (agree/disagree) survey, a stages of change instrument, and a demographic questionnaire. A total of 26 interviews were conducted in Maryland. <br /> <br /> We held a series of telephone conference calls during the past year that focused on how the information collected during the interviews should be organized and analyzed, and to discuss the results obtained thus far. The collaborating states were assigned different sections of the interviews to analyze. Maryland and New Hampshire worked together on the identification exercise and are in the process of deciding how to code and summarize the comments and information obtained for this exercise. Among the questions to be addressed are: What do we want to conclude from this exercise, or what do we want to learn from it? To what extent do subjects use the ingredient list, health claims, pictures of the product, color of the food product, any logos or symbols (such as American Heart Association or Whole Grains Council), fiber content, or other words or pieces of information on the label?<br /> <br /> Among the preliminary observations, subjects seemed to realize that the answer to whether or not a product was whole grain was found in the ingredient list, but most subjects did not really understand how to interpret the ingredient list. As they examined the food products, subjects often made general comments unrelated to the question of whether or not the product was whole grain. For example, they often commented on whether or not they would buy the product, if they eat the product or have ever tried it; some mentioned price, taste, and talked about various medical conditions they have. Subjects often seemed to be thinking out loud. They read various pieces of information on the label and seemed to be trying to figure out what the information meant as they were reading it and whether the information might indicate that the product is a whole grain. <br /> <br /> We found no evidence that subjects knew there was a health claim for whole grains, or that there was a Whole Grains Council logo. Not a single subject seemed to understand how to use the %DV to tell if a product was a good source of a nutrient (e.g., the 5-20 rule). No one was aware or recognized that there was an official health claim on the Wheat Thins box, indicating that the product was whole grain. Subjects often mention items on the label that were of interest to them or that they might be more familiar with, such as sodium, calories, fiber, cholesterol, calcium. When mentioning these unrelated items, however, not a single subject mentioned the %DV. Subjects apparently had little or no knowledge of what constitutes a good source of a nutrient, or high levels of undesirable nutrients. Even the subjects who seemed to be more knowledgeable about nutrition and reading labels were not able to identify a whole grain product. Subjects seemed to have at least a general idea that they could learn whether or not a product was whole grain by looking at the ingredient list, but they were not exactly sure how to go about doing this, nor were they sure about what they were looking for. Subjects did not explicitly state that if the first ingredient is a whole grain ingredient, than they conclude that the product is whole grain, although some subjects implied this.<br /> <br /> <br />

Publications

Benoit, J.E. Evaluation of nutritional risk in Maines senior population with an emphasis on how whole grain intake affects nutritional status. Masters Degree Thesis. Fogler Library, University of Maine, Orono, ME. May 2008. 84 pp.<br /> <br /> Bergeron, C. Perceptions of experiences of older adults participating in the Maine Senior FarmShare Program. Honors Degree Thesis. The Honors College. University of Maine, Orono, ME. May 2008. 50 pp.<br /> <br /> Wenzel AJ, Sheehan JP, Burke JD, Lefsrud MG, Curran-Celentano J. 2007. Dietary intake and serum concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin, but not macular pigment optical density, are related in spouses. Nutrition Research. 27:462-469.<br /> <br /> Wenzel AJ, Sheehan JP, Stringham JM, Gerweck C, Fuld K, Curran-Celentano J. 2007. Macular pigment optical density at four retinal loci during 120 days of lutein supplementation. Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics. 27:329-335.<br /> <br /> Wenzel AJ, Burke JD, Curran-Celentano J. Relations between tissue concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin and measures of dietary intake of xanthophylls and fruits and vegetables. Presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Conference, Fort Lauderdale, FL 2007.<br /> <br /> <br />

Impact Statements

1. More than 18,000 Maine residents participated in the Maine Farm Share program and benefited from fresh summer produce.
2. NE1023 researchers from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Minnesota obtained information on how 99 older Americans interpret food labels on packages of several kinds of grain products so that more effective nutrition education programs can be developed to encourage older Americans to consume more whole grain products.
3. NE1023 researchers from the University of the District of Columbia obtained diet and health information from 80 older African American consumers that will enable educational interventions to be effectively developed and targeted.
4. NE1023 researchers from the University of New Hampshire obtained information that will help in predicting risk for developing age related macular degeneration by measuring biomarkers of inflammation and other diet-related biomarkers

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Report Information

Participants

N Cohen UMass.
R Cook UMaine.
J Curran-Celentano UNH.
M Delmonico URI.
P Ganganna UDC.
J Gilbride NYU.
M Kantor UMD.
C Lammi-Keefe LSU.
J Lee UDC.
I Lofgren URI.
W Rice UDC.
C Violette UNH.
S Welsh CSREES.
H Wright PSU.

Brief Summary of Minutes

NE 1023 Minutes

Technical Committee Workshop
June 7-9, 2009
Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland, Maine

Attending:

R. Cook, J. Lee, N. Cohen, I. Lofgren, J. Curran-Celentano, W. Rice, M. Delmonico, C. Violette, P. Ganganna, S. Welsh, J. Gilbride, H. Wright, M. Kantor, C. Lammi-Keefe.

Presiding: Mark Kantor, Chair

June 7, 2009 (evening)
Welcome, Introductions and Dinner.

Present: Mark Kantor, Carol Lammi-Keefe, Helen Wright, Dick Cook, Susan Welsh, Matt Delmonico, Judy Gilbride, Bill Rice, James Lee, Prema Ganganna, Joanne Curran- Celentano. Guests: Mel Mathias and Pat Lupo.

Mark Kantor asked for introductions and welcomed the group to the meeting.

Mel Mathias spoke about the wonders and joys of retirement including time to spend with friends and family, physical and mental exercise and community service. He and Pat split their time between Texas and South Carolina.

Dick Cook offered an historical view of the New England Regional Project starting with his experience in 1965 as a University of Maine graduate student. He had the meeting information from the NE 52 Technical Committee meeting of 1967 and the project title was "Utilization of Amino Acids." Dick shared a compilation of documents he has accumulated over the years related to the NE projects. Much of the historical information is archived in a publication [Top Clin Nutr. 19(3):175-179, 2004].

June 8, 2009

The meeting was convened at 8:45 AM on Monday, June 8, 2009 by Mark Kantor. Mark outlined the agenda for the meeting and requested additional agenda items.

The minutes of the 2008 Technical Meeting held on June 7-11, 2008 were reviewed and approved with the following changes:

• Under Attending section: S. Welch was corrected to S. Welsh
  
• Under Reporting and Deadlines for Rewrite/New Proposal section: Rubie Mize's affiliation was changed from USDA to NERA (Northeastern Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors).
  

J. Curran-Celentano asked that we include a follow-up to last year's action items on our agenda this year.

C. Violette circulated the Technical Committee Meeting mailing list for 2009 corrections. There are several people on the mailing list who are no longer active on the project. Mark and Catherine will contact these individuals to determine their interest in participating on the new project, and will remove them from the contact list/listserv if they are not interested. The group discussed the format of the minutes and agreed to try a new format used by one of the other multi-state project groups.

Dr. Gloria Wyche-Moore, our Administrative Advisor, was unable to attend this meeting. P. Ganganna read a letter of greeting and support from Gloria to the group.

Washington Report

Dr. Susan Welsh distributed an organizational chart for USDA and CSREES. Also included was a bio for Tom Vilsack the new Secretary of USDA, Kathleen Merrigan, the new Deputy Secretary of USDA, and Rajiv Shah, nominated as the new Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics and Chief Scientist at USDA. She indicated that the Director of CSREES will be a political appointee for the first time.

Susan indicated that the NRI funding stream will now be known as AFRI. 30% of AFRI funds will be dedicated to integrated projects. Of the remainder, 60% will be applied to basic research and 40% to applied research projects. Although AFRI is authorized at $700M, the 2009 appropriation was $201.5M.

Whole Grains Conference Report

Make Half Your Grains Whole Conference, April 20-22, 2009, Alexandria, VA.. Mark Kantor reported on the "Standards and Definitions" workshop of this international conference sponsored by the Whole Grains Council (WGC) and Oldways. He distributed four handouts from the conference materials notebook and the WGC website.

Mark reported that there is still no single definition of whole grains. Mark indicated FDA is moving slowly as he outlined the process used by FDA to develop definitions. However, industry is moving forward, especially the WGC. To use the WGC stamp on product packages, companies pay a fee, send in their product for approval, and agree to abide by the standards set by the Council.

Mark also reported on consumption data presented at the conference. He will share website links so we can access the information he gleaned for his slide presentation.

A comparison of 2005 consumption data to 2009 indicates we are eating more whole grains -- from .61 oz to .73 oz -- an increase of 20%. The percentage of people who eat whole grains at least once in a two-week period increased from 35 in 2006 to 60.5 in 2008. Individuals 55+ years of age eat the most whole grains, although all age groups fall short of recommended intakes. In the older adult age category, as is true for all other age categories, most whole grains are consumed at breakfast. Mark also presented information on sources of whole grains, prices, and where consumers get their information.

Station Reports

Each station reported its activities over the past year. Hard copies of the reports were provided to meeting participants. Selected highlights follow:

• Helen Wright distributed a copy of the total diet quality screener for older adults developed by Penn State. The instrument is easy and inexpensive to administer. She reviewed the results of its development and testing as published in the Journal of Nutrition (137:1-6, 2007) and American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (90:1-7, 2009).
  
  
• Matt and Ingrid from URI reported on Phase 1 of their USDA grant funded project and described the next phase of the project.
  
  
• Bill Rice, Prema Ganganna, and James Lee from UDC reported on research to profile nutritional risk in older adults. They reviewed their research objectives, methodology and results.
  
  
• Dick Cook from UMaine highlighted his work on the nutritional risk surveillance of older adults project in Maine. He reported data from 07-08 and provided a final summary of the project as this project will not be continued.
  
  
• Catherine Violette from UNH presented the results of Objective 2, Experiment 2 for the NH, MA, and MD stations. This presentation summarized the results of this 5 station experiment.
  
  
• Joanne Curran-Celentano from UNH reported on Objective 1, Experiment 1A & B. She also reported the results of Masters student Kate Rochefords research on the whole grain education program for UNH students.
  
  
• Carol Lammi-Keefe from LSU reported on her collaboration with Joanne Curran-Celentano to analyze blood samples for Obj. 1, Experiment 1A & 1B. She also reported on an intervention studying the impact of DHA intake in pregnant women on infant development.
  

Discussion of NE 1039 Project

The group discussed recruiting more researchers to participate in the next 5-year project beginning Oct. 1, 2009. Susan indicated that it is possible to add new experiments under the current objectives. Members volunteered to make the following contacts:

• Mark will contact Len Marquart to see if he would like to continue to participate. If not, perhaps he could recommend other people who might be interested in participating in the project.
  
• Catherine contacted the Nutrition Specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. They discussed the project. Catherine will call back to see if she is interested in participating.
  
• Prema will contact other researchers at Howard University who may be interested in working with us.
  
• Helen will ask others at Penn State to see if there is any interest.
  
• Mark will contact Katherine Tucker and others listed on our roster who have not been active on the current project to see if they wish to participate on this project.
  

It was decided that these contacts should be made by the end of July in preparation for the beginning of the new project. The group also discussed inclusion of researchers from non-land-grant institutions. It was suggested that we contact Dan Rossi, Northeast Regional Director at Rutgers to discuss the feasibility of this.

It was also suggested that our project group develop a protected website. The site could be used for listing publications, developing ideas for future publications, posting forms and reports, and sharing resources such as the total diet screener developed by Penn State. Mark indicated he will investigate the website that has been established by the University of Wisconsin for another regional research project, and will check if we can establish a similar website for our project through the University of Maryland's server. The group also discussed having regular conference calls but decided these calls would be on an as-needed basis. However, the people working on individual experiments may wish to hold regular conference calls.

As of October 1, the NE 1023 listserv hosted by UNH will be changed to NE 1039.

Executive Committee Meeting

The group reviewed the roster of officers and nominated the following members for the positions indicated:

• Vice Chair, Judy Gilbride
  
• Secretary, Prema Ganganna
  
• Member at Large, Catherine Violette
  

Meeting dates for next year's meeting were discussed. Two dates were proposed: June 7-9, 2010 or June 14-16, 2010.

Rhode Island volunteered to host the next annual meeting.

We had dinner at the Old Port Sea Grill and presented Dick Cook with a card and gifts to celebrate his many years of devoted service to the project.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Mark Kantor convened the meeting by reading a poem written by former project members Cathy English and Nancy Fey-Yensan in honor of Dick Cook's retirement from our regional project group.

Mark reviewed the officer nominations for next year and discussed the potential meeting dates. The group also discussed our annual meeting format to see if it still meets the needs of members.

The group decided to spend the remaining meeting time developing a timeline for the new project beginning in October. The attached timeline summarizes the work of the group.

Once the timeline was completed, the following items were discussed:

• Susan suggested we develop a list of all publications generated by the NE 1023 project including what has been done and what is being planned.
  
• The group discussed what will be needed for the NE 1023 final report.
  
• Mark will contact present and past members of the NE 1023 group to request the following: 1. Abstracts published; 2. Publications; 3. Publications in progress, planned, submitted; 4. Graduate thesis; and 5. Products.
  

The group revisited the plan developed in 2007 to develop project-wide publications. The group decided not to pursue this because of the changing composition of the group and the rapidly changing information about whole grains.

It was suggested that we investigate organizing a session or symposium at a national meeting to present the results of NE 1023. Various options were discussed: SNE, Experimental Biology, IFT and ADA. Susan suggested we submit a conference grant to AFRI under the Bioactive Food section. The following members volunteered to look into this further:

• Judy will investigate a session at the ADA meeting. The convention will be in Boston in 2011.
  
• Catherine will be attending SNE this year and will explore this with the Aging Division members.
  

Mark will check with Gloria about what needs to be done to close out the current NE 1023 project, and will initiate the appropriate steps to make sure this is done on time.

The 2009 meeting adjourned at 11:36.

Accomplishments

During the past year, collaborators from New Hampshire (lead station), Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maryland, and District of Columbia worked together on analyzing the results of the taped interviews we conducted with older adults (>65 years of age). These interviews were designed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors with respect to whole grain foods. In particular, we were interested in exploring the process that older adults follow when examining packaged food products in trying to decide whether or not the product is a whole grain. <br /> <br /> Interviews with adults aged 65 and older (n=111) were conducted at senior centers, homes, and community sites in each of the four participating states and DC to gather data on demographics, whole grain consumption patterns and food label use and factors influencing these patterns. Interviews were recorded by tape; tapes were then sent to NH for transcription. Transcripts were then returned to participating stations and checked for completeness and accuracy and then reviewed to identify emerging themes. Twenty-six interviews were conducted in Maryland. There were a total of 99 usable transcripts.<br /> <br /> The collaborating states were assigned different sections of the interviews to analyze. Maryland and New Hampshire worked together on the product identification exercise. Among the questions we considered were: What do we want to learn and conclude from this exercise? What is the thought process the subjects go through in deciding whether or not a product is whole grain? To what extent do subjects use the ingredient list, health claims, pictures of the product, color of the food product, logos or symbols (such as the American Heart Association or Whole Grains Council logo), fiber content, or other pieces of information on the label?<br /> <br /> Much of the effort during the past year was spent in discussing various schemas regarding how best to capture and summarize the information collected. In particular, how should we code and summarize the comments and information obtained from our study subjects? To assist in summarizing the interviews, we developed a check list to use when reviewing the tape transcripts. To facilitate coding, we divided the ingredient list into different blocks. Summary tables of the data were developed. <br /> <br /> Most subjects did consume grain foods, including bread, cereal, crackers, oatmeal, cookies, pasta and rice. Bread, cereal and crackers were likely to be reported as whole grain or some whole grain. However, only approximately half of subjects found that whole grain foods were easy to identify. When asked what foods they think of when we use the term "whole grain," 75% mentioned breads and 60% mentioned cereals in general. Only 25% mentioned brown or wild rice and 20% mentioned oatmeal or hot cereal and 13% whole oats. Very few respondents listed particular grains such as barley or rye. In contrast, 8% of subjects mentioned vegetables when thinking about whole grains, 7% noted legumes as whole grains, and several respondents mentioned fruits or nuts when thinking about the term "whole grain."<br /> <br /> When asked to how they would explain the term "whole grain" to a friend, the majority of responses related to foods not processed or refined or having components added or taken out. Twenty percent of participants would describe whole grains as healthier/more nutritious than white products. However, 14% of participants were unable to describe whole grains at all. <br /> <br /> When asked what they had heard or read about whole grains lately, 32% of participants heard that whole grains were good for preventing certain diseases and 20% heard about the nutritional content of whole grains. However, about one-third of people interviewed either did not respond or said they had not heard or read anything about whole grains. <br /> <br /> Thus, many older adults in this study were able to define attributes of whole grains and did eat some whole grain foods and tended to have positive attitudes about whole grain foods. However, few participants in this study considered specific foods aside from breads and cereals to be whole grain, and some included non-grain foods when reporting whole grains. Efforts to increase whole grain food consumption in older adults are needed. Activities to increase awareness of the different food sources that comprise whole grains would be useful. Analysis of these data will continue in 2009 to determine additional perceptions and food choice factors related to older adults consuming more whole grains. <br /> <br /> Although there were variations among the three products used in the identification activity, subjects tended to look first at the front of the package and to use the ingredient list. In general, subjects correctly identified the cracker and cereal product as being a whole grain product, but they incorrectly identified the bread as being a whole grain product.<br /> <br /> We developed outlines for manuscripts and discussed potential journals for future publications. An abstract was submitted to SNE.<br /> <br /> Researchers from New Hampshire repeated a study involving 120-days of lutein supplementation with detailed analysis to confirm previous results. They are collecting and storing red blood cells for fatty acid analysis to be sent for analyzed at LSU over the summer 2009. Serum is being separated by ultracentrifugation and each subfraction has been analyzed for cholesterol and carotenoids to evaluate transport and bioavailabilty.<br /> <br /> NH researchers also completed a related project on increasing the consumption of whole grain foods at the UNH dining hall. The project was designed to evaluate the intake of whole grain items, implement an education program identifying whole grain foods and their health benefits and reassessing the consumption patterns following the exposure. A voluntary pre and post test knowledge and consumption inventory was implemented. The project took place in all dining halls at UNH over the fall semester 2008. Results confirmed that nutrition knowledge was associated with increased whole grain consumption and that if increasing whole grain consumption is a goal of the dining program, educating the consumer on ways to increase whole grain is useful. It was also identified that too much information confuses the consumer and targeted messages should be carefully considered.<br /> <br /> At LSU, efforts were focused on approaches to explore the relationship of dietary omega-3 fatty acids (docosahexaenoic acid, 22:6n-3, DHA) with macular pigment density with the intent that in future explorations we will assess the association of lutein versus DHA in macular pigment density and risk for AMD (age related macular degeneration). We explored this in college-aged students. Macular pigment density for males and females was (mean±SEM) 0.32±0.03 (range: 0.04-0.65, n=27). Males and females did not differ in macular pigment density: males, 0.35±0.05, females, 0.31±0.05. For participants who reported a weekly fish consumption (n=18),increased fish consumption accounted for 23% of the variation in macular pigment density (R2=0.23, p=0.04). These data provide a foundation for continued exploration of the relationship between marine fish intake and macular pigment density.<br /> <br /> To study dietary changes related to diagnosis of illness and stress factors, the University of the District of Columbia collected quantitative and qualitative data and established correlations among specific behavioral constructs and measures of dietary quantities of selected nutrients. Previous research suggested that diagnosis of illness together with nutritional knowledge, are significantly stronger motivations for changes in eating behaviors than nutritional knowledge alone. These determinations have suggested associations among identifiable behaviors and dietary choices that have allowed preliminary construction of individual profiles of nutritional risk. Profiles that reflect nutritional risk determine and inform interventions designed to modify behaviors that predict dietary deficiencies. The rsearch questions included: To what extent do older adults eat quantities of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains as recommended by USDA guidelines? What is the general level of nutritional knowledge of older adults and their particular knowledge related to health benefits of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains? How do nutritional knowledge and diagnosis of illness in older adults affect food choices and eating behaviors? How are food choices and eating behaviors in older adults affected by significant life changes other than diagnosis of illness?<br /> <br /> Methodology: A questionnaire inclusive of diet history, family history, medical history, stress scale socio-economic factors, ethnicity, religion, visit to health care team, knowledge, and education level was developed by the research team. Subjects completed the survey instrument through an extensive interview by a research Assistants. Cognitive interview techniques were used to acquire rich input from each subject. Each interview enabled the opportunity for subjects to interact with the research assistants to provide accurate information. During interviews subjects reported changes in nutritional knowledge including but not limited to, nutrient and micronutrient content of foods, portion sizes, the role of supplements, food choices, (especially of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) related to illness. A total of 143 subjects have been interviewed using the Nutritional Behavior Survey, a 24 hour recall, and a protocol developed and field tested by tested by UDC research team. The protocol makes use of the cognitive interviewing methods including "think aloud" and scripted and spontaneous verbal probing techniques. Also included in the survey was the <i>Holmes and Rahe stress scale</i> to determine stress life events effort on nutritional behavior.<br /> <br /> Results: Of the total 142 subjects, 59 were African American males, 84 were African American females with ages between 59-95 years. The analysis of quantitative and qualitative data is as follows:<br /> <UL><br /> <LI>76 (53%) were at moderate or high nutritional risk as indicated by data gathered from fruits and vegetables intake.<br /> <LI>93 (65%) had been diagnosed with either hypertension, diabetes, or both of these.<br /> <LI>98% reported they had attempted to change their diets because of the diagnosis.<br /> <LI>54% of the 92 reported were aware of the connection between diet and diagnosis of disease.<br /> <LI>42 of the total sample of 143 were obese.<br /> <LI>100% were aware that fruits and vegetables are beneficial; (13%) were able to articulate the reasons; (27%) ate 5 or more fruits and vegetables per day.<br /> <LI>75% were aware of the benefits of whole grains but only 27% were able to identify whole grain products other than whole wheat bread; and 38% ate primarily whole grain products.<br /> <br /> The UDC research team used the questionnaire to analyze the nutritional knowledge about consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, diagnosis of illness and their effect on eating behavior, and significant life changes associated with stress impacting eating behavior.<br /> <br /> Sixty-three subjects were asked to rank their general knowledge and awareness of nutrition, fruits, vegetables, and fibers as part of the survey using a scale measure. 43% of subjects agreed and had knowledge and awareness, 31% lacked the nutritional knowledge and awareness, 11% answered as "don't know"and 15% were not able to provide any answers.<br /> <br /> The data on the knowledge, awareness and benefits of the vegetable and intake were gathered and analyzed. 40 and 32 percent of the subjects were cognizant of the benefits of vegetables and fruits respectively. Forty and 36 percent of subjects respectively were less knowledgeable, 8 and 16 percent respectively answered as "don't know" and 12 and 16 percent respectively had no answer. The data on the knowledge, awareness and benefits of the fiber intake was gathered and analyzed. 51 percent of the subjects were cognizant of the benefits of fiber. Twenty-one percent of subjects were less knowledgeable, 12 percent answered as dont know and 16 percent had no answer.<br /> <br /> As per the results of data gathered from the questionnaire, 95% of the total participates were diagnosed with diseases and illness, 73 percent with high blood pressure, 33 percent with diabetes, 24 percent with glaucoma, 21 percent with heart disease, 14 percent with osteoporosis and acid reflux, 3 percent with GERD, and 2 percent with ulcers. <br /> <br /> Nutritional knowledge and diagnosis of disease and illness does affect food choices and eating behaviors. Among the subjects surveyed, 57 percent diagnosed with disease and illness reported changing their eating habits within past five years. When asked if the change in their eating habits was because of their diagnosis, 84 percent report "yes." But only 38 percent reported knowledge of the correction between diet and their condition before diagnosis. <br /> <br /> The <i>Holmes and Rahe stress scale</i> was used to investigate the relationship between social readjustment, stress and susceptibility to illness. The top stress factor are: 27 percent death of a close family member, personal injury or illness, 15 percent change of health of family member and change in physical activity, 14 percent death of spouse, change in financial state, change in sleeping habits and Christmas. <br /> <br /> Many studies indicate that stressful events are associated with unhealthy dietary behaviors. Forty-one percent reported significant life change as a result a stressful event and 66% reported significant changes in eating habits year as a result of a life changing event.<br /> <br /> Conclusions: The diets of most African American older adults need improvement. Fewer than half percent of older adults ate quantities of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains as recommended by USDA guidelines. <br /> <br /> The general level of nutritional knowledge of older adults ranks moderate to high on the nutritional awareness scale. Knowledge related to health benefit of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains was reported in correctly identifying sources of antioxidants, causes, control and prevention of hypertension, diabetes, and some cancers. All subjects were knowledgeable and aware of some benefits of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. They had difficulty identifying a whole grain product other than whole wheat bread, and only a small percentage ate other whole grain products. New methods are needed to educate older adults the benefits of whole grain, reading food labels, and whole grain products.<br /> <br /> Nutritional knowledge and diagnosis of illness in older adults does affect food choices and eating behaviors. Survey results reported subjects diagnosed with illness reported to change their eating habits. But not all subjects surveyed knew of the correction between diet and their condition before diagnosis. One result found in the survey is the increased number of subjects that discuss nutrition with their doctor and a nutritionist increasing knowledge of nutritional benefit before and after an illness and/or disease is diagnosed. <br /> <br /> More data are needed to understand the paradigm of high nutrition awareness but low consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole gains. Many older adult do not come close to meeting recommendation by USDA guidelines. Research on effective, culturally sensitive, realistic, and fun filled activities are critical to gain the attention of older adults.<br /> <br /> Researchers from Rhode Island reported that during their recent USDA-funded randomized pilot study (UR-IDEAL, fall 2008), 27 overweight and obese older adults aged 60-74 years underwent 10 weeks of either 1) a dietary education (dietary approaches to stop hypertension, DASH) weight loss only (n=12) program or 2) high-velocity resistance training (RT) combined with a dietary education for weight loss (DASH-RT, n=15). Subjects in the DASH-RT group significantly increased their muscle strength (15%, p<0.001) and lost 3.9% (p<0.001) of their body weight, while the DASH group had no strength change and a 2.0% (n.s.) change in body weight. Interestingly, the DASH-RT group showed significant decreases in body fat mass (11.4%) while not losing lean body mass. However, the DASH group did not show any improvement in these body composition variables. Adherence to the dietary intervention sessions was 85% for the DASH group and 98% for the DASH-RT group. In the DASH-RT group, compliance was high with regard to the RT, as subjects attended 96% of the RT exercise sessions. These data suggest that high-velocity RT during weight loss is well-tolerated by obese, older adults. Based on these results, we will expand the sample size as part of our NIH R01 study, and add soy protein to the DASH diet in order to determine its effects on muscle function, body composition, and BMD with RT.

Publications

Violette, C., Kantor, M., Laus, M.J., Cohen, N., Rice, W., Reicks, M., Marquart, L., and Rocheford, K. Whole Grain Foods: Older Adults' Attitudes and Behaviors. Abstract to be presented at the Society for Nutrition Education 42nd Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA from July 11-15, 2009. <br /> <br /> Rocheford, Katherine. MS Thesis. University of New Hampshire, May 2009. Increasing Consumption of Whole Grain Foods in UNH Dining Halls.<br /> <br /> Future Grant Proposals: R01. Physical Activity and Diet Intervention, Including Soy Supplementation Impact on Physical Functioning and Coronary Heart Disease Risk. To be submitted in October 2009.<br /> <br /> Avila JA, Sheehy ME, Gutierres JA, Manfredi TG, Lofgren IE, and Delmonico MJ. Determinants of Peak Leg Extensor Muscle Power in Overweight and Obese Older Adults (Abstract). Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 41(5): 2009. <br /> <br /> Sheehy ME, Avila JJ, Gutierres JA, Delmonico MJ, and Lofgren IE. Association of Dietary Intake with Sarcopenia Prevalence (Abstract). FASEB Journal, 23: 548.4, 2009.<br /> <br /> Avila J, Sheehy M, Gutierres J, Manfredi T, Lofgren IE, Delmonico MJ Effect of Resistance Training and Weight Loss on Body Composition and Physical Performance in Overweight and Obese Older Adults. Paper submitted or in progress<br /> <br /> Sheehy ME, Avila JJ, Gutierres JA, Delmonico MJ, Lofgren IE. Effects of a Combination of Diet Education and Power Training on Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors in at Risk Older Adults. Paper submitted or in progress.<br /> <br /> Sheehy ME, Delmonico MJ, Lofgren IE A Combination of Resistance Training and Diet Education in Older Adults: A Review. Paper submitted or in progress.

Impact Statements

1. A whole grain exhibit designed to help older adults identify whole grain foods, based on the results of this research project, was presented at the New Hampshire Annual Conference on Aging, held in Manchester, NH on May 28, 2009. More than 700 older adults, agency representatives, and caregivers attended the conference.
2. Abstract and oral paper were presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Nutrition Education 42nd Annual Conference. New Orleans, July 11-15, 2009.
3. A meeting was held with representatives from agencies serving older adults in NH, to solicit suggestions on developing a whole grain foods curriculum targeting older adults. 5 focus group interviews were conducted, with 44 subjects participating. Among these participants, 9 older adults volunteered to partner with researchers to develop the curriculum. Using preliminary analysis of research data collected, and the focus group data, a draft whole grain foods curriculum was developed.
4. Transcripts of taped interviews were analyzed, and a process for organizing and analyzing the results of the interviews was initiated.
5. Outlines for manuscripts were developed, and potential journals for future publications were discussed.
6. A project focusing on increasing whole grain food consumption at UNH dining halls was completed. The project was designed to evaluate the intake of whole grains, implement an education program on identifying whole grain foods and explaining their health benefits, and evaluating the program&lsquo;s effectiveness. Results confirmed that nutrition knowledge was associated with increased whole grain consumption, and that nutrition education is useful for increasing whole grain intake.
7. A study was conducted at LSU on college-aged subjects to explore relationships between dietary omega-3 fatty acids (docosahexaenoic acid, 22:6n-3, DHA) and macular pigment density. The results will be used for future studies to assess the association of lutein vs. DHA in macular pigment density and risk for AMD (age related macular degeneration).
8. When older adults were asked how they would explain the term "whole grain," most responses related to foods not processed or refined, or having components added or removed. 20% of participants described whole grains as healthier/more nutritious, but 14% were unable to describe whole grains at all. When asked what they had heard or read about whole grains lately, 32% of subjects heard that whole grains were good for preventing diseases and 20% heard about the nutritional content. About 1/3 of the subjects either did not respond or said they had not heard or read anything about whole grains.
9. Data on knowledge, awareness and benefits of vegetables, fruits and fiber were analyzed. 40 and 32 percent of the subjects were cognizant of the benefits of vegetables and fruits respectively. 51 percent of the subjects were cognizant of the benefits of fiber. Nutritional knowledge and diagnosis of disease and illness affected food choices and eating behaviors. Among the subjects surveyed, 57 percent diagnosed with disease and illness reported changing their eating habits within past 5 years.
10. The diets of most African American older adults need improvement. Fewer than 0.5% of these older adults ate quantities of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains as recommended by USDA guidelines.
11. A high-velocity resistance training during weight loss is well-tolerated by obese, older adults. Based on this finding, RI researchers will expand their initial sample size of 27 as part of a NIH R01 study, and add soy protein to the DASH diet in order to determine its effects on muscle function, body composition, and bone mineral density with resistance training.

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