Perceptions and Knowledge of Nuts amongst Health  Professionals in New Zealand

Brown, Rachel C.; Yong, Lee Ching; Gray, Andrew; Tey, Siew Ling; Chisholm, Alexandra; Leong, Sook Ling

doi:10.3390/nu9030220

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…A recent survey which examined barriers to and facilitators of nut consumption among the general public in New Zealand found that dental issues was the most frequently reported reason for the avoidance of nut consumption [ 91 ]. In addition, in a survey among health professionals (dietitians, general practitioners, practice nurses), dental issues were reported by around 14% of participants as a reason why they advise some of their patients to eat fewer nuts [ 92 ]. Furthermore, among dietitians, dental issues were one of the top five reasons why they advised their patients to eat fewer nuts.…”

Section: Overcoming Potential Barriers and Side-effects Of Nutsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Nuts Mitigate Malnutrition in Older Adults? A Conceptual Framework

2018

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The proportion of adults aged over 60 years in the world is expected to reach 20% by the year 2050. Ageing is associated with several physiological changes that increase the risk of malnutrition among this population. Malnutrition is characterized by deficiencies or insufficiencies of macro- and micronutrients. Malnutrition has detrimental effects on the health, wellbeing, and quality of life in older adults. Nuts are rich in energy, unsaturated fats, and protein, as well as other nutrients that provide a range of health benefits. While the effects of nuts on overnutrition have been studied extensively, very few studies have been specifically designed to understand the role of nuts in mitigating undernutrition in the elderly. Therefore, this review explores the potential role of nuts in improving the nutritional status of older adults who are at risk of undernutrition. Several properties of whole nuts, some of which appear important for addressing overnutrition, (e.g., hardness, lower-than-expected nutrient availability, satiety-enhancing effects) may limit their effectiveness as a food to combat undernutrition. However, we propose that modifications such as transforming the physical form of nuts, addressing the timing of nut ingestion, and introducing variety may overcome these barriers. This review also discusses the feasibility of using nuts to prevent and reverse undernutrition among older adults. We conclude with a recommendation to conduct clinical studies in the future to test this conceptual framework.

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Section: Overcoming Potential Barriers and Side-effects Of Nutsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Nuts Mitigate Malnutrition in Older Adults? A Conceptual Framework

2018

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“…Even though nuts contain very high amounts of fat, their consumption has repeatedly been shown not to be associated with weight gain [ 11 , 17 , 18 , 19 ], but instead with moderate weight loss or weight stability, as reported in a large prospective study, involving 373,000 participants from 10 European countries [ 11 ]. Despite these findings, there is still a common belief that nut intake is associated with weight gain risk, even among health care professionals [ 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nut Consumption and Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Mediterranean Population

et al. 2017

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Nuts are often considered beneficial for health, yet few studies have examined determinants of their intake and the associations between nut consumption and various cardiovascular disease risk factors. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with nut intake in a Mediterranean population, in Croatia, and to investigate the association of nut intake and various cardiovascular risk factors. Methods: Subjects from the Island of Vis, Island of Korčula and the City of Split were included in this cross-sectional study (n = 4416 in total; 4011 without known cardiovascular disease). Survey responses, medical records and clinically relevant measurements were utilized. Multivariate ordinal and logistic regression models were used in the analysis, adjusting for known confounding factors. Results: As low as 5% of all subjects reported daily, and 11% reported weekly, nut consumption. The characteristics associated with more frequent nut intake were female gender (Odds ratio (OR) = 1.39; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19–1.62), highest level of education (1.42; 1.15–1.76) and material status (1.58; 1.29–1.93), smoking abstinence (1.21; 1.04–1.42 in never-smokers and 1.22; 1.02–1.46 in ex-smokers), Mediterranean diet adherence (1.87; 1.62–2.15), and absence of central obesity (1.29; 1.09–1.53), absence of diabetes (1.30; 1.02–1.66) and metabolic syndrome (1.17; 1.01–1.36). Subjects who consumed nuts had more favorable waist-to-height (overall p = 0.036) and waist-to-hip ratios (0.033), lesser odds of elevated fibrinogen (p < 0.001 in both weekly and monthly nut consumers) and reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (p = 0.026), compared to non-consumers. Conclusions: It appears that frequent nut consumption is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle and better socioeconomic status. A beneficial association of nut intake with cardiovascular risk factors was confirmed in this study.

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“…The study methods are described in detail elsewhere ( Brown et al, 2017 ; Yong et al, 2017 ), and only essential details are presented here.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of perceptions of nuts between the general public, dietitians, general practitioners, and nurses

Brown

Gray

Yong

et al. 2018

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BackgroundNut consumption at the population level remains low despite the well-documented benefits of their consumption, including their cardioprotective effects. Studies have suggested that advice from health professionals may be a means to increase nut consumption levels. Understanding how nuts are perceived by the public and health professionals, along with understanding the public’s perceptions of motivators of and deterrents to consuming nuts, may inform the development of initiatives to improve on these low levels of consumption. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare perceptions of nuts among three groups of health professionals (dietitians, general practioners, and practice nurses) and the general public in New Zealand (NZ), along with motivators of and deterrents to consuming nuts amongst the general public and their experiences of receiving advice around nut consumption.MethodsThe NZ electoral roll was used to identify dietitians, general practitioners (GPs), and practice nurses, based on their free-text occupation descriptions, who were then invited to complete a questionnaire with 318, 292, and 149 respondents respectively. 1,600 members of the general public were randomly selected from the roll with 710 respondents. Analyses were performed using chi-squared tests to look at differences in categorical variables and linear regression for differences in other variables between the four survey groups.ResultsAlthough there were significant differences between the four groups regarding the perceptions of nuts, in general there was agreement that nuts are healthy, high in protein and fat, are filling, and some nuts are high in selenium. We noted frequent agreement that the general public participants would consume more if nuts: improved health (67%), were more affordable (60%), or improved the nutrient content (59%) and balance of fats (58%) within their diets. Over half the respondents reported they would eat more nuts if they were advised to do so by a dietitian or doctor, despite less than 4% reporting they had received such advice. The most frequently selected deterrents to increasing nut consumption were: cost (67%), potential weight gain (66%), and leading to eating too much fat (63%).DiscussionIt is concerning that so few among the general public report receiving advice to consume more nuts from health professionals, especially given their apparent responsiveness to such advice. Health professionals could exploit the motivators of nut consumption, while also addressing the deterrents, to promote nut intake. These factors should also be addressed in public health messages to encourage regular nut consumption among the public. Educational initiatives could also be used to improve the nutritional knowledge of GPs and practice nurses with regard to nuts, although even dietitians were unsure of their knowledge in some cases.

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Perceptions and Knowledge of Nuts amongst Health Professionals in New Zealand

Cited by 15 publications

References 62 publications

Can Nuts Mitigate Malnutrition in Older Adults? A Conceptual Framework

Can Nuts Mitigate Malnutrition in Older Adults? A Conceptual Framework

Nut Consumption and Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Mediterranean Population

A comparison of perceptions of nuts between the general public, dietitians, general practitioners, and nurses

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