Self-reported physical and emotional health of women in a low-fat, high-carbohydrate dietary trial (Canada).
OBJECTIVE
While decreased intake of dietary fat may have significant positive effects on women's health by reducing the risk of cancer and other diseases, little research has been carried out to determine the potential adverse effects of dietary fat reduction. This study compares the self-reported physical and emotional health of 402 low fat intervention and control group participants in the Canadian Diet and Breast Cancer Prevention Trial.


METHODS
Subjects who had been participating in the dietary intervention trial for at least 2 years completed 3 mailed questionnaires: two designed to assess physical and emotional health (MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ)) and a Health Practices Survey.


RESULTS
There were no significant differences between the study groups on total scores or any of the subscales/health domains for the SF-36 or the WHQ. In premenopausal women only, intervention group subjects scored significantly lower on the vasomotor symptoms scale, indicating less symptom experience. Frequency of visits to physicians and alternative health practitioners were not significantly different between the study groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study suggest that participation in a low-fat, high-carbohydrate dietary intervention did not have any detrimental effects on participants' self-reported physical health or emotional well-being.
Leyenaar
J
J
Division of Epidemiology and Statistics, Ontario Cancer Institute, Toronto, Canada.
Sutherland
H J
HJ
Lockwood
G A
GA
Martin
L J
LJ
Kriukov
V
V
Greenberg
C V
CV
Boyd
N F
NF
D000328:Adult; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats