Dietary Interventions
Our research
We conduct dietary interventions either in the clinical setting as formal trials or in Indigenous communities as community-directed trials in response to health surveys which have identified problems that need to be addressed at the community level.Examples of community-directed trials include supporting communities in interventions to improve the quality of the food supply either in the main community store, in take-away outlets or in the school canteen. We evaluate the success of these interventions through examining changes in the food supply and/or directly monitoring changes in health profile of individuals in the community. We are currently conducting a trial of providing a meal of fresh fruit and omega-3 polyunsaturated fat rich fish three times per week during dialysis to Aboriginal patients with end stage renal disease to determine whether this simple intervention can extend their survival.
We also conduct dietary intervention trials in non-Indigenous people in Melbourne. Examples include examining the impact of different diets on metabolic control in type 2 diabetes, and weight loss in over weight otherwise healthy people. We are particularly interested in dietary interventions which encourage compliance - they need to be highly palatable. Variations on the Mediterranean diet are providing a fruitful area of research in relation to reducing vascular disease risk, improving metabolic control in type 2 diabetes, and facilitating weight loss. In future studies we will examine the impact of energy density, and different types of dietary fat on these inter-related conditions.
Our staff
- PROFESSOR KERIN O'DEA
- DR LAIMA BRAZIONIS
- DR ALLISON HODGE
- DR CATHERINE ITSIOPOULOS
- A/PROFESSOR DANNY LIEW
- A/PROFESSOR LEONARD PIERS
- DR MARNO RYAN
- DR ANDREW WILSON
Our students
- DR ANDREW BLACK (PhD)
- MS JASMINE LYONS (PhD)
- MR EUGENE TING (AMS)
Our major grants
- Health outcomes monitoring and evaluation: learning about activity, nutrition, diet and social factors - HOMELANDS. (NHMRC Program Grant, 2005-2009, $7,071, 000) K O'Dea, W Hoy, K Rowley, J Best, Z Wang
- Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (2005-2006, $125,000) A comprehensive diabetes education service for urban Indigenous people in Darwin. K O'Dea
- NHMRC Public Health Training Fellowship (2008-2011) A Hodge
Our key publications
- Itsiopoulos C, Hodge A, Kaimakamis M. Can the Mediterranean Diet Prevent Prostate Cancer? Molecular Nutrition and Food Research (in press)
- Brazionis L, Rowley K, Itsiopoulos C, Harper CA, O'Dea K. Homocysteine and diabetic retinopathy. Diabetes Care. 2008 Jan;31(1):50-6
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Brazionis L, Rowley K, Sr., Itsiopoulos C, O'Dea K. Carotenoids and Diabetic Retinopathy. Brit J Nutr. 2008 (in press)
- Brazionis L, Rowley K, Jenkins A, Itsiopoulos C, O'Dea K. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) activity in type 2 diabetes: a different relationship with CHD and diabetic retinopathy. Atheroscl Thrombos Vasc Biol. 28: 786-791, 2008
- Fielding J, Rowley K, Cooper P, O'Dea K. Increases in plasma lycopene concentration after consumption of tomatoes. Asia Pacific J Clin Nutr. 14:131-136, 2005
- Piers LS, Walker K, Stoney R, Soares M, O'Dea K. Substitution of saturated with monounsaturated fat in a 4-week diet affects body weight and composition of overweight and obese men. Brit J Nutr. 90:717-727, 2003
- Su Q, Rowley KG, Itsiopoulos C, O'Dea K. Identification and quantitation of major carotenoids in selected components of the Mediterranean diet: green leafy vegetables, figs and olive oil. Eur J Clin Nutr, 56:1149-1154, 2002
- Rowley KG, Su Q, Cincotta M, Skinner M, Skinner K, Pindan B, White GA, O'Dea K. Improvements in circulating cholesterol, antioxidants, and homocysteine after dietary intervention in an Australian Aboriginal community. Am J Clin Nutr 74:442-8, 2001
Further information
Contact - enquiries @ medstv.unimelb.edu.au