Research Projects

Healthy Diet by Life Stage

Research projects in this topic area explored issues, dietary strategies, and implications for nutrition communications in the following life stages.

 

Early Childhood

  • Cross sectional studies – to investigate the prevalence of iron deficiency and associations between dietary patterns and health outcomes, including iron and zinc status and risk of overweight and obesity1-3.
  • Dietary interventions – to explore food-based strategies for preventing iron and zinc deficiency in developing and developed countries. These included strategies, such as baby-led weaning, that ensure adequate intake of iron and zinc and establish eating habits to reduce risk of overweight and obesity4-6. Food-based strategies in developing countries aim to improve dietary diversity7-8.
  • Consumer insights – to better understand enablers and barriers of red meat consumption from 6 months of age and within the context of the family meal9.

Young women

  • Cross sectional studies and literature reviews – to investigate the prevalence of iron and zinc deficiencies, its impact on cognition and associations between diet, obesity and iron and zinc status10-18.
  • Dietary interventions – to evaluate the impact of dietary strategies on iron and zinc status, eating behaviours, cognition and weight loss19-24.
  • Consumer insights – to understand attitudes and beliefs related to healthy eating and weight management in young women25.

Adults 19 to 65 years

  • Meta-analysis – systematic quantitative assessment of the epidemiologic literature to understand the relationship between red meat consumption and colorectal cancer26.
  • Dietary interventions – to investigate the effect of dietary strategies that included lean red meat in a healthy diet on weight loss, markers of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, blood pressure, mental health, acne and gut health26-37.
  • Consumer insights – to understand attitudes and beliefs related to healthy eating and management of chronic disease risk factors, including a healthy weight management from both the consumer and health professional perspective38.

Adults above 65 years

  • Dietary interventions – to investigate the impact of combining a protein-enriched diet with progressive resistance training on muscle health and cognitive function in a community setting39,40.
  • Literature review – to describe protein requirements based on functional outcomes41.
  • Active Ageing Expert Working Party – established by MLA to guide development and distribution of nutrition education resources on healthy living after 65 years of age42.
  • Consumer insights – to explore attitudes and beliefs of older people around health and wellbeing and evaluated the impact of nutrition communications42.

 

Publications

Early Childhood

  1. Mauch C, Perry R, Magarey A, Daniels L. Dietary intake in Australian children aged 4–24 months: consumption of meat and meat alternatives. Br J Nutr. 2015;113(11):1761-1772. doi:1017/S0007114515000719
  2. Zhou S, Gibson R, Gibson R, Makrides M. Nutrient intakes and status of preschool children in Adelaide, South Australia. Med J Aust. 2012;196(11):696-700. doi:5694/mja11.11080
  3. Byrne R, Magarey A, Daniels L. Food and beverage intake in Australian children aged 12-16 months participating in the NOURISH and SAIDI studies. Aust NZ J Public Health. 2014;38(4):326-331.doi:1111/1753-6405.12249
  4. Szymlek-Gay E, Ferguson E, Heath A, Gray A, Gibson R. Food-based strategies improve iron status in toddlers: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;90(6):1541-1551. doi:3945/ajcn.2009.27588
  5. Daniels L, Mallan K, Nicholson J, Battistutta D, Magarey A. Outcomes of an early feeding practices intervention to prevent childhood obesity. Pediatrics. 2013;132(1):e109–e118.
    doi:10.1542/peds.2012-2882
  6. Daniels L, Taylor R, Williams S, Gibson R, Fleming E, Wheeler B, Taylor B, Haszard J, Heath A. Impact of a modified version of baby-led weaning on iron intake and status: a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2018;8:e019036. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019036
  7. Duizer L, Diana A, Rathomi H, Luftimas D, Rahmannia S, Santi W, Nugraha G, Haszard J, Gibson R, Houghton L. An acceptability trial of desiccated beef liver and meat powder as potential fortifiers of complementary diets of young children in Indonesia. J Food Sci. 2017,82(9):2206-2215. doi:10.1111/1/1750-3841.13807
  8. Diana A, Mallard S, Haszard J, Purnamasari D, Nurulazmi I, Herliani P, Nugraha G, Gibson R, Loughton L. Consumption of fortified infant foods reduces dietary diversity but has a positive effect on subsequent growth in infants from Sumedang district, Indonesia. PLoS One. 2017. 12(4): e0175952. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0175952
  9. For information about consumer insights, contact nutrition@mla.com.au

Young women

  1. Lim K, Riddell L, Nowson C, Booth A, Szymlek-Gay E. Iron and zinc nutrition in the economically-developed world: A review. Nutrients. 2013;5(8):3184-3211. doi:10.3390/nu5083184
  2. Lomagno K, Hu F, Riddell L, Booth A, Szymlek-Gay E, Nowson C, Byrne L . Increasing iron and zinc in pre-menopausal women and its effects on mood and cognition: A systematic review. Nutrients. 2014;6(11):5117-5141. doi:10.3390/nu6115117
  3. Leonard A, Chalmers K, Collins C, Patterson A. A study of the effects of latent iron deficiency on measures of cognition: a pilot randomised controlled trial of iron supplementation in young women. Nutrients. 2014;6(6),2419-2435. doi:10.3390/nu6062419
  4. Greig A, Patterson A, Collins C, Chalmers K. Iron deficiency, cognition, mental health and fatigue in women of childbearing age: a systematic review. J Nutr Sci. 2013;2:e14. doi:10.1017/jns.2013.7
  5. Lim K, Booth A, Szymlek-Gay E, Gibson R, Bailey K, Irving D, Nowson C, Riddell L. Associations between dietary iron and zinc intakes, and between biochemical iron and zinc status in women. Nutrients. 2015;7(4):2983-2999. doi:10.3390/nu7042983
  6. Leonard A, Chalmers K, Collins C, Patterson A. The effect of nutrition knowledge and dietary iron intake on iron status in young women. Appetite. 2014;81:225-231. doi:1016/j.appet.2014.06.021
  7. Fayet F, Flood V, Petocz P, Samman S. Avoidance of meat and poultry decreases intakes of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, selenium and zinc in young women. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2014;27:135-142. doi:10.1111/jhn.12092
  8. Ho M, Baur L, Cowell C, Samman S, Garnett S. Zinc status, dietary zinc intake and metabolic risk in Australian children and adolescents; Nepean Longitudinal Study. Eu J Nutr. 2017;56(7):2407-2414. doi:10.1007/s00394-016-1280-3
  9. Cheng H, Bryant C, Rooney K, Steinbeck K, Griffin H, Petocz P, O’Connor H. Iron, hepcidin and inflammatory status of young healthy overweight and obese women in Australia. PLoS One. 2013; 8(7):e68675. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0068675
  10. O’Connor H, Munas Z, Griffin H, Rooney K, Cheng H, Steinbeck K. Nutritional adequacy of energy restricted diets for young obese women. Asia Pac J Nutr. 2011;20(2):206-211.
  11. Cheng H, Griffin H, Claes B, Petocz P, Steinbeck K, Rooney K, O’Connor H. Influence of dietary macronutrient composition on eating behaviour and self-perception in young women undergoing weight management. Eat Weight Disord. 2014;19(2):241-7. doi: 10.1007/s40519-014-0110-y
  12. Cheng H, Griffin H, Bryant C, Rooney K, Steinbeck K, O'Connor H. Impact of diet and weight loss on iron and zinc status in overweight and obese young women. Asia Pac J Nutr. 2013;22(4):574-82. doi: 10.6133/apjcn.2013.22.4.08
  13. Griffin H, Cheng H, O’Connor H, Rooney K, Petocz P, Steinbeck K. Higher protein diet for weight management in young overweight women: a 12-month randomized controlled trial. Diabetes, Obes Metab. 2013; 15(6):572-5. doi: 10.1111/dom.12056
  14. Heath A, Skeaff C, O’Brien S, Williams S, Gibson R. Can dietary treatment of non-anemic iron deficiency improve iron status? J Am Coll Nutr. 2001;20(5):477-484. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2001.10719056
  15. Patterson A, Brown W, Roberts D, Seldon M. Dietary treatment of iron deficiency in women of childbearing age. Am J Clin Nutr. 2001;74(5):650-656. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/74.5.650
  16. For information about consumer insights, contact nutrition@mla.com.au

Adults 19 to 65 years

  1. Alexander D, Weed D, Miller P, Mohamed M. Red meat and colorectal cancer: a quantitative update on the state of the epidemiologic science. J Am Coll Nutr. 2015;34(6):521-543. doi:10.1080/07315724.2014.992553
  2. Noakes M, Keogh J, Foster P, Clifton P. Effect of an energy-restricted, high-protein, low-fat diet relative to a conventional high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet on weight loss, body composition, nutritional status, and markers of cardiovascular health in obese women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;81(6):1298-1306. doi:10.1093/ajcn/81.6.1298
  3. Clifton P, Keogh J, Noakes M. Long-term effects of a high-protein weight-loss diet. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008;87(1):23-29. doi:10.1093/ajcn/87.1.23
  4. Larsen R, Mann N, Maclean E, Shaw J. The effect of high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: a 12 month randomised controlled trial. Diabetologia. 2011;54(4):731-740. doi:10.1007/s00125-010-2027-y
  5. Hodgson J, Burke V, Beilin L, Puddey I. Partial substitution of carbohydrate intake with protein intake from lean red meat lowers blood pressure in hypertensive persons. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;83(4):780-787. doi:10.1093/ajcn/83.4.780
  6. Hodgson J, Ward N, Burke V, Beilin L, Puddey I. Increased lean red meat intake does not elevate markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in humans. J Nutr. 2007;137(2):363-367. doi:10.1093/jn/137.2.363
  7. Nowson C, Wattanapenpaiboon N, Pachett A. Low-sodium dietary approaches to stop hypertension–type diet including lean red meat lowers blood pressure in postmenopausal women. Nutr Res. 2009;29(1):8-18. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2008.12.002
  8. Torres S, Nowson C. A moderate-sodium DASH-type diet improves mood in postmenopausal women. Nutrition. 2012;28(9):896-900. doi:10.1016/j.nut.2011.11.029
  9. Jacka F, O’Neil A, Opie R, Itsiopoulos C, Cotton S, Mohebbi M, Castle D, Dash S, Mihalopoulos C, Chatterton M, Brazionis L, Dean O, Hodge A, Berk M. A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the ‘SMILES’ trial). BMC Med . 2017;15(1):23. doi:10.1186/s12916-017-0791-y
  10. Smith R, Mann N, Braue A, Mäkeläinen H, Varigos G. A low-glycemic-load diet improves symptoms in acne vulgaris patients: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;86(1):107-115. doi:10.1093/ajcn/86.1.107
  11. Muir J, Yeow E, Keogh J, Pizzey C, Bird A, Sharpe K, O’Dea K, Macrae F. Combining wheat bran with resistant starch has more beneficial effects on fecal indexes than does wheat bran alone. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;79(6):1020-1028. doi:10.1093/ajcn/79.6.1020
  12. Murtaza N, et al. Increasing dietary intake of prebiotics can lead to expansion in polyol-utilizing members of Bifidobacteria spp and fungal communities. Gastroenterology.2020;158(6):S-484
  1. For information about consumer insights, contact nutrition@mla.com.au

Adults above 65 years

  1. Daly R, O’Connell S, Mundell N, Grimes C, Dunstan D, Nowson C. Protein-enriched diet, with the use of lean red meat, combined with progressive resistance training enhances lean tissue mass and muscle strength and reduces circulating IL-6 concentrations in elderly women: a cluster randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014;99(4):899-910. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.064154
  2. Formica M, Gianoudis J, Nowson C, O'Connell S, Milte C, Ellis K, Daly R. Effect of lean red meat combined with a multicomponent exercise program on muscle and cognitive function in older adults: a 6-month randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2020;112(1):113-128. doi:10.1093/ajcn/nqaa104
  3. Nowson C, O'Connell S. Protein requirements and recommendations for older people: A review. Nutrients. 2015;7(8):6874-6899. doi:10.3390/nu7085311
  4. For information about consumer insights and Active Aging Expert Working Group, contact nutrition@mla.com.au