Western pattern diet

The Western pattern diet, also called Western dietary pattern or the meat-sweet diet, is a dietary habit chosen by many people in developed countries, and increasingly in developing countries.[1] It is characterized by high intakes of red meat, sugary desserts, high-fat foods, and refined grains.[2] It also typically contains high-fat dairy products, high-sugar drinks, eggs,[3] and higher intakes of processed meat.

The term is used to describe this pattern of diet in medical literature, regardless of where the diet is found, and is often contrasted with the "prudent" diet, which has higher levels of fruits, vegetables, whole-grain foods, poultry and fish.[4] Other dietary patterns described in the medical research include "drinker" and "meat-eater" patterns.[5] Because of the variability in diets, individuals are usually classified not as simply "following" or "not following" a given diet, but instead by ranking them according to how closely their diets line up with each pattern in turn. The researchers then compare the outcomes between the group that most closely follows a given pattern to the group that least closely follows a given pattern.

Contents

Medical effects

Compared to the "prudent" diet, the Western pattern diet, based on epidemiological studies of Westerners, is positively correlated with an elevated incidence of obesity,[4] death from heart disease, cancer (especially colon cancer),[5] and other 'Western pattern diet' related diseases.[6]

Standard American Diet

The "Standard American Diet" (S.A.D.) is a similar term, specifically used to denigrate what some authors say is the stereotypical diet of Americans. The typical American diet is about 50% carbohydrate, 15% protein, and 35% fat[7] which is over the dietary guidelines for the amount of fat (below 30%), below the guidelines for carbohydrate (above 55%), and at the bottom end of the guidelines for the amount of protein (above 15%) recommended in the diet.[8]

The quality of the carbohydrate, protein, and fat is at least as important as the quantity. Complex carbohydrates such as starch are believed to be more healthy than the sugar so frequently consumed in the Standard American Diet. Fischer 344 rats fed cornstarch ad libitum lived nearly 10% longer than Fischer 344 rats fed sucrose ad libitum.[9] Fischer 344 rats fed soy protein ad libitum suffer less kidney damage than Fischer 344 rats fed casein or lactalbumin ad libitum.[10][11] The Standard American Diet is high in saturated fat, but it is estimated that for every 1% of saturated fat energy that is replaced with polyunsaturated fat there would be more than a 2-3% reduction in coronary heart disease incidence[12] And even for polyunsaturated fat, the high levels of omega-6 fatty acids compared to omega-3 fatty acids in the Western diet is believe to contribute to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases as well as cancer and cardiovascular disease.[13]

A review of eating habits in the United States in 2004 found that about 3/4 of restaurant meals were from fast-food restaurants, whereas only 1% were fine food dining restaurants. Nearly half of the meals ordered from a menu were hamburger, French fries, or poultry — and about one third of orders included a carbonated beverage drink.[14] Between 1970 to 2008 the per capita consumption of calories increased by nearly one-quarter in the United States and about 10% of all calories were from high-fructose corn syrup.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Lifestyle Choices and the Risk of Cancer. CancerWire via PolyMVA blog. September 6th, 2007. [1]
  2. ^ Diet Appears to Influence Colon Cancer Outcomes, Allison Gandey, August 17, 2007. [2]
  3. ^ Halton TL, Willett WC, Liu S, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB (February 2006). "Potato and french fry consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in women". Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 83 (2): 284–90. PMID 16469985. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=16469985. 
  4. ^ a b Fung TT, Rimm EB, Spiegelman D, et al. (January 2001). "Association between dietary patterns and plasma biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular disease risk". Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 73 (1): 61–7. PMID 11124751. 
  5. ^ a b Kesse E, Clavel-Chapelon F, Boutron-Ruault MC (December 2006). "Dietary patterns and risk of colorectal tumors: a cohort of French women of the National Education System (E3N)". Am. J. Epidemiol. 164 (11): 1085–93. doi:10.1093/aje/kwj324. PMC 2175071. PMID 16990408. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2175071. 
  6. ^ Heidemann C, Schulze MB, Franco OH, van Dam RM, Mantzoros CS, Hu FB (July 2008). "Dietary patterns and risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all causes in a prospective cohort of women". Circulation 118 (3): 230–7. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.771881. PMC 2748772. PMID 18574045. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2748772. 
  7. ^ Last AR, Wilson SA (2006). "Low-carbohydrate diets". AMERICAN FAMILY PHYSICIAN 73 (11): 1942-1948. PMID 16770923. http://www.aafp.org/afp/2006/0601/p1942.html. 
  8. ^ Layman DK, Boileau RA, Erickson DJ, Painter JE, Shiue H, Sather C, Christou DD (2003). "A reduced ratio of dietary carbohydrate to protein improves body composition and blood lipid profiles during weight loss in adult women". JOURNAL OF NUTRITION 133 (2): 411-417. PMID 12566476. http://jn.nutrition.org/content/133/2/411.full. 
  9. ^ Murtagh-Mark CM, Reiser KM, Harris R Jr, McDonald RB (1995). "Source of dietary carbohydrate affects life span of Fischer 344 rats independent of caloric restriction". THE JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY 50 (3): B148-B154. PMID 7743394. 
  10. ^ Shimokawa I, Higami Y, Hubbard GB, McMahan CA, Masoro EJ, Yu BP (1993). "Diet and the suitability of the male Fischer 344 rat as a model for aging research". JOURNAL OF GERONTOLOGY 48 (1): B27-B32. PMID 8418135. 
  11. ^ Rao GN (2002). "Diet and kidney diseases in rats" (PDF). TOXICOLOGIC PATHOLOGY 30 (6): 651-656. PMID 12512864. http://tpx.sagepub.com/content/30/6/651.full.pdf+html. 
  12. ^ Astrup A, Dyerberg J, Elwood P, Hermansen K, Hu FB, Jakobsen MU, Kok FJ, Krauss RM, Lecerf JM, LeGrand P, Nestel P, Risérus U, Sanders T, Sinclair A, Stender S, Tholstrup T, Willett WC (2011). "The role of reducing intakes of saturated fat in the prevention of cardiovascular disease: where does the evidence stand in 2010?". AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION 93 (4): 684-688. PMID 21270379. http://www.ajcn.org/content/93/4/684.long. 
  13. ^ Simopoulos AP (2008). "The importance of the omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio in cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases". EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 233 (6): 674-688. PMID 18408140. http://ebm.rsmjournals.com/content/233/6/674.long. 
  14. ^ Lobb, Annelena (17 September 2005). "Eating Habits -- A Look At the Average U.S. Diet". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB112671039063140472.html. Retrieved 2011-12-01. 
  15. ^ Philpott, Tom (April 5, 2011). "The American diet in one chart, with lots of fats and sugars". Industrial Agriculture. Grist. http://www.grist.org/industrial-agriculture/2011-04-05-american-diet-one-chart-lots-of-fats-sugars. Retrieved 2011-12-01.