Perth Aboriginal Breast Feeding Study: Reasons For Not Breast Feeding And For The Early Cessation Of Breast Feeding.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$207,237.00
Summary
Perth Aboriginal Breast Feeding Study : Reasons for not Breast Feeding and for the Early Cessation of Breast Feeding. Breastfeeding has many advantages for the nutrition and health of infants and mothers. Recent research has shown the importance of longitudinal studies of breast feeding and the importance of family support systems, especially the attitude of the baby's father. In urban Aboriginal families the rate of breast feeding is lower and the duration is shorter than for those living in ru ....Perth Aboriginal Breast Feeding Study : Reasons for not Breast Feeding and for the Early Cessation of Breast Feeding. Breastfeeding has many advantages for the nutrition and health of infants and mothers. Recent research has shown the importance of longitudinal studies of breast feeding and the importance of family support systems, especially the attitude of the baby's father. In urban Aboriginal families the rate of breast feeding is lower and the duration is shorter than for those living in rural areas. There have been no longitudinal studies exploring the factors involved in the initiation and the continuation of breast feeding by Aboriginal women. A sample of 440 Aboriginal women will be recruited from Perth maternity hospitals. After an initial interview the women will be followed up at monthly intervals to find out their progress with breast feeding. In addition a number of focus group discussions will explore attitudes of Aboriginal women and men to breast feeding. The outcome of the studies will be information to feed back to the community through Aboriginal organisations. It will provide the basis for specifically targeted health promotion programs to maintain and to improve breast feeding rates in the Aboriginal community.Read moreRead less
Dietary sugarcane-derived polyphenols reduce obesity. The Australian Sugar Industry is a billion dollar industry with refined sugar being calorie-rich but nutrition poor. Consumption of refined sugar is a main contributor to the increasing problem of obesity and metabolic syndrome, costing the Australian health system billions of dollars annually. The principal outcomes of this project will be to show that the polyphenols contained in the waste products from sugar refining can be used to reduce ....Dietary sugarcane-derived polyphenols reduce obesity. The Australian Sugar Industry is a billion dollar industry with refined sugar being calorie-rich but nutrition poor. Consumption of refined sugar is a main contributor to the increasing problem of obesity and metabolic syndrome, costing the Australian health system billions of dollars annually. The principal outcomes of this project will be to show that the polyphenols contained in the waste products from sugar refining can be used to reduce body fat and insulin resistance. These outcomes have enormous implications for human health and disease, and for the sugar industry, thus providing a competitive edge in the world sugar market.Read moreRead less
Development of novel omega-3 enriched poultry products. New Health recommendations and changes to the Food Standards Code encourage greater dietary intake of omega-3 (w-3) fatty acids. Our core research on modifying fatty acid composition of poultry tissues and preliminary studies with our industry partner's proprietary fishmeal product (PorcOmega) have indicated the feasibility of producing novel meat products and eggs with high w-3 contents, which would qualify to carry a new nutrition label. ....Development of novel omega-3 enriched poultry products. New Health recommendations and changes to the Food Standards Code encourage greater dietary intake of omega-3 (w-3) fatty acids. Our core research on modifying fatty acid composition of poultry tissues and preliminary studies with our industry partner's proprietary fishmeal product (PorcOmega) have indicated the feasibility of producing novel meat products and eggs with high w-3 contents, which would qualify to carry a new nutrition label. We now propose, in collaboration with our industry partner, to assess the viability of producing such products by conducting poultry feeding trials with PorcOmega on a commercial scale and evaluating both the levels of w-3 enrichement of chicken breast, thigh and sausages, shelf-life and consumer acceptability (sensory evaluation) of these products. We expect to establish feeding strategies for adoption by commercial producers of premium poultry and eggs for local or export markets.Read moreRead less
Development and evaulation of novel foods enriched with very long chain omega-3 fatty acids. This project is a collaborative effort between Meadow Lea Foods, Clover Corporation, and the Universities of Wollongong and Western Australia. The aims are 1) to develop a range of functional foods enriched with omega-3 from tuna oil; 2) to see whether the recommended omega-3 intake, currently nor met by most Australians, can be achieved by including these foods in the diet; 3) to evaluate sensory and he ....Development and evaulation of novel foods enriched with very long chain omega-3 fatty acids. This project is a collaborative effort between Meadow Lea Foods, Clover Corporation, and the Universities of Wollongong and Western Australia. The aims are 1) to develop a range of functional foods enriched with omega-3 from tuna oil; 2) to see whether the recommended omega-3 intake, currently nor met by most Australians, can be achieved by including these foods in the diet; 3) to evaluate sensory and health attributes and other factors that may impact on consumer acceptability hence market potential of the food range. There is little evidence of the feasibility let alone health and social benefits of utilising novel foods to meet the dietary omega-3 recommendation. We expect a) to show how consumers could benefit by using a range of such foods in their customary diet; b) to critically set this achievement within the context of current social trends in food product development. Read moreRead less
Food supply, diet and membrane lipids and the determination of metabolic rate. There are two types of polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6), which are both essential in the diet. This project will examine whether our current diet has a good balance of these two classes of fatty acids. It will examine the hypothesis that we do not have enough omega-3 polyunsaturates in our modern diet and that this imbalance has important consequences for metabolism and health. It will give insight in ....Food supply, diet and membrane lipids and the determination of metabolic rate. There are two types of polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6), which are both essential in the diet. This project will examine whether our current diet has a good balance of these two classes of fatty acids. It will examine the hypothesis that we do not have enough omega-3 polyunsaturates in our modern diet and that this imbalance has important consequences for metabolism and health. It will give insight into a relatively unappreciated cause of the current obesity epidemic and likely result in new strategies to combat this problem. It will have implications for other important health issues (such as depression) as well as for the food supply of Australia. Read moreRead less
Identification of Australian-bred apple and plum varieties with enhanced health attributes. Improved prevention could save Australia $4 billion annually in health care costs, mainly in the area of cardiovascular disease. A higher flavonoid intake has been estimated to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by about 20%. Apples are important sources of flavonoids in the diet. The proposed project involves collaboration between the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia and the U ....Identification of Australian-bred apple and plum varieties with enhanced health attributes. Improved prevention could save Australia $4 billion annually in health care costs, mainly in the area of cardiovascular disease. A higher flavonoid intake has been estimated to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by about 20%. Apples are important sources of flavonoids in the diet. The proposed project involves collaboration between the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia and the University of Western Australia. The aim is to identify progeny of both the apple and plum breeding programs that have elite levels of flavonoids and to demonstrate health benefits of a high-flavonoid apple. This could lead to significant benefits to Australian horticulture and to population health.Read moreRead less
Healthy eating campaigns: perceptions of the message and messenger. This project will be a means to evaluate the likely effectiveness of some of the resolutions of the NSW Childhood Obesity Summit aimed at the commercial food industry and the media. The project will provide information for the food industry on consumers' perceptions of their credibility as a source of information about healthy eating. This will inform the development of communication campaigns, as well as provide guidance on de ....Healthy eating campaigns: perceptions of the message and messenger. This project will be a means to evaluate the likely effectiveness of some of the resolutions of the NSW Childhood Obesity Summit aimed at the commercial food industry and the media. The project will provide information for the food industry on consumers' perceptions of their credibility as a source of information about healthy eating. This will inform the development of communication campaigns, as well as provide guidance on development and marketing of 'healthier' brand extensions. The project will also have considerable benefit for public health. The findings will be relevant to government and non-government health promotion organisations considering the effectiveness of social marketing campaigns in association with food companies.Read moreRead less
Maintaining bone strength in the elderly: the role of exercise and calcium fortified foods. There are currently no effective pharmacological agents for maintaining or increasing bone density during ageing available to older men with low bone strength. We aim to measure the effect on bone density and strength of older men who eat food products enhanced with calcium and vitamin D and undertake regular exercise. The results of this research will make an important contribution to knowledge about the ....Maintaining bone strength in the elderly: the role of exercise and calcium fortified foods. There are currently no effective pharmacological agents for maintaining or increasing bone density during ageing available to older men with low bone strength. We aim to measure the effect on bone density and strength of older men who eat food products enhanced with calcium and vitamin D and undertake regular exercise. The results of this research will make an important contribution to knowledge about the influence of diet and exercise on bone health. This research is also important for the food industry to ensure that the development of innovative food products is based on strong evidence.
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