Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Protocol For A Study Investigating The Influence Of Graded Levels Of Human Support On Adherence And Outcomes Of An Online, Multimodal Lifestyle Intervention To Improve Mental Health, Mel Renfrew, Darren Morton, Lillian Kent, Peter Beamish, Jason Hinze, Geraldine Przybylko, Bevan Craig

Lillian Kent

Introduction: Mental health is in global jeopardy and devising effective preventative and curative solutions are vital. Lifestyle interventions have been shown to be efficacious for improving mental health; however, in a progressively digital culture, face-to-face (F2F) interventions are being replaced by online and mobile options.¹ While online delivery can overcome ‘hurdles’ of inaccessibility and may also be more ‘scalable’, it poses unique challenges, as decreasing levels of human support can affect adherence to lifestyle interventions and associated outcomes.^2,3,4 Research is needed to better understand the importance of human support in online interventions and the type and dosage of …

The Association Between Self-Rated Health And Social Environments, Health Behaviors And Health Outcomes: A Structural Equation Analysis, Bevan Craig, Darren Morton, Peter Morey, Lillian Kent, Barry Gane, Terry Butler, Paul Rankin, Kevin Price

Lillian Kent

Background

The factors shaping the health of the current generation of adolescents are multi-dimensional and complex. The purpose of this study was to explore the determinants of self-rated health (SRH) of adolescents attending a faith-based school system in Australia.

Methods

A total of 788 students attending 21 Seventh-day Adventist schools in Australia responded to a health and lifestyle survey that assessed SRH as well as potential determinants of SRH including the health outcomes mental health, vitality, body mass index (BMI), select health behaviors, social factors and personal demographics. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data and examine the …

Hdl Subfraction Changes With A Low-Fat, Plant-Based Complete Health Improvement Program (Chip), Lillian Kent, Ross Grant, Greg Watts, Darren Morton, Paul Rankin, Ewan Ward

Lillian Kent

Background and Objectives: Low HDL concentrations are considered an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Interventions promoting a low-fat, plant-based eating pattern appear to reduce CVD risk while paradoxically also reducing HDL concentrations. Recent studies show HDL to comprise a range of subfractions, but the role these play in ameliorating the risk of CVD is unclear. The purpose of this study was to characterise changes in HDL subfractions in participants where HDL decreased following the CHIP intervention which promotes a low-fat, plant-based diet, with physical activity. Methods and Study Design: Individuals (n=22; mean age=55.4±16.3 years; 45.5% men, 54.5% women) participating …

The Adventist "Health Message" Unpacked, Lillian Kent

Lillian Kent

Since its organization as a denomination in the mid-19^th century, the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) church has been advocating the counsel of the church’s primary health reformer, Ellen White, which emphasizes the role of lifestyle in promoting health, happiness and enhanced spirituality¹. In 1905, Ellen White consolidated her counsel into this graphic statement: “Pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, use of water, trust in divine power – these are the true remedies”². Consequently, it is not surprising that research on the health of SDA since the 1950’s has shown that they appear to enjoy …

Trends In Bmi, Diet And Lifestyle Between 1976 And 2005 In North Sydney, Lillian Kent, Anthony Worsley

Lillian Kent

Although the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Australia has increased during the past 30 years, little is known about the dietary and behavioural antecedents of body mass index (BMI). We examined changes in mean BMI, diet, and other lifestyle behaviours between 1976 and 2005 and described the cross-sectional associations between these factors and BMI. A series of biennial biomedical surveys by Sydney Adventist Hospital from 1976 to 2005 allowed examination of BMI trends, while the selection of three surveys enabled detailed examination of likely dietary and lifestyle associations. Subjects included in this study were: 384 men and 338 women …

The Effect Of A Low-Fat, Plant-Based Lifestyle Intervention (Chip) On Serum Hdl Levels And The Implications For Metabolic Syndrome Status - A Cohort Study, Lillian Kent, Darren Morton, Paul Rankin, Ewan Ward, Ross Grant, John Gobble, Hans A. Diehl

Lillian Kent

Background

Low levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) are considered an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and constitute one of the criteria for the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). Lifestyle interventions promoting a low-fat, plant-based eating pattern appear to paradoxically reduce cardiovascular risk but also HDL levels. This study examined the changes in MetS risk factors, in particular HDL, in a large cohort participating in a 30-day lifestyle intervention that promoted a low-fat, plant-based eating pattern.

Methods

Individuals (n = 5,046; mean age = 57.3 ± 12.9 years; 33.5% men, 66.5% women) participating in a in a Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) …

The Effectiveness Of The Complete Health Improvement Program (Chip) In Australasia For Reducing Selected Chronic Disease Risk Factors: A Feasibility Study, Darren Morton, Paul Rankin, Peter Morey, Lillian Kent, Trevor Hurlow, Esther Chang, Hans A. Diehl

Lillian Kent

Abstract Aim To examine the effectiveness within the Australasian context of the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) lifestyle intervention, which has been shown to produce meaningful reductions in selected chronic disease risk factors in the United States. Methods Changes in body weight, blood pressure, blood lipid profile and fasting plasma glucose were assessed in 836 self-selected participants (age=55.9±12.7 yrs, 35% male/65% female) from 18 sites throughout New Zealand (N=731) and Australia (N=105). Results In the 30 days of the program, significant overall reductions (pConclusions Significant reductions in selected chronic disease risk factors were observed in 30 days using the CHIP …

Long-Term Effectiveness Of The Community-Based Complete Health Improvement Program (Chip) Lifestyle Intervention: A Cohort Study, Lillian Kent, Darren Morton, Trevor Hurlow, Paul Rankin, Althea Hanna, Hans A. Diehl

Lillian Kent

Objective: To examine the long-term (three or more years) effectiveness of the volunteer-delivered CHIP intervention.

Design: Cohort study

Setting: Hawera, New Zealand

Participants: Of the total cohort of 284 individuals who self-selected to complete the CHIP lifestyle intervention between 2007 and 2009, 106 (37% of the original cohort, mean age = 64.9±7.4 years, range 42-87 years; 35% males, 65% female) returned in 2012 for a complimentary follow-up health assessment (mean follow-up duration = 49.2+10.4 months).

Intervention: 30-day lifestyle modification program (diet, physical activity, substance use and stress management) delivered by volunteers in a community setting.

Main outcome measures: Changes in …

Salmonellosis Outbreak Linked To The Consumption Of Fried Ice-Cream, Lillian Kent, J Gregory, M Patel

Lillian Kent

On 8 April 2011, the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Unit (CDPCU) of the Victorian Department of Health was advised that three adolescents from the same family had been admitted to a metropolitan hospital for treatment of dehydration secondary to diarrhoea. Other symptoms included fever and vomiting. Initial enquires suggested that the adolescents may have become infected after eating fried eggs for breakfast at their aunt’s home over three consecutive days, or dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Six days later two more notifications of salmonellosis were received by CDPCU; both cases had eaten at the same Chinese restaurant. Also on …

Don't Forget The Brain: Lifestyle Medicine In The Century Of Neurodegeneration, Bruce Thompson, Darren Morton, Lillian Kent

Lillian Kent

Neurology is often not discussed in lifestyle medicine circles, but it might be an area that will propel the cause of lifestyle medicine in the future. This is especially relevant in increasingly common neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, which have no known disease modifying therapy but lifestyle factors are implicated in causation.

Does The Prescriptive Lifestyle Of Seventh-Day Adventists Provide Immunity From The Secular Effects Of Changes In Bmi?, Lillian Kent, Anthony Worsley

Lillian Kent

Objective: To examine the effect of Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) membership on ‘immunity’ to the secular effects of changes in BMI.

Design: Three independent, cross-sectional, screening surveys conducted by Sydney Adventist Hospital in 1976, 1986 and 1988 and a survey conducted among residents of Melbourne in 2006.

Subjects: Two hundred and fifty-two SDA and 464 non-SDA in 1976; 166 SDA and 291 non-SDA in 1986; 120 SDA and 300-non SDA in 1988; and 251 SDA and 294 non-SDA in 2006.

Measurements: Height and weight measured by hospital staff in 1976, 1986 and 1988; self-reported by respondents in 2006.

Results …

Gender Differences In Effectiveness Of The Complete Health Improvement Program, Lillian Kent, Darren Morton, Paul Rankin, John Gobble, Hans A. Diehl

Lillian Kent

Objective: To determine the differential effect of gender on outcomes of the Complete Health Improvement Program, a chronic disease lifestyle intervention program.

Design: Thirty-day cohort study.

Setting: One hundred thirty-six venues around North America, 2006 to 2009.

Participants: A total of 5,046 participants (33.5% men, aged 57.9 ± 13.0 years; 66.5% women, aged 57.0 ± 12.9 years).

Intervention: Diet, exercise, and stress management.

Main Outcome Measures: Body mass index, diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, lipids, and fasting plasma glucose (FPG).

Analysis: The researchers used t test and McNemar chi-square test of proportions, at P < .05.

Results: Reductions were significantly greater …

A Positive Association Between Cryptosporidiosis Notifications And Ambient Temperature, Victoria, Australia, 2001-2009, Lillian Kent, Michelle Mcpherson, Nasra Higgins

Lillian Kent

Increased temperatures provide optimal conditions for pathogen survival, virulence and replication as well as increased opportunities for human-pathogen interaction. This paper examined the relationship between notifications of cryptosporidiosis and temperature in metropolitan and rural areas of Victoria, Australia between 2001-2009. A negative binomial regression model was used to analyse monthly average maximum and minimum temperatures, rainfall and the monthly count of cryptosporidiosis notifications. In the metropolitan area, a 1°C increase in monthly average minimum temperature of the current month was associated with a 22% increase in cryptosporidiosis notifications (IRR 1.22; 95% CI 1.13 – 1.31). In the rural area, a …