Effectiveness and Acceptability of a LowFat, Vegan Diet at GEICO Heather Katcher, Ph'D', R'D' hkatch

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Effectiveness and Acceptability of a Low-Fat,
Vegan Diet at GEICO Heather Katcher, Ph.D.,
R.D. hkatcher_at_washingtonccr.orgWashington
Center for Clinical ResearchWashington,
D.C.April 24, 2009
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Benefits of Plant-based Diets

• Weight control
• Prevent and reverse cardiovascular disease
• Prevent diabetes and improve glycemic control
• Reduce risk of certain types of cancer

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Plant-based Diets are Well-Liked!

• gt 90 said diet was good, moderately good, or
  extremely good
• 75 said foods were fairly, moderately or
  extremely easy to prepare
• gt 80 said likely to continue with diet at least
  most of time

Barnard et al., J Nutr Educ, 2000 Barnard et
al., J Cardiopulm Rehabil, 2004
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Low-fat, Vegan diet

• No animal products
• Abundant fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and
  legumes
• No added oils

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Why Vegan?

• Plant Foods
• No Cholesterol
• Low Fat
• Low Saturated Fat
• High Fiber
• Antioxidants

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Study Participants

• Employees with BMI 25 or type 2 diabetes
• 113 Total Participants at GEICO
• 68 at Chevy Chase, MD (low-fat vegan diet)
• 45 at Fredericksburg, VA (no diet changes)

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Nutrition Intervention

• Weekly group meetings at Chevy Chase
• Nutrition Education
• Group Support
• Cooking demonstrations
• Vegan options in cafeteria

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Medical Visits
Weight and waist circumference Blood
pressure Lipids A1c in those with diabetes
Absenteeism self report Quality of Life
Short Form (SF)-36 Diet Satisfaction Food
Acceptability Questionnaire
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Study Participants

• Vegan Control
• Age 46 10 42 10
• Women 50 (73.5) 43 (95.6)
• BMI (kg/m2) 36.4 (7.3) 36.4 (7.1)
• LDL-C (mg/dL) 104 32 107 28
• Triglycerides (mg/dL) 154 97 132 62
• Systolic BP (mmHg) 119 14 116 11
• Diastolic BP (mmHg) 80 10 78 8

P lt 0.05
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Change in Body Weight
100.3
100.1
99.9
98.7
94.4
93.6
P-value lt0.0001
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Change in Body Weight
Ranges in weight change Vegan 6.3kg (13.9lbs)
to -20.7kg (45.6lbs) Control 16.5kg (36.4lbs)
to -7.9kg (17.4lbs) Total change in
weight Vegan -348.7kg (768.8lbs) n
68 Control 6.1kg (13.4lbs) n 45
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Change in Waist Circumference
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Change in Waist Circumference
111.5
111.0
110.2
110.3
106.6
105.5
P-value lt0.0001
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Hillary and Bruce
Before After Hillary 240 lbs
(36.4 kg/m2) 155 lbs (23.5 kg/m2) Bruce 283
lbs (36.6 kg/m2) 185 lbs (23.8 kg/m2)
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Change in LDL-cholesterol
Individuals with no medication changes, vegan, n
63 control, n 44
Control
107
105
104
105
98
95
P n.s.
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Change in Hemoglobin A1c
All participants with type 2 diabetes, vegan, n
10 control, n 9
Control
7.4
7.4
7.1
7.0
6.7
6.7
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Change in Hemoglobin A1c
Individuals with no medication changes, vegan, n
5 control, n 6
7.8
7.5
Control
6.8
6.3
6.2
6.1
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Eugenia
Before After Weight 309 lbs
251 lbs Cholesterol 289 mg/dL 151
mg/dL A1c gt11 6.1
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Improvements in Quality of Life




p lt 0.05
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Absenteeism Due to Health Problems
22.8
16.7
P 0.17
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Overall Diet Satisfaction
Extremely Satisfied
Control
Neutral
P 0.007
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Summary

• Following a low-fat, vegan diet for 22 weeks
• Reduced body weight
• Lowered A1c
• Improved quality of life
• Increased diet satisfaction
• Decreased absenteeism

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Study Implications for Individuals and Employers

• Lower weight
• Prevention and management of diabetes
• Decreased risk for heart disease
• Improved quality of life
• Decreased absenteeism
• Increased productivity
• Decreased health care costs

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After the study

• Support groups at both sites
• Intervention for control group participants

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Next Steps

• Measure cost-effectiveness at GEICO
• Multi-center diabetes study
• Expand programs to other worksites

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Acknowledgments

• Hope Ferdowsian, M.D., M.P.H. P.I.
• Neal Barnard, M.D. Co-Investigator
• Study Participants
• GEICO Human Resources
• Sandra Davis, M.D. Medical Director

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Resources

• Study curriculum
• www.pcrm.org/health/diabetes/GEICO_Curriculum.html
  
• Nutrition information and recipes
• www.nutritionMD.org
• Contact information
• Heather Katcher, Ph.D., R.D.
• hkatcher_at_washingtonccr.org