Symposium: How can healthcare professionals influence health behaviours

Question 1

What is Omega- 3 and what is its impact on our health?

Answer 1

• polyunsaturated fatty acid
• alpha-Linoleic acid →EPA →DHA
• anti-inflammatory response
• decreased expression of genes involved in inflammatory and atherogenesis related pathways
• little effect on cardiovascular health

Question 2

What is Omega- 6 and what is its impact on our health?

Answer 2

• polyunsaturated fatty acid
• Linolenic acid→ arachidonic acid
• metabolised to form (AA) this is considered pro-inflammatory
• linolenic acid in adipose tissue and platelets is positively associated with coronary artery disease

Question 3

What are the negatives of fad diets involving fat and carbohydrates?

Answer 3

• CHO can enhance the hepatic synthesis of VLDL and reduce HDL
• low fat with an increased CHO → reduction in total LDL but increase in small dense LDL which are more atherogenic
• higher dietary CHO→ down-regulation of insulin response → increased lipolysis
• increases greater delivery of fatty acids and an increase in hepatic esterification and subsequent overproduction of VLDL: esp. in TG rich VLDL1

Question 4

What are the benefits of consuming fruit and veg?

Answer 4

• the soluble fibre in plants shows ↓ serum cholesterol: inhibits cholesterol reabsorption in the GI tract
• improved antioxidant profile: improves plasma total antioxidant capacity, and glutathione peroxidase activity

Question 5

What are the two dietary patterns that are recommended?

Answer 5

• PREDIMED; Mediterranean diet
• USA DASH diet
- eating vegetables, fruits, and whole grains
- fat-free or low-fat dairy products

Question 6

Explain obesity and how it works physiologically

Answer 6

• excess energy intake than what the body can expend
• fat tissue provides a source of FFA (free fatty acid) in circulation, providing fatty acid for metabolism
• visceral adipose tissue is less responsive to insulin and delivers FFA through the portal circulation

Question 7

Explain the bio-physiology behind Visceral obesity

Answer 7

• high lipolytic activity of the visceral fat contributes to deliver an increased load of FFA to the liver
• FFA converted to TG and stored in the cytosol
• contributes to forming VLDL enriched with TGs
• through cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) and hepatic lipase activity- DLD become smaller and denser particles
• denser particles are highly atherogenic and easily converted into oixidized-LDL

Question 8

What is Motivational Interviewing?

Answer 8

• a collaborative conversation to strengthen persons own motivation for and commitment to change

Question 9

What are Prochaska & DiClemente’s stages of change?

Answer 9

→ contemplation →preparation→action→

maintenance→relapse→precontimplation→

Question 10

What core skills can be used in MI?

Answer 10

• Open questions: doesn’t allow room for one-word answers
• Affirmations: noticing what is right and verbally giving credit for it
• Reflections: reflective listening, repeating back to the speaker what they said
• Summaries: capturing elements of what the person has said without judgment. good for polite interruptions

Question 11

What is Ambivalence?

Answer 11

• when individuals don’t know which way to go

- stuck between two paths of actions