Effects of Fruit and Vegetable Supplements on Weight Loss - Research Paper Example

Effects of Fruit and Vegetables Supplements on Weight Loss Student’s Name Student’s ID Institution Executive Summary Our team repeatedly performed similar measures of variances on vital measures such as systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and diastolic blood pressure. All the participants finished the study without showing any perceptible side effects due to consumption of fruit and vegetable supplements. With regard to supplement consumption, there were no appreciable changes in carbohydrates, calories, percentage proteins, or percentage fat given any time of the research study. Along with multiple health benefits, consumption of vegetables and fruits can facilitate in weight management. They have lower calories than other types of foods that facilitate weight gain. Therefore, increased consumption of vegetables and fruits helps in reduction of weight. On the other, people should not rely so much on weight blast pills and ignore the intake of fruits and vegetables as pills may not work effectively without consumption of fruits and vegetables. Vegetables contain vitamin A, potassium, folate, vitamin C and fibre. Folate is aids in the formation of red blood cells in the body. Hence it is recommended that childbearing aged women should consume folate- rich foods that include tomatoes, as well as spinach in order to avoid neutral-tube defects in kids. Similarly, consuming foods rich in vitamin A such as carrots and butternuts aids in maintaining the skin and eyes healthy thus protecting individuals against infections. Dieticians recommend that people should consume at least two and a half cups of fruits, as well as vegetables daily. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 Background to the Research 4 3.0 The Management Decision Problem 6 4.0 The Research Problem 6 4.1. Problem Statement 6 4.2. Research Objectives 7 5.0. Research Methodology 7 5.1. Participants 7 5.2. Materials 8 5.3. Sampling and Design of the Study 9 5.4. Statistical Analysis 10 6.0. Results 10 6.1. Findings 11 6.2. Primary Outcome Measures 12 7.0. Discussion 13 8.0. Limitations and Caveats 15 9.0.. Conclusions and Recommendations 15 10.0 References 18 Appendices 20 Table 1.10 20 Table 1.11 21 Table 1.13 22 The figure 1.10 23 Figure 1.11 25 1.0 Introduction Recent studies indicate that losing weight is hard to achieve, even for those who are highly motivated. Similarly, maintaining body fitness is also a difficult task, especially as a person grows older. Regardless of the types of food an individual consumes, the key principle concerning weight reduction lies on the fact that people should eat fewer calories than they burn up. However, the constraint on food intake should not be based on calories. The major reason for weight gain is the people’s habit of consuming more food than necessary. Therefore, most people consume more food than they need for various reasons. One of the major reasons is the consumption of “comfort foods”: usually people consume foods that make them feel comfortable and good getting their comfort and satisfaction from them. Hence, they do not consider the implications certain foods may have on their weight, as well as their health (Watson, Gerald & Preedy 2011). Some people consume excessive food to overcome fatigue while others may confuse thirst for hunger. 2.0 Background to the Research Recent studies indicate that the methods used in preparation and consumption of fruits and vegetables has great impacts on weight. Some of the methods that include breading, as well as frying, adding sauces and high-fat dressings in the desserts increases the fat and the calorie content of the food even after fruits and vegetables have been included. Therefore, this may have a tendency of making weight blast pills ineffective. Most people believed that consumption of food with high calories will increase their satisfaction and make them full. However, a study conducted by Rouse (2004) proved the assumption wrong. In his study 18 obese, as well as non-obese participants consumed as much food as they wished for over five days. The diet varied from low-energy density foods to consumption of high-energy density foods. Concerning the consumption the diet with low-energy density, the research participants felt satisfied with slightly over the half of calories that translated to 1570kcal. On the other hand, they had top consumed 3000 kcal of diet with high density in order to feel full. Recently, there have been a rapid increase in the number of food supplements claiming to affect weight loss and lower the level of cholesterol -- such products are widely used by many individuals worldwide. In the last six months, CAV has recorded rising number of complaints of consumers concerning food supplements provided by an Australian based company called Weight Blast. Consumers who complained to CAV simply stated that Weight Blast “did not work." Like many other companies in the markets place, Weight Blast provides food supplements made from some tropical fruits. The company claims that their products: “Cleanse your body and get rid of all the nasty toxins and fat deposits trapped inside which are responsible for making your metabolism sluggish. You need to flush this badness out of your system so your body can function as it should! It is a perfect way to start your diet." They also claim that Weight Blast pills transform bodies with remarkable results in 2 weeks, with overweight individuals (i.e. people having a Body Mass Index between 25–29.9) seeing an average loss of 5 Kilograms (following the prescribed dosage of 4 pills per day). After some investigation CAV noted that, in their advertisements, Weight Blast claimed that for the pills to be effective people also need to increase their fruit and vegetable intake, that is, individuals should follow the Dietary Guidelines of the Australian Government. Specifically adults should consume at least five serves of vegetables and two serves of fruit daily. 3.0 The Management Decision Problem Consumption of fruit and vegetable diet is linked with minimal risks for various chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, as well as the cancer. Even so, there has been limited research on the impacts of consuming diet high in vegetables and fruits and how it can help in weight management. People have continued to use weight blast pills for weight management, but they have proven to be ineffective. Hence, people are advised to follow Dietary Guidelines as coded by the Australian Government concerning intake of fruits and vegetables. Due to changing lifestyles people have continued to consume unhealthy foods that lead to a significant increase in their normal weight (Webb & Whitney 2012). 4.0 The Research Problem 4.1. Problem Statement For the last six months, numerous complaints from consumers have been lodged to CAV concerning the food supplements provided by an Australian based company called Weight Blast. Most of consumers who complained to CAV stated that Weight Blast “did not work." However, after a thorough investigation, it was found out that weight blast pills can only be effective if people would increase their fruits and vegetables intake. 4.2. Research Objectives To investigate the effective the effectiveness of weight blast pills when people increase their fruits and vegetable supplements. To investigate the extent of weight loss when fruits and vegetable supplements are administered to obese patients under weight blast pills To investigate the body fat loss when fruits and vegetable supplements are consumed regularly To investigate the effects of fruits and vegetable supplements on blood pressure to the patient under Weight Blast pills. 5.0. Research Methodology 5.1. Participants The research comprised of 18 participants (the nine males and nine females) with age ranged between 20 and 45, with an average of 33.19± 6.76 years. The average Body MassIndex at the beginning of the research was 28.22 ± 0.85〖kg/m〗^2. The average values for the added measures were obtained at the baseline are registered in Table 1.10. Participants demonstrated preobesity (overweight) levels, as manifested by BMI 25-30, with the mean duration of prevailing BMI being 10.9 ± 3.8 months before the onset of the research. The duration of the prevailing BMI was obtained by comprehensive examination of health records of each participant before the research started. All (average glucose in the blood 107 ± 8 mg/decilitre, and non-hypertensive (average diastolic/systolic blood pressure 125.41/81.73 ± 5.11/2.59 mmHg), and these participants had not on or been steroids formulations. No participant was known to be on medications before that is believed to have effect on weight for the last six months. All these participants were given similar diet and practice profiles and record on diet was taken before and at the end of the research as seen in the Table 1.11 for mean diet information. All the participants were allowed to give their well-written informed consent prior to the start of the research. The informed consent was written in the standard format according to the Australia regulatory requirements guiding research on the human behaviour, consistent with the principles of ethics (Rosa, Alvarez-Parrilla & González-Aguilar 2010). 5.2. Materials This research utilized fruit and vegetable extract with a small percentage of caffeine that was provided from recognized Applied Food lab in Australia. The fruit and vegetable contain 45% of chlorogenic acids and antioxidant hydroxycinnamic acids. The total content was 56%. The caffeine contents for the two lots were 2.6 ± 0.17%. The necessary caffeine and polyphenols content was done by professional analysts using HPLC (High-Performance or Pressure Liquid Chromatography and other relevant analytical standards. This research utilized double dosage levels of the fruit and vegetable formulations, and placebo (IDEA Health & Fitness Association 2006). The 350mg of fruit and vegetable extract was orally administered as a high-dose condition three times in a daily manner. In addition, the 350mg of low-dose fruit and vegetable extract was taken orally two times a day. The placebo condition contained 350mg of the inert pill taken three times a day. The two fruit and vegetable dosages used were founded on previous undertakings using chlorogenic acid in human research of the declined levels of the postprandial glucose. 5.3. Sampling and Design of the Study The participants were randomized in a 22-week research that applied an intersect design to compare and contrast a high-dose and low-dose fruit and vegetable extract, as well as placebo. The participants assigned (LD, HD, placebo) progression (n=6), (LD, placebo, HD) progression (n=4), or (placebo, HD, LD) at a random. Therefore, the participants remained on treatment for the duration of six weeks, succeeded by two weeks washout duration, prior to the next treatment duration started. The participants were cross-examined at a regular interval of two weeks – zero, six, eight, fourteen, sixteen, and twenty two of the research. The participants were individually examined at one of the national hospitals in Australia. The measurements were done on them during each visit. These measurements include height (nearest 0.01), body weight (nearest 0.01), and a body fat % analysis performed by SFB7 Bioimpedance machine. Body mass index was calculated using BMI formula (BMI = Weight (kg) divided by the height squared ( in meters). All the participants were guided on uptake of diet and exercise (practice) at each visit, with the first interview to start diet information at the beginning of the research that was done by the site nutritionist. The data pooled include nutrient composition, daily calorie intake, binge incidence of eating, and micronutrient intake as recorded in table 1.11 for mean diet intake details. The same steps of the process were iteratively done at the starting of each phase to replicate the diet in the previous phase and participants were taken through initial and post-assessment diastolic and systolic blood pressure and heart beat measurements. Measuring of the blood pressure was done in the right arm of the participant in the sitting posture after every ten minutes breaks using a standardized mercury sphygmomanometer. Abbrev: LD, low-dose, HD, high-dose. 5.4. Statistical Analysis The basic measures in this research were BMI, body fat percentage, and weight. The secondary measures of this study were blood pressure and heart beat measured at every visit. All these measurements, primary and secondary, were critically analysed. The statistical analysis involved close analysis of post hoc t-test and variance. The progressions or series obtained at sampling step were (HD, LD, and placebo) versus (LD, placebo, and HD) versus (placebo, HD, and LD), arm treatment (comparing first, second, and third treatment), and time (two analysis per treatment of arm). Time was also considered as a factor that affected the research. The first analysis of the arm treatment was undertaken as weeks 0, 8, 16, and was regarded as a pre-treatment examination. The 2nd examination was undertaken in week six, fourteen, and twenty two was regarded as a post-treatment examination. The product of significant time and arm interactions implicated supplement effects. For example, the effects of the low-dose, high-dose, or placebo conditioning in separate treatment. The product between a significant progressions and arm and time interactions imply a significant variation between the supplements provided. Coming up with these interactions was relevant to the compilation of variance analysis that enabled comparisons between starting and end date. 6.0. Results The statistical analysis presents the test (p) value. The average data presented in Table 1.10 were significant in reduction in terms of statistics. The reductions include BMI, weight, heart beat rate, and body fat percent after consuming fruit and vegetable extracts for 2⁄3 of the 22 weeks. However, there was no significant change in diastolic and systolic blood pressure. The average values on all measurements at the start and the end of every treatment arm (HD, LD, and placebo) examined for the 18 participants are shown in the Table 1.13. This data show a decline in BMI, weight, and body fat percent in the low-dose and high-dose arm, but not the placebo and low-dose arms. The figure 1.10 displays the average weight trend during the 22 weeks of the research, for the three groups, and figure 1.11 depicts the average trend in BMI. The variance analysis was done in three measurements. Factor 1: progression or series- (HD, LD, placebo) versus (LD, placebo, HD) versus (placebo, HD, LD) arm (comparison between first, second, and third treatment) time (based on two variations as dictated earlier) The data was gathered from all 18 participants in a random manner as in sampling and design of the research as performed on primary measures such as BMI, weight and body fat percent, as well as systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heartbeat rate. 6.1. Findings Our team repeatedly performed similar measures of variances on vital measures such as systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and diastolic blood pressure. In heart rate, the series effect (p=0.06) was slightly non-significant, time interactions x arm (p=0.08). The only appreciable result was found to be time effect (0.007), implying a progress. In the analysis of the diastolic blood pressure, there was no notable difference (p>0.202), as opposed to systolic blood pressure of the arm effect (p Read More