The American journal of clinical nutrition
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Comparative Study
Nutrition practices of family physicians after education by a physician nutrition specialist.
Although nutrition is an important part of medical care, nutrition education is not provided in most training programs for physicians in the United States, resulting in limited nutrition knowledge among physicians and limited nutritional care of patients. A nutrition education program was provided by a physician nutrition specialist in a family practice residency program. ⋯ The nutrition education program resulted in an increase in physicians' nutrition knowledge scores (P < 0.01) and an increase in the frequency with which physicians discussed nutrition and recommended diets for their patients (P < 0.05). This suggests that nutrition education by a physician nutrition specialist within a family practice residency program can be effective in increasing nutritional care provided to patients.
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Comparative Study
Maternal anthropometry and infant feeding practices in Israel in relation to growth in infancy: the North African Infant Feeding Study.
Relations between maternal anthropometric status during pregnancy and infant feeding practices and growth from birth through the first 6 mo of life were examined in a cohort of 351 Israeli mother-infant pairs of North African descent. Maternal weight, height, and triceps skinfold thicknesses were determined at 6 and 9 mo of pregnancy, while infants' weights and lengths were measured at birth and at 1, 2, 3, and 6 mo of age with concurrent collection of age-specific maternal-reported infant feeding data. On the basis of multiple-linear-regression analysis that adjusted for potential covariates, mean maternal weight at the first prenatal visit and at 6 and 9 mo of pregnancy were positively associated with birth length (P for trend in all cases < 0.0001) and with linear growth between birth and 1, 3, and 6 mo of age. ⋯ Moreover, maternal height, weight, and skinfold thickness at 6 and 9 mo of pregnancy were positively associated with mean birth weight. After adjustment for morbidity in the past month and other covariates, infants breast-fed exclusively had greater attained weight and weight gain in the first 3 mo compared with infants who were bottle-fed exclusively, breast-fed and bottle-fed, or solid-fed exclusively. These findings underscore the need for programs that improve the nutritional status of women before, during, and after pregnancy, and encourage exclusive breast-feeding of infants for at least the first 3 mo of life.