Self-reported physical and emotional health of women in a low-fat, high-carbohydrate dietary trial (Canada)

Objectives: While decreased intake of dietary fat may have significant posi tive effects on women's health by reducing the risk of cancer and other dis eases, little research has been carried out to determine the potential adve rse effects of dietary fat reduction. This study compares the self-reported physical and emotional health of 402 low fat intervention and control grou p participants in the Canadian Diet and Breast Cancer Prevention Trial. Methods: Subjects who had been participating in the dietary intervention tr ial for at least 2 years completed 3 mailed questionnaires: two designed to assess physical and emotional health (MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ)) and a Wealth Practices Survey, Results: There were no significant differences: between the study groups on total scores or any of the subscales/health domains for the SF-36 or the W HQ, In premenopausal women only, intervention group subjects scored signifi cantly lower on the vasomotor symptoms scale, indicating less symptom exper ience, Frequency of visits to physicians and alternative health practitione rs were nest significantly different between the study groups. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that participation in a low- fat, high-carbohydrate dietary intervention did not have any detrimental ef fects on participants' self-reported physical health or emotional well-bein g.