The relationship between dietary factors and serum cholesterol values in the coloured population of the Cape Peninsula

Abstract

A cross-sectional study of 976 coloured subjects aged 15 -64 years identified a population consuming a typical Western diet. Nutrient intake, determined by the 24-hour dietary recall method, reflected a diet high in fat (37% of total energy intake) and animal protein and a polyunsaturated/saturated fatly acid ratio of 0,85. Only 32,2% of men and 27,5% of women consumed a prudent diet (Keys score < 28). The influence of this Western diet on serum total cholesterol (TC) levels was seen to be marked whe'n participants with a high risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) were compared with those with a TC level putting them at low risk; the former consumed significantly more saturated fat and had a higher mean Keys score. Multiple linear regression analysis on TC levels of men identified six variables that explained 26,9% of the variation of TC. These were body mass index, age, the inverse of the polyunsaturated fat intake, saturated fat intake, polyunsaturated/saturated fat ratio and cholesterol intake. For women only three variables (age, the inverse of the polyunsaturated/saturated fat ratio, and body mass index) explained 30,2% of the variation of TC. Promotion of the prudent diet to lower TC levels of the coloured population of the Cape Peninsula is an increasingly urgent priority.

S Afr Med J 1990; 78: 63-67.