Principal investigators
Research
We are interested in the general area of how nutrition (and physical activity) affects
the health of people in the community. Some of the current projects are listed
below.
- Pilot study to conduct the Ministry of Health's child national nutrition survey
- Lifestyle causes of cardiovascular disease and diabetes
- Environmental determinants of obesity
- Adolescent nutrition and cardiovascular risk
- Iron deficiency in adolescents
- Nutrition and growth in infants
Please contact:
Patricia Metcalf (metcalf@auckland.ac.nz)
Past diet and new cases of CHD morbidity in middle-aged people.
Description: a self-administered 142-item food frequency questionnaire was used
to calculate nutrient intakes in 5,622 workers aged 40 years and over from a cross-sectional
survey carried out between 1988 and 1990. New cases of CHD morbidity in these people
has been obtained from the NZ Health Information Service. The aim is to compare
diet intakes in those with new cases of CHD morbidity with those people without
such a history.
Ethnic differences in dietary nutrient intakes.
Description: Dietary nutrient intakes derived from a food frequency
questionnaire in 4127 middle-aged men and women were collected between 1995 and
1997. The aim is to compare nutrient intakes of Māori, Pacific, and others.
Have dietary habits changed between 1988-1990 and 1995-1997?
Description: The same food frequency questionnaire was answered by 4,127 participants
and dietary nutrient intakes were calculated using the same nutrient database. The
aim is to examine changes in diet between these two time periods.
Selected references
Metcalf P.A., Scragg R.K., Swinburn B. (1999) Modifiable risk factor levels of coronary
heart disease survivors in a middle-aged workforce. Nutrition Metabolism & Cardiovascular
Diseases 9(3):125-32.
a C.F., Scragg R.K. (1999). The epidemiology of breast cancer
in Pacific women in New Zealand. New Zealand Medical Journal 112(1096)354-7.
