Identifying usual food choices with avocados in a clinical trial cohort of overweight and obese adults in Australia

Abstract

Background Consumption of avocados has been suggested to be beneficial for weight control, however, limited research is available about the related food choices. Understanding the food choices associated with avocados at meal occasions may further aid behavioural strategies to lose weight. The present study used a systematic approach to develop an avocado-specific food database, with the aim to explore food choices related to avocados at meal occasions as reported by overweight and obese volunteers in weight loss clinical trials. Methods The avocado-specific database was based on AUSNUT 2011–13 food composition database structure and was developed via a systematic approach, which determined the avocado content of Australian foods and beverages. Baseline usual food intake data was retrospectively pooled from four food-based clinical trials (n = 758). The Apriori algorithm of association rules, a two-step descriptive method was used to identify food choices associated with avocados at different meal occasions using a nested hierarchical food group classification system. Results The avocado database identified 34 avocados and avocado-containing foods and beverages. The proportion of avocado consumers in the pooled cohort was 51.3% (n = 389), with an average avocado intake of 21.57 ± 36.75 grams per day. Avocados were found to be closely related to other food groups at all of the food group levels at main meal occasions. A total of 68 food items containing avocados were identified for avocado consumers at the breakfast, lunch and dinner meals. Conclusion The avocado specific database provides a snapshot of the foods and beverages which contain avocados. Enumerating the full range of food choices in relation to avocado consumption should provide examples of food choices that people might consider in their efforts to increase their avocado consumption.

Avocado intake and cardiometabolic risk factors in a representative survey of Australians: a secondary analysis of the 2011–2012 national nutrition and physical activity survey

“…Avocadoes are usually consumed without the skin or the seed. Avocado consumption for our study was estimated using an avocado-specific database that was previously developed by our team [ 24 ]. The database was created using the AUSNUT 2011–2013 food composition database [ 13 ].…”

A Novel Mobile App for Personalized Dietary Advice Leveraging Persuasive Technology, Computer Vision, and Cloud Computing: Development and Usability Study

“…However, evidence suggests that the biological characteristics of individuals tend to act only as catalysts to encourage changes in eating behavior [38]. Eating foods is repeated multiple times during a day as meals (eg, breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks), which are distinguished from one another by specific food choices [39][40][41]. It indicates that there is a need to focus on developing supportive approaches to effectively motivate and enable users to make positive dietary changes based on an individual's dietary intake.…”