Defining diets: Definitions of diet composition used in human research

BackgroundThe importance of dietary research as it pertains to health outcomes has become increasingly important in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. However, dietary compositions used in studies on human health appear to vary widely in their definition. PurposeThe objective of this study was to examine author’s description of diet composition in published manuscripts. MethodsWe searched the Web of Science database for six diet types: high/low versions for carbohydrate, fat, and protein respectively and obesity related outcomes. Inclusion Criteria: Randomized controlled trials in humans with obesity outcomes and articles in the English language. ResultsThe search for high fat diet and obesity related outcomes yielded 560 articles, 12 met the inclusion criteria. Of the 12, three articles gave no definition for a high fat diet, 5 articles gave a partial definition, and 4 articles gave a full definition for a high fat diet. Of the 9 studies that provided any definition for the high fat diet, ...