9:00 am - 10:00 am
Event details: A graduate exam seminar is a presentation of the student’s final research project for their degree.
This is an ALES MSc Final Exam Seminar by Zhiqian (Rita) Jiang. This seminar will be held on Zoom.
Thesis Topic: The impact of nutritional educational interventions on diet quality in children with celiac disease and adults with diabetic kidney disease
Zoom link: https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/j/94623167744?pwd=x4PwrO6B7Er5UWjtMCtiMaVbp3sBlk.1
Seminar Abstract:
Suboptimal diet quality (DQ) is highly prevalent among children with celiac disease (CD) and adults with diabetic kidney disease (DKD) often due to complex dietary restrictions and low nutrition literacy (NL). These challenges may lead to inadequate nutrient intake and high consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF), increasing the risk of adverse health outcomes. The overall thesis objective was to evaluate the effects of lifestyle education interventions (diet and/or exercise) on DQ in two groups: i) children newly diagnosed with CD and ii) frail and non-frail adults with DKD.
The first study tested the hypothesis that dietary counselling with newly diagnosed children with CD and their parents (n=40 child/parent pairs) using a newly developed Gluten-Free Food Guide (GFFG), combined with standard of care, would improve DQ (measured by the Healthy Eating Index–Canadian [HEI-C]) and reduce UPF intake (NOVA classification) over six months. A single education session utilizing the new GFFG tool resulted in short-term improvements in dietary variety (a DQ subcomponent), unsweetened milk intake, and intake of some micronutrients (fibre and vitamin A) compared to standard of care dietetic counselling alone. No significant changes in total DQ scores or overall UPF consumption occurred in both groups.
The second study presents a secondary analysis of a subset sample (n=90) from an ongoing lifestyle intervention program (resistance exercise and nutrition literacy) on frailty outcomes over six months. This study hypothesized that poor DQ (measured by HEI-C and Healthy Eating Food Index-2019) would be highly prevalent in both frail and non-frail adults with DKD and related to their NL. Higher NL was associated with better DQ among non-frail adults, but this association was not evident among frail adults. Overall, DQ remained unchanged and low across groups over six months, with 98% of participants demonstrating suboptimal DQ using both DQ tools.
Improving DQ in children with CD and adults with DKD requires patient-centred, multifaceted approaches. Study findings highlight the importance of interactive, ongoing educational approaches, caregiver engagement, and personalized interventions that address individual readiness, medical conditions, and cognitive capacity. Broader health systems and policy-level supports, such as improved food environments, are also important to enabling effective and scalable dietary interventions.
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