How are consumers of low-fat and high-fat diets perceived by those with lower and higher fat intake?

Dietary social stereotypes may hinder dietary change. The aim of this study was to measure stereotypes attributed to consumers of low-fat and high-fat diets, and to investigate if stereotype attribution differed with subjects' fat intake. A sample of 100 subjects completed a 24-h dietary recall for the estimation of macronutrient intake, and then completed a questionnaire which assessed the stereotypes associated with a low-fat and a high-fat diet. The low-fat diet was associated with a "healthy", "slim", "fit" and "sporty" person, who was "intelligent", "middle class" and "female". Conversely, the high-fat diet was associated with an "unhealthy", "overweight", "unfit" and "inactive" person, who was "unintelligent", "working class", "smoking" and "male". Followers of the low-fat diet were seen as "serious" and "highly strung", while followers of the high-fat diet were seen as "fun-loving" and "happy". However, positive stereotypes were the predominant descriptors of consumers of the low-fat diet, while negative stereotypes were the predominant descriptors of consumers of the high-fat diet by both men and women. Older people were more likely to choose negative descriptors for a follower of the low-fat diet. Subjects were grouped according to their own fat intake. A high-fat (>33% fat energy) group selected more positive and negative stereotypes to describe high- and low-fat diet consumers, respectively, than did their low-fat counterparts (<33% fat energy). Choice of "happy" to describe a follower of a high-fat diet had four-fold higher odds for the high-fat group. The social meaning and values associated with food choices require further investigation. Health education may need to redress some of these stereotypes.

Coccidian/cyanobacterium-like bodies as a cause of diarrhea in Australia.

Coccidian/cyanobacterium-like bodies (CLBs) were detected in the stool specimens of 5 Australian patients over a 6 mth period from July to December, 1992. Four of the 5 patients had recent travel history to a neighbouring overseas destination, including Papua New Guinea and Bali, Indonesia. These 4 patients had clinical presentations of acute onset, recurrent diarrhea which was prolonged and accompanied by weight loss, anorexia and lethargy. These symptoms are consistent with reports from other countries as being associated with CLBs. Large numbers of CLBs were detected by microscopic examination of direct and stained preparations of the stool specimens from these patients during the course of illness. In contrast, the one patient without any foreign travel history exhibited only mild diarrhea of short duration with only small numbers of CLBs detected in the stool specimen. Fecal examinations for bacterial and viral enteric pathogens were negative. Fecal reducing substances were not detected in the one child patient. Examinations for other parasitic enteric pathogens were all negative except for the detection of low numbers of Blastocystis hominis in one patient. CLBs should be considered as a possible etiology of unexplained diarrhea in patients who have returned to Australia from neighbouring tropical countries. Variation from the well documented clinical syndrome which has been attributed to infection with this organism may occur. CLBs may be endemic to Australia and neighbouring countries. If so, many more cases of CLB associated illness will be encountered.

Incidental finding of a microsporidian parasite from an AIDS patient.

Light microscopic examination of feces from a human immunodeficiency virus-positive patient with chronic diarrhea, anorexia, and lethargy revealed the presence of numerous refractile bodies resembling microsporidian spores. They were subsequently identified as belonging to the genus Nosema on the basis of their ultrastructural characteristics. However, the microsporidia were enclosed within striated muscle cells, suggesting that they were probably ingested in food; thus, this represented an incidental finding rather than a true infection.

Polyploid amphibians: three more diploid-tetraploid cryptic species of frogs.

The nominal African species Pyxicephalus delalandii and Dicroglossus occipitalis have diploid and tetraploid populations. There are also cryptic tetraploid and diploid species similar to Bufo kerinyagae. These represent the first bisexual polyploid "species" so far encountered in the major frog families Ranidae and Bufonidae. The contention that polyploidy is a widespread and important evolutionary phenomenon in anuran amphibians is supported.