Nutritional Assessment of Patients With Schizophrenia: A Preliminary Study

• Published in: Schizophrenia bulletin Vol. 29; no. 2; pp. 393 - 397
• Main Authors: Strassnig, Martin, Brar, Jaspreet Singh, Ganguli, Rohan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford National Institute of Mental Health 01.01.2003; Oxford University Press; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Body Weight; Calories; Data Collection; Decision Making; Diet; Diets; Female; Food Intake; Human; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nutrition; Nutrition Assessment; Obesity - etiology; Outpatient; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychoses; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - complications; United States; North America; America; 24-hour recall; caloric intake; diet; schizophrenia; Nutrition; BMI; Social environment; Human; Schizoaffective psychosis; Nutrition survey; Mental health; Schizophrenia; Lipids; Fat content; Weight gain; Cholesterol; Psychosis; Body mass index; Calorific value; Food intake; Carbohydrate; Dietary fiber; Comparative study; Public health; Protein content
• ISSN: 0586-7614; 1745-1701
• DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.schbul.a007013

The prevalence of obesity in the United States population is increasing, and similar trends can be observed among schizophrenia patients. No thorough examination of the actual nutritional composition of the diet of schizophrenia patients in the United States has been carried out. We therefore employed a 24-hour diet recall in 146 schizophrenia outpatients to gather information on different nutritional variables, such as total caloric intake and total fat, protein, carbohydrate, cholesterol, and fiber content. Data were subsequently compared to data for the general population collected in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Schizophrenia patients as a group ate more food when compared to NHANES III subjects, but the relative percentages of calories derived from fat, protein, and carbohydrates were not found to be different. Therefore, it is unlikely that schizophrenia patients make dietary choices different from those of people in the general population. Instead, schizophrenia patients seem to eat more of the same food.