A randomized study of instructional variations in nutrition counseling and their efficacy in the treatment of hyperlipidemia

Extract: The importance of the educational diagnosis in instructing patients in a fat modified diet was examined in a double blind study. The educational diagnosis depended upon the assessment of three independent instructional parameters: the amount of structure, the teaching mode, and the language code preferred by the patient. Data did suggest that patients preferring high structure in the symbolic mode had a greater serum cholesterol reduction than other diagnostic groups. Analysis of variance showed an interaction between the preferred and instructional level of structure as related to the change in total calories, total fat, and saturated fat of the diet after 3 months