Table 2.

Dietary Intake and Serum Characteristics of Subjects in the Vegetable and Reduced Calorie and Fat (Caloric Reduction) Groups at 0 and 3 mo after Intervention¹

		Vegetable2		Caloric Reduction
Mo		0	3	0	3
Dietary Intake Characteristics3
Vegetable increase4	c/d	1.65 ± 1.31a		0.78 ± 0.88b
Preformed VA5	mg VA/d	0.58 ± 0.19	0.71 ± 0.46	0.61 ± 0.27	0.64 ± 0.22
Provitamin A	mg βC/d	2.9 ± 4.1b	12.2 ± 5.3a	2.7 ± 2.6b	6.3 ± 3.6a
Fat	g/d	91 ± 19.6a	61.7 ± 21.7b	86.6 ± 41.3a	46.9 ± 22.2b
Serum Characteristics
α-Carotene	μM	0.06 ± 0.03b	0.33 ± 0.20a	0.07 ± 0.06b	0.27 ± 0.13a
β-Carotene	μM	0.42 ± 0.24b	1.17 ± 0.82a	0.59 ± 0.77b	1.02 ± 0.65a
Retinol	μM	2.21 ± 0.46	2.21 ± 0.44	1.96 ± 0.48	2.08 ± 0.62

¹Values are mean ± SD, n = 20 (vegetable) and n = 17 (caloric reduction).

²Differences between 0 and 3 mo within each treatment groups were tested with a paired t-test, significance is indicated with a superscript (α = 0.05). Differences between vegetable and caloric reduction groups were tested with a 2 sample t-test (α = 0.05) at baseline and 3 mo and results are as follows. Preformed vitamin A, provitamin A, and fat intake did not differ at baseline. At 3 mo, provitamin A and fat intake were significantly higher (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively) in the vegetable group compared to the caloric reduction group. Serum characteristics (α-carotene, β-carotene, and retinol) did not differ between vegetable and caloric reduction groups at either 0 or 3 mo.

³Intake of preformed vitamin A, provitamin A, and fat were evaluated from 3-d diet records. Foods were categorized into either preformed vitamin A or provitamin A and converted to mg retinol and β-carotene as described in the USDA nutrient database. Preformed vitamin A includes meat, dairy, and synthetic vitamin A in foods. Provitamin A includes all plant-derived and synthetic carotenoids.

⁴Significance between groups for daily vegetable increase is indicated with a superscript.

⁵Abbreviations used: VA, vitamin A.