Learning Objective #1: describe the effect of four dinners of four different cuisines on blood pressure and serum lipids the morning after the dinner.

Learning Objective #2: describe the differences between gender and age of four dinners of four different cuisines on blood pressure and serum lipids the morning after the dinner.

---

Food consumption is both an intensely private and a ubiquitous public behavior which can contribute to health or increase the risk of disease. Restaurants have become a substantial source of food for Americans with restaurant food comprising up to a third of total calories consumed (Guthrie, Lin, & Frazao, 2002) yet national dietary recommendations do not address restaurant food consumption (USDHHS, 2005) possibly due to the almost complete absence of research on the affects of restaurant dining. Using a naturalistic design the principal aim of this study was to examine the effect of 4 restaurant dinners, of 4 common cuisines, on serum lipids and blood pressure.

Fifteen healthy couples (30 adults) over age 35 participated. Each participant completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, had their BMI calculated, their blood pressure measured, and had a baseline fasting glucose and serum lipid panel completed including total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, total non-HDL, triglycerides, TC/HDL ratio, and 10 year Framingham CVD risk score using the Cholestech LDX point-of-care testing system. The Cholestech LDX is CLIA-waved, and meets the National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines for precision and accuracy. The technology of point-of-care testing allowed all measurements to be completed in the community at convenient sites for the participants. In 3 groups of 5 couples all participants met for 4 dinners of 4 different common cuisines, American, Chinese, Italian, and Mexican. Pre and post dinner fasting lipid panels and blood pressure were completed for each participant for all dinners.

Data analysis included aggregate summaries of blood pressure and serum lipids at baseline, and before and after each dinner, trends over the course of the study, and change post dinners. Comparisons were made between groups, between the four cuisines, and for the sociodemographic variables of gender, age, ethnicity, educational level, employment status, income, and health insurance status.