in Rice Pilaf
Arcelay, Marilyn
March 30, 2007
FOS 4041L
Dr. Dixon
Introduction
Obesity is a word that everyone is currently familiar with. The media and health professionals have been working tirelessly to make the general public aware of its prevalence and detriments to society. With the staggering statistics of 32.2% prevalence in adults and a range of 13.9% to 18.9% prevalence in children and adolescents, these outstanding numbers stand out for themselves. (1) Increasing rates of obesity are associated with higher risk factors for other diseases such as; Type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, colon cancer, diverticulitis, cancer of the endometrium, and breast cancer. (2) Knowing how to combat obesity will lead to decreased complications of the condition as well as a lower risk factor for other diseases. In light of these significant numbers, our group chose to explore the relationship of dietary fiber to aid in the prevention and treatment of obesity, therefore also reducing the incidence other diseases. Our focus was on making a hot meal with a simple modification to increase the dietary fiber available. The original recipe is a white rice pilaf with the adjustment being made with a substitution of brown rice. This change will boost the fiber intake from 0.8g per serving to 2.6g per serving. The represents a substantial jump in accessibility to a vital part of our diet. We expect favorable results in the acceptance of our modification. The texture is a bit hardier, cooking time is longer, and cost is slightly higher, but we believe the benefits outweigh these variables. The RDA recommends between 25g-30g a day, but the average American receives only 12g-13g per day.(3) With this easy alteration, we hope to increase these low numbers that the average American receives up to the recommended levels.
Purpose
The purpose of our research study is to substitute brown rice for white rice in a
References: 1. CDC Website. Prevalence of Overweight Among Children and Adolescents: United States, 2003-2004. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/overweight/overwght_child_ 03.htm#Table%201. Accessed on March 12, 2007.