The Women's Health Initiative: Lessons for Preventive Nutrition

Abstract

Key PointsThe Women's Health Initiative (WHI) is the largest primary preventionstudy of diet ever undertaken among postmenopausal women in the UnitedStates.Postmenopausal women represent a subpopulation with unique health issuesand variable diet and nutrition influences on health status.Excess body weight is a significant health risk for cardiovasculardisease, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and type 2 diabetes inpostmenopausal women.The diet intervention aimed at reducing total fat to 20% ofkilocalories was not associated with reduced risk for breast orcolorectal cancer. Likewise, neither cardiovascular disease nor diabeteswas significantly reduced in the WHI Diet Modification study population.Those who reported the highest dietary fat intake at baseline orreported the greatest reduction in dietary fat showed trends towardreduced risk for several of these chronic diseases.Supplementation with calcium and vitamin D did not reduce risk forcolorectal cancer nor was it associated with a significant reduction infracture risk, although women with lower baseline serum vitamin D levelsdid have some protection against fractures with combined calcium andvitamin D supplementation.