People with high cholesterol and other known risk factors for cardiovascular and diet-related disease may benefit from dietary counseling, according to a new report by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

Based on a review of 21 published studies, the task force is recommending intensive behavioral dietary counseling for adults with these risk factors. The recommendation does not apply to the general adult population, however, as results did not show a significant benefit among this group.

The studies investigated the effectiveness of dietary counseling for healthy people and people with known risk factors for heart disease such as high cholesterol.

The task force found that medium- to high-intensity counseling produced clinically important and lasting changes in regards to dietary intake of total fat, saturated fat, fruit, vegetables and fiber.

Programs that included a combination of education, behavior counseling, patient reinforcement and follow-up proved to be most effective.

Beneficial effects were only seen in patients who had known risk factors for diet-related diseases, and in studies involving "special clinics with highly selected patients and specially trained providers."

Diseases such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancers are associated with an unhealthy diet and are among the leading causes of illness and death in the United States.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is a group of private-sector health experts put together by the U.S. Public Health Service.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Update on Healthy Diet January 2, 2003