Comparative effectiveness trial comparing MyPlate to calorie counting for mostly low-income Latino primary care patients of a federally qualified community health center: study design, baseline characteristics

Table 1 Defining features of the calorie counting and MyPlate approaches to desirable weight loss

Feature	Historical approaches		Experimental approaches
Feature	Diabetes Prevention Program^a	Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH)^b	Calorie Counting approach (CC)	MyPlate approach (MyP)
Restricts total calories/day	Yes	No	Yes	No
Requires monitoring of calorie intake throughout the day	Yes	No	Yes	No
Recommends 8+ servings of fruits and vegetables/day	No	Yes	No^c	Yes
Recommends limits on sodium intake	No	Yes	No	Yes
Recommends limits on saturated fat intake	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Recommends limits on sugary beverage consumption	No	Yes	Yes^d	Yes
Recommends limiting snacks and sweets even if within calorie limits	No	Yes	No	Yes
Requires restraint when still hungry after eating full meal	Yes	No	Yes	No
Recommends accompanying exercise ~ 30+ min. MVPA*/ day	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

* MVPA = Moderate to vigorous (aerobic) physical activity
^aKnowler WC, Barrett-Connor E, Fowler SE, et al. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med. 2002;346 (6):393–403
^bAppel LJ, Moore TJ, Obarzanek E, et al. A clinical trial of the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure. N Engl J Med. 1997;336 (16):1117–1124
^cThe CC approach encouraged eating more foods low in energy density, especially fruits and vegetables, but the encouragement did not include a target of 8 servings/day
^dThe CC approach encouraged limits on weekly consumption of sugary beverages at the behest of community dietitians who otherwise followed a conventional DPP-like CC approach

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