Question

JM. age 48 years, was referred by his physician to the RD, as a result of a serum cholesterol level of 320 mg/dL. He is 183 cm tall and weighs 114 kg. He has a family history of heart disease. His older brother died of a heart attack. He is married with two children age 20 and 24 years. His wife is employed full time and so did not come to the appointment with him.

During the interview, JM stated: “I know I have a bad family history. I also know that I have put on a few pounds in recent years and should try to lose them. But after a day at work, I enjoy my dinner.”

1) What stage of change is JM in?

2) How would you match your nutritional intervention with JM’s stage of change (what strategies would you use)?

3) Suggest two sentences you will use while counseling JM

Answer 1

1.Contemplation is the stage in which people are aware that a problem exists and are seriously thinking about overcoming it but have not yet made a commitment to take action." Many people in this stage can be described as ambivalent. They want to improve their blood cholesterol but are not yet ready to cut back on eating too many fatty foods. So Jm is going through the contemplation stage where he knows how bad his condition is and wants to change, but can't give up his habit of over eating at dinner.

2.If I was in the place of JM, then I would obviously cut back on anything that causes high cholesterol. I would level down the amount I would eat for dinner. I would make sure that I don't eat a lot of saturated fats and add whey protein and fibre to my diet.

3.I would tell him to take his condition seriously and think twice before consuming anything that would elevate his already progressive cholesterol problem . Tell him to read books on how we can avoid this bad relationship with food items and also ask him to change his mindset and lifestyle and incorporate more of a holistic approach.