Dietary fibre intake of irritable bowel patients prescribed a high fibre diet

Seventy-three patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were randomly allocated into one of the following three groups: dietary advice with follow up (DAF) had repeated dietary advice from an experienced senior-dietitian, dietary advice (DA) a single interview with the dietitian and no dietary advice (NDA) a diet-sheet alone without explanation. An age, sex-matched control group was recruited from staff at an institute for higher education. Fibre was assessed by a food-frequency questionnaire at the beginning and end of the 6-month study, and by a 7-day weighed food inventory at the end of the study.
There was no difference between the fibre intake of the patients and controls at the beginning of the study. After 6 months there was a mean increase of 7 g fibre/day by the patients (P<0.001) but no increase by the controls. There was no difference in the intake of the three dietary-treatment groups either at the beginning or end of the study, whether assessed by questionnaire or weighed inventory. Only 14 patients achieved a daily intake of 30 g fibre during the week they weighed their food.
This study suggests that although simple diet-sheets given to patients without further explanation have their limitations, currently employed methods of dietetic counselling appear to offer little additional advantage.