Date

8-20-2026

Department

School of Health Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Health Sciences (PhD)

Chair

Ruth Rasmussen

Keywords

metabolic vulnerability, MVX Plus, Standard American Diet (SAD), carnivore diet, Ultra-Processed Foods, biomarkers, systemic inflammation, metabolic malnutrition

Disciplines

Health and Physical Education

Abstract

Poor diet is a leading cause of mortality, contributing to an estimated one million deaths in the United States and eleven million deaths annually worldwide, with diet-related chronic disease accounting for approximately 85% of U.S. healthcare spending. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is widely recognized as causing systemic inflammation, while the carnivore diet is under-researched with unknown long-term effects. The purpose of this cross-sectional secondary analysis was to examine the impact of these two dietary patterns on metabolic vulnerability using the Metabolic Vulnerability Index Plus (MVX Plus), a multidimensional biomarker panel that quantifies systemic inflammation, metabolic malnutrition, and metabolic resilience while accounting for age and sex. The Health Belief Model, proposing that quantifiable biomarker evidence may motivate dietary behavior change, provided the theoretical framework. This study used secondary data from a Midwestern nutrition clinic, classified as SAD or carnivore based on a Dietary Assessment Survey. Differences in MVX composite scores, Inflammation Vulnerability Index (IVX), and Metabolic Malnutrition Index (MMX) were analyzed using independent-samples t-tests, MANOVA, and ANCOVA. The SAD group demonstrated significantly higher MVX composite and IVX scores than the carnivore group, with large effect sizes. MMX score differences were modest. After adjusting for age and sex, dietary pattern remained the dominant predictor of metabolic vulnerability, accounting for 51% of the variance, while neither demographic variable reached significance. These findings suggest that dietary patterns exert a substantially greater influence on metabolic vulnerability than age or sex and support the use of multidimensional biomarker panels for the early detection of metabolic dysfunction. b

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