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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Healthy Body Weight Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #238899
Title: Dietary intake patterns of low-income urban African-American adolescents

Author
item WANG, YOUFA - Johns Hopkins University
item Jahns, Lisa
item Tussing Humphreys, Lisa
item XIE, BIN - University Of Southern California
item ROCKETT, HELAINE - Harvard Medical School
item LIANG, HUIFANG - University Of Illinois
item JOHNSON, LUANN - University Of North Dakota

Submitted to: Journal Of The American Dietetic Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/8/2010
Publication Date: 8/25/2010
Citation: Wang, Y., Jahns, L.A., Tussing Humphreys, L.M., Xie, B., Rockett, H., Liang, H., Johnson, L. 2010. Dietary intake patterns of low-income urban African-American adolescents. Journal Of The American Dietetic Association. 110:1340-1345.

Interpretive Summary: Adolescent overweight is a major public health concern in the U.S., and low socioeconomic status (SES) and minority adolescents are disproportionately affected. Unhealthy adolescent dietary practices not only have serious physical and psychological effects but also determine trajectories of behavior that may influence chronic disease risks in adulthood. It is not well understood how low-SES minority groups’ dietary intakes may differ from those of the other groups. Because of the importance of a healthy diet in adolescence for supporting growth and preventing future chronic disease, national guidelines for adolescent’s dietary intakes have been developed. African Americans and low-income groups have lower diet quality scores than any other ethnic and income groups. This indicates that low-income, African American adolescents may be at higher risk for an unhealthy diet than other demographic groups. Because low-income AA adolescents have a high prevalence of overweight and risk factors for metabolic syndrome, this information, by identifying key dietary risk factors, will be useful to public health professionals who seek to develop interventions to decrease the risk of chronic disease in this underserved population.

Technical Abstract: Background: Improper dietary intake pattern is a risk factor for chronic disease. Few studies have examined the multifaceted aspects of dietary intake of low-income, urban African American adolescents. Objective: This study aimed to describe dietary intake patterns including energy, nutrient, food group, meal patterns and diet quality and to identify areas to guide future interventions. Design: Cross-sectional, self-administered survey. Subjects/setting: Baseline data for a school-based obesity prevention study were collected from 382 African American adolescents (10-14 y) from four Chicago public schools in the fall of 2003 who participated in a school-based obesity prevention study. Diet was assessed using a self-administered semiquantitative 152-item food frequency questionnaire. Diet quality was measured using a modified version of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Healthy Eating Index (HEI), and compared to published estimates for a nationwide sample. Statistical analyses performed: Descriptive statistics were used to assess gender differences in dietary intake; the Smith-Satterthwaite procedure, to compare participant’s HEI scores to those of a nationwide sample. Results: Participants reported high energy intakes and several unhealthy eating patterns: 58.6% consumed +/- one serving of sweetened beverages/day and 15.7% consumed +/- three/day; average fried food consumption was high (1.4 servings/day), 58.4% consumed +/- one serving/day; and 75% consumed +/- three snacks/day. Only 49% of the subjects met the recommended three servings of dairy foods/day; 49% ate dinner prepared away from home at least three times/week. Compared to a national, mostly Caucasian sample, participants had lower HEI scores (p<0.05); mean score was 66.0±12.8 vs. 70.3±13.0 in boys vs. girls, one-third had scores <60 (“poor”) and only 15% scored >80 (“good”). Conclusion: This study reveals several key areas of problematic dietary patterns for future interventions targeting low-income African American adolescents including frequent intakes of calorie-dense, low nutrient-rich foods such as fried snacks, sweetened beverages and restaurant menu items.