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Title: Documenting the need for nutrition and health intervention for middle-aged and older adults in the Lower Mississippi Delta region

Author
item JOHNSON, GLENDA - Southern University And A & M College
item MCGEE, BERNESTINE - Southern University And A & M College
item GOSSETT, JEFFREY - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)
item THORNTON, ALMA - Southern University And A & M College
item SIMPSON, PIPPA - Arkansas Children'S Nutrition Research Center (ACNC)
item JOHNSON, CRYSTAL - Southern University And A & M College
item RICHARDSON, VALERIE - Southern University And A & M College
item Bogle, Margaret
item JAMES-HOLLY, DAWANNA - University Of District Of Columbia
item McCabe Sellers, Beverly

Submitted to: Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/15/2007
Publication Date: 1/11/2008
Citation: Johnson, G.S., McGee, B.B., Gossett, J.M., Thornton, A., Simpson, P., Johnson, C., Richardson, V., Bogle, M.L., James-Holly, D., McCabe Sellers, B.J. 2008. Documenting the need for nutrition and health intervention for middle-aged and older adults in the Lower Mississippi Delta region. Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly. 27(1/2):83-99.

Interpretive Summary: This study examines the diet quality of middle-aged (55-64 yrs) and older adults (65+ years) in the Lower Mississippi Delta region of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi and compares the diet quality to a national nutrition survey of these age groups. Diet quality was assessed using the USDA tool, the 2000 Healthy Eating Index, modified to omit sodium, derived from the FOODS 2000 survey. The total Modified Health Eating Index (MHEI) score was significantly lower for Delta residents than for their national counterparts. More Delta residents had a diet rated as "poor" based on these scores. Higher education achievement and higher income were associated with better diet quality. The study documents a critical need for implementing nutrition and health interventions in rural Delta communities, with special attention on promoting more vegetables, fruit, and low-fat dairy products, and less total fat to make the Delta diets more health-promoting through better nutrition.

Technical Abstract: Dietary quality of 561 older adults, 55 years of age and older, was assessed and compared with national data. The data were assessed utilizing 24-hour dietary recall methodology and a modified version of the USDA Healthy Eating Index (HIE) which excluded the sodium component. The mean total Modified Healthy Eating Index (MHEI) score of the study sample was significantly lower than their counterparts from the national survey (61.01+/-0.68 vs 65.62+/-3.65, P<0.0001). More Delta NIRI study respondents had MHEI scores that corresponded to a "poor" diet (MHEI<51) when compared to the national study. Income and educational attainment were associated with higher MHEI scores. This study emphasizes a critical need for implementing nutrition and health interventions in rural environments, with special attention to sub-populations at risk.