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Title: A REGIONAL FOOD-FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE U.S. MISSISSIPPI DELTA

Author
item TUCKER, KATHERINE - USDA, HNRCA, TUFTS UNIV
item MARAS, JANICE - USDA, HNRCA, TUFTS UNIV
item CHAMPAGNE, CATHERINE - DELTA NIRI
item CONNELL, CAROL - DELTA NIRI
item GOOLSBY, SUSAN - DELTA NIRI
item WEBER, JUDITH - DELTA NIRI
item ZAGHLOUL, SAHAR - DELTA NIRI
item CARITHERS, TERESA - THE JACKSON HEART STUDY
item Bogle, Margaret

Submitted to: Public Health Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/13/2004
Publication Date: 1/1/2005
Citation: Tucker, K.L., Maras, J., Champagne, C., Connell, C., Goolsby, S., Weber, J., Zaghloul, S., Carithers, T., Bogle, M.L. 2005. A regional food-frequency questionnaire for the U.S. Mississippi Delta. Public Health Nutrition. 8(1):87-96.

Interpretive Summary: Regional food usage differs from national usage and, in the Lower Mississippi Delta, food patterns differ between African Americans and Caucasians adults. A regional food frequency questionnaire was developed to more accurately study nutrition and health in the Lower Mississippi Delta and to design more effective ways of improving nutrition and health in this high risk population.

Technical Abstract: Objective: To describe food sources of nutrient intake for white and African American adults in the Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD), and their use in the development of a regional food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) based on an earlier version of the National Cancer Institute's Health Habits and History Questionnaire. Design: We ranked food sources of energy, macronutrients, vitamins and minerals, and examined portion size distributions for 842 white and 857 African American residents aged 19 years and older, using 24-hour dietary intake recall data from a telephone survey of 36 LMD counties. These values were used to develop a regional FFQ, which was then field-tested with 100 subjects and revised to improve interpretability. Setting: The LMD region of the USA. Subjects: White and African American adult residents of the LMD. Results: LMD African Americans obtained more of their energy and nutrient intakes from poultry, processed meat, salty snacks, fruit drinks, pork and cornbread; and less from milk, alcohol, legumes, salad dressing, butter/margarine and sweetened tea than did white residents. Regional foods not on nationally used FFQs included grits, turnip greens, okra, ham hocks, chitterlings, crawfish, catfish, cracklings, jambalaya, potato logs, chicken and dumplings, and sweet potato pie. Based on responses during field-testing, the questionnaire was also designed to add four portion sizes for each food item, presented as questions, rather than in grid format. Conclusions: Regional food use patterns differ from national patterns and furthermore differ between African American and white adults in the LMD. The resulting Delta NIRI FFQ for Adults should contribute to improved assessment of usual intake for use in studies of diet and health in this region.