The Georgia WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program’s Influence on Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Nutrition Knowledge and Competencies Among Urban African American Women and Children

Introduction. Nutrition is the key contributor to disparities in many chronic diseases. However, little is known about the dietary habits and nutrition self-efficacy beliefs of older African American women with chronic diseases. This study looked at the relationship between nutrition self-efficacy and dietary patterns among older African American women. Methods. A total of 115 African American women 55 years and older, with one or more chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia, were recruited from a midwestern city in Kansas. Participants completed a survey comprised of dietary intake items and the Physical Activity and Nutrition Self-Efficacy (PANSE) scale. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation, and Wilcoxon rank sum test (Mann-Whitney U Test). Results. There was a 79% (91/115) participation rate. Participants were confident in their ability to maintain healthy behaviors (57.67/72; SD = 11.22). The mean dietary score for fats and carbohydrate consumption was 32.67 ± 2.48 compared to 5.89 ± 3.52 for fruit and vegetable intake. A significant positive correlation was observed between fruit and vegetable intake and nutrition self-efficacy. A higher fruit and vegetable intake were observed among married women (mean = 7.35; SD = 4.45). Conclusion. Our findings shed new light on older African American women’s perceptions of healthy eating and the confidence to eat heathy. Based on these results, older African American women met the daily fruit and vegetable recommendations; however, more work is needed to understand how to intervene to improve dietary behaviors regarding fat and carbohydrate consumption in this population. While more research is needed, the findings indicated behavioral theories such as nutrition self-efficacy may have utility in tailoring nutrition interventions in an older African American population.

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Relative validation of fruit and vegetable intake and fat intake among overweight and obese African-American women

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980014002547 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 1932-1940 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Iris Alcantara ◽

Regine Haardörfer ◽

Julie A Gazmararian ◽

Terry J Hartman ◽

Brenda Greene ◽

...

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

African American Women ◽

Weight Status ◽

Vegetable Intake ◽

Pearson Correlation ◽

Fruit And Vegetable Intake ◽

Fat Intake ◽

Fruit And Vegetable ◽

American Women ◽

Dietary Recall

AbstractObjectiveTo compare commonly used dietary screeners for fat intake and fruit and vegetable intake with 24 h dietary recalls among low-income, overweight and obese African-American women.DesignThree telephone interviews were completed; measures included two 24 h dietary recalls (a weekday and weekend day) using the Nutrition Data System for Research software, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System’s (BRFSS) Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Module and the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Percentage Energy from Fat Screener.SettingParticipants were recruited from three federally qualified health centres in south-west Georgia, USA.SubjectsParticipants (n 260) were African-American women ranging in age from 35 to 65 years. About half were unemployed (49·6 %) and 58·7 % had a high-school education or less. Most were obese (88·5 %), with 39·6 % reporting a BMI≥40·0 kg/m2.ResultsMean fruit and vegetable intake reported from the 24 h dietary recall was 2·66 servings/d compared with 2·79 servings/d with the BRFSS measure. The deattenuated Pearson correlation was 0·22, with notable variation by weight status, education level and age. Mean percentage of energy from fat was 35·5 % as reported from the 24 h dietary recall, compared with 33·0 % as measured by the NCI fat screener. The deattenuated Pearson correlation was 0·38, also with notable variation by weight status, education level and age.ConclusionsValidity of brief dietary intake measures may vary by demographic characteristics of the sample. Additional measurement work may be needed to accurately measure dietary intake in obese African-American women.

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Assessing the Relationship Between Nutrition Knowledge and Skin Carotenoids in University Students

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzaa059_030 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. 1313-1313

Author(s):

Anna Jones ◽

Marcela Radtke ◽

Gwen Chodur ◽

Rachel Scherr

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Vegetable Intake ◽

Objective Assessment ◽

Ordinary Least Squares ◽

Nutrition Knowledge ◽

Fruit And Vegetable Intake ◽

Reflection Spectroscopy ◽

Fruit And Vegetable ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Objectives To determine whether nutrition knowledge is associated with skin carotenoids, as measured by reflection spectroscopy, a valid and objective assessment of fruit and vegetable intake. Methods A convenience sample of undergraduate and graduate students were recruited through flyers, classroom announcements, and email distribution lists at a large public university in California. Nutrition knowledge was assessed with a validated questionnaire. Skin carotenoids were measured with reflection spectroscopy (RS) using a device known as the Veggie MeterTM. Participants completed the nutrition knowledge questionnaire and height, weight, and RS data were collected by trained researchers at a single time-point. Data were collected as part of a larger, on-going study. Pearson's correlation and ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression analysis were used to determine the relationship between nutrition knowledge and skin carotenoids. Results A total of 40 students participated in the study; 72% were female. Nutrition knowledge scores ranged from 13 to 53 with a mean of 37.95 (out of 58 possible), and the mean RS score was 334.0. Skin carotenoids were found to be significantly correlated with nutrition knowledge (r = 0.332; P = 0.036), with 8.7% of variance in RS score explained by nutrition knowledge. Body mass index (BMI) was found to be negatively associated with RS score at P < 0.05; when BMI was incorporated, the proportion of variance in RS score explained by the regression model was 26.9%. Gender was not found to significantly associated with RS score (P = 0.965). Conclusions These preliminary data suggest that nutrition knowledge may be a significant predictor of dietary fruit and vegetable intake when accounting for BMI in university students. Future studies will incorporate additional variables, such as food security status and diet quality to further elaborate on the relationship between nutrition knowledge and behavior. Funding Sources This project was funded by an internal University of California, Davis grant.

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Associations of psychosocial factors with fruit and vegetable intake among African-Americans

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980007662284 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 701-711 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Joanne L Watters ◽

Jessie A Satia ◽

Joseph A Galanko

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

African Americans ◽

Psychosocial Factors ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Vegetable Intake ◽

African American Men ◽

Predisposing Factors ◽

Fruit And Vegetable Intake ◽

Fruit And Vegetable ◽

Enabling Factors

AbstractObjectiveTo examine associations of various psychosocial factors with fruit and vegetable intake in African-American adults.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of a population-based sample of 658 African-Americans, aged 18–70 years, in North Carolina. Information was collected on diet-related psychosocial (predisposing, reinforcing and enabling) factors based on the PRECEDE (Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in Educational Diagnosis and Evaluation) planning framework; demographic, lifestyle and behavioural characteristics, and fruit and vegetable intake.ResultsThe mean participant age was 43.9 years (standard deviation 11.6), 57% were female and 76% were overweight/obese. Participants expressed healthy beliefs regarding many of, but not all, the psychosocial factors. For example, although half of the respondents believed it is important to eat a diet high in fruits/vegetables, only 26% knew that ≥ 5 daily servings are recommended. The strongest associations of the psychosocial factors with fruit/vegetable intake were for predisposing factors (e.g. belief in the importance of a high fruit/vegetable diet and knowledge of fruit/vegetable recommendations) and one reinforcing factor (social support), with differences between the healthiest and least healthy responses of 0.5–1.0 servings per day. There was evidence of effect modification by gender in associations between psychosocial factors and fruit/vegetable consumption (e.g. self-efficacy was only significant in women), with higher intakes and generally healthier responses to the psychosocial variables in women than men.ConclusionsInterventions to increase fruit/vegetable intake in African-Americans may be more effective if they focus primarily on predisposing factors, such as knowledge, self-efficacy and attitudes, but not to the exclusion of reinforcing and enabling factors. The psychosocial factors that are targeted may also need to be somewhat different for African-American men and women.

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