Sources of Energy and Six Nutrients in Diets of Low-Income Hispanic-American Women and their Children: Quantitative Data from HHANES, 1982-1984
Section snippets
Methods
HHANES, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), used a highly stratified, multistage probability design similar to that of the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II) (7). HHANES researchers surveyed 15,924 persons in three ethnic groups of the Hispanic population of the United States: Mexican Americans (southwestern states), Cuban Americans (Bade County, Florida) and Puerto Ricans (New York City area, including neighboring parts of New Jersey
Results
Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, Table 4, Table 5, Table 6, Table 7 present the top 50 food sources of energy and six key nutrients — food energy (kilocalories), protein, fat, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron — in the diets of low-income Hispanic women. Data on the ranking of these foods in their 1- to 5-year-old children is also shown. The tables indicate the percentage contribution of each food item to total population intake and the percentage of persons who ate the food on the recall day.
Discussion
As Americans seek to modify their diet along more healthful lines, several questions arise for epidemiologists and other health professionals. Which foods are the major contributors of the offending or the desirable nutrients and, therefore, should be included in questionnaires or might be candidates for dietary modification? Answers may be different for different population subgroups. Cultural food choices have long been thought to be notably different from “average” American intake, such as
Applications
Our data were used to develop a food frequency questionnaire for low-income Hispanic women and children, which we are now validating. The food lists may be useful in designing other dietary assessment tools, educational materials, and counseling interventions for Hispanic women and children. The results may be of particular interest to WIG staff working with low-income Hispanic populations. Dietary patterns and problems seem to be broadly similar among whites, blacks, and Hispanics, and minimal
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