Food nutrition label use is associated with demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors and dietary intake among African Americans in North Carolina

doi:10.1016/j.jada.2004.12.006

Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Volume 105, Issue 3, March 2005, Pages 392-402

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2004.12.006 Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

Reading nutrition labels on food packages may improve food choices and enable healthful dietary practices. This report describes the prevalence of nutrition label use and its association with demographic, behavioral, and psychological factors and diet among African-American adults.

Design/subjects

Self-reported data from a population-based cross-sectional survey of 658 African Americans, aged 20 to 70 years, in North Carolina. An 11-page questionnaire assessed nutrition label use, fruit and vegetable consumption, total and saturated fat intakes, fat-related dietary behaviors, diet-related psychosocial factors, and demographic and behavioral characteristics.

Statistical analysis

χ² tests and logistic regression analyses examined associations of demographic, psychosocial, and behavioral factors with nutrition label use. Linear regression was used to estimate the variation in diet explained by label use.

Results

The mean age of participants was 43.9±11.6 years, 41% were men, 37% were college graduates, and 75% were overweight/obese. Seventy-eight percent of respondents read nutrition labels when they purchased packaged foods. Nutrition label use was significantly higher among participants who were women, older, educated beyond high school, and obese (P<.05). After adjusting for demographic characteristics, the strongest psychosocial predictors of nutrition label use were healthful eating self-efficacy, strong belief in a diet-cancer relationship, and trying to lose weight. Usual/often label users had higher fruit and vegetable consumption and lower fat intakes (P<.001), and nutrition labels explained 2% to 17% of the variance in dietary intake.

Conclusions

Nutrition information on packaged foods appears to be a useful way to conduct point-of-purchase nutrition education among African Americans in North Carolina. Most respondents used food labels at least sometimes, but only about half usually or often did so. Efforts should be made to determine how all consumers could use nutrition labels effectively.

Section snippets

Data collection and study population

Data reported here were collected as part of a study testing different methods and strategies to recruit African Americans into a population-based assessment of behavior risk factors for cancer. Details on the data collection procedures are described elsewhere (21). Briefly, 5,000 potential participants were African Americans in North Carolina, aged 18 to 70 years, who were randomly selected from Department of Motor Vehicle rosters and assigned at random to one of five different recruitment

Results

The mean age of participants was 43.9±11.6 years, 41% were men, 37% were college graduates or had advanced degrees, more than half were married, 35% were overweight, 40% were obese, and 82% were from urban counties. Only 14% of respondents were current smokers and 41% reported current multivitamin use (data not shown).

Table 1 gives the overall frequency of nutrition label use among study participants. In general, there was widespread use of the Nutrition Facts label: 25% reported usually

Discussion

The 1990 NLEA regulates information provided on packaged foods for sale in the United States for the express purpose of assisting consumers in making healthful food choices. Included in the food labeling information are Nutrition Facts labels, which include nutrient content claims and the proportion of the recommended daily values provided per serving of the food. Most of the nutrient content information relates to macronutrient content and specific information about total and saturated fat

Conclusions

•
The US Food and Drug Administration mandate to provide nutrition information on packaged foods appears to be a useful way to conduct point-of-purchase nutrition education. Recent suggestions from a taskforce of nutrition experts (41) to modify the Nutrition Facts label by emphasizing energy information, highlighting the percentage of total energy in one serving of the food based on a 2,000-kcal diet, and listing portion size information that more accurately reflects consumers’ typical portions

J. A. Satia is an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an epidemiologist in the Department of Global Epidemiology, AMGEN, Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA.

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J. A. Galanko is a research assistant professor of medicine in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

M. L. Neuhouser is a senior staff scientist with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.

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ResearchCurrent researchFood nutrition label use is associated with demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors and dietary intake among African Americans in North Carolina

Abstract

Objective

Design/subjects

Statistical analysis

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Data collection and study population

Results

Discussion

Conclusions

Managing diabetesWhat to do about cardiovascular disease

Diabetes Res Clin Pract

Overweight and obesity in womenHealth risks and consequences

J Womens Health (Larchmt)

The causes of cancerquantitative estimates of avoidable risks of cancer in the United States today

J Natl Cancer Inst

High- versus low-fat diets in human diseases

Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care

Lifestyle, health and disease preventionThe underlying mechanisms

Eur J Cancer Prev

Trends in intake of energy and macronutrients—United States, 1971–2000

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep

Cardiovascular health risks related to overweight

J Am Diet Assoc

Changes in vegetable and fruit consumption and awareness among US adultsResults of the 1991 and 1997 5 A Day for Better Health Program surveys

J Am Diet Assoc

Nutrition labelingEnergy values of foods and fat substitutes

Am J Clin Nutr

Derivation of daily values used for nutrition labeling

J Am Diet Assoc

Trends in food label use associated with new nutrition labeling regulations

Am J Public Health

Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of college students regarding the 1990 Nutrition Labeling Education Act food labels

J Am Diet Assoc

Food label use modifies association of income with dietary quality

J Nutr

Relationship between use of food labels and nutrition knowledge of people with diabetes

Diabetes Educ

Do nutrition label readers eat healthier diets? Behavioral correlates of adults’ use of food labels

Am J Prev Med

Use of food nutrition labels is associated with lower fat intake

J Am Diet Assoc

Healthy People 2010

The African-American cancer crisis, Part IThe problem

J Health Care Poor Underserved

Gender differences in body mass index and weight loss strategies among African Americans

J Am Diet Assoc

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Current research
Food nutrition label use is associated with demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors and dietary intake among African Americans in North Carolina