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Dietary Patterns Among Overweight and Obese African-American Women Living in the Rural South

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Abstract

Introduction

Obesity and chronic diseases disproportionately affect African-American women in the rural South (US) and may be influenced by adherence to a typical Southern-style diet. There is a need to examine dietary patterns of this population and to determine if consumption of nutritionally rich foods like nuts is associated with consumption of other nutritious foods. The objectives of this study were to identify (1) dietary patterns of overweight/obese African-American women in the rural South; (2) the role that nuts play in the diet; (3) and adherence to federal food group recommendations across dietary patterns.

Methods

Secondary data analysis of two baseline 24-h dietary recalls was performed on 383 overweight/obese African-American women enrolled in a weight loss intervention in Alabama and Mississippi between 2011 and 2013. Cluster analysis identified dietary patterns. t tests and chi-square tests tested demographic and dietary differences across clusters. The proportion of women in each cluster who met federal recommendations for fruit, vegetable, nuts, added sugar, and sodium intake was calculated.

Results

Two dietary patterns were found. Nut intake frequency was higher in cluster 2 (P < .001), which was characterized by a higher intake frequency of fruits and vegetables, but high mean daily intake of added sugar (12.26 ± 7.67 tsp) and sodium (2800 ± 881 mg). Ninety-two percent of participants in this cluster consumed red/processed meats daily.

Conclusion

Even among women in this population who consume a more plant-based dietary pattern containing nuts, there is still a need to decrease intake of added sugar, sodium, and red meat.

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Acknowledgements

The project described was supported by Grant Number 1U54CA153719 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NCI or CRCHD. Recognition and appreciation is provided to all of the Deep South Network for Cancer Control staff (i.e., County Coordinators, Regional Coordinators, and Central Office personnel). A special thanks to the Community Health Advisors trained as Research Partners and study participants who helped to make all of the research possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition Sciences, School of Health Professions, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Webb 449 1675 University Blvd, Birmingham, AL, 35294-3361, USA

    Samara Sterling

  2. Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, RPHB 327, 1530 3rd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-0022, USA

    Suzanne Judd

  3. Department of Nutrition Sciences, School of Health Professions, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Webb 534 1720 2nd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-3360, USA

    Brenda Bertrand

  4. Division of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine and Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, MT 639 1720 2nd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-4410, USA

    Tiffany L. Carson

  5. Department of Nutrition Sciences, School of Health Professions, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Webb 413 1720 2nd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-3360, USA

    Paula Chandler-Laney

  6. Division of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine and Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, MT 618 1717 11th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL, 35294-4410, USA

    Monica L. Baskin

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  1. Samara Sterling
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Correspondence to Samara Sterling.

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Conflicts of Interest

SS, SJ, BB, TLC, PCL, and MLB declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Research Involving Human Participants

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Institutional Review Board and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Sterling, S., Judd, S., Bertrand, B. et al. Dietary Patterns Among Overweight and Obese African-American Women Living in the Rural South. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 5, 141–150 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-017-0351-3

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