| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION |
1 From the Departments of Sociology (REM), Food Science and Human Nutrition (GSM), and Economics (HHJ), Iowa State University, Ames.
Background: Low socioeconomic status is associated with poor diet, food insufficiency, and poor child health. Hispanic households have disproportionately low incomes. Acculturation-related changes may augment the effects of poverty on children’s diet and health.
Objective: The goal was to determine the associations that acculturation, measured by parents’ language use, and income have with dietary intakes and food insufficiency among Hispanic youths.
Design: Data on 2985 Hispanic youths aged 4–16 y were from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988–1994). Nutrient intake data were from one 24-h dietary recall. The analysis was controlled for demographic, socioeconomic, and program variables.
Results: Parents’ exclusive use of Spanish was associated in bivariate analyses with differences in intakes of energy, protein, sodium, and folate and in percentages of energy from fat and saturated fat. When other factors were controlled for, less acculturation was associated with differences in intakes of energy and sodium and in percentages of energy from fat and saturated fat. Individuals in poorer households had higher intakes of energy, protein, sodium, and some micronutrients. Although not significant for all indicators of food insufficiency, consistent patterns showed that household food insufficiency decreased with less acculturation (odds ratio: 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2, 0.7 for adult meal size reduced) and increased with low income [odds ratio: 5.9 (3.0, 11.7) for not enough food and 5.4 (2.2, 13.4) for child meal size reduced].
Conclusions: Both acculturation and poverty have roles in children’s diets and in household food insufficiency. Culturally specific public health and nutrition education should complement efforts to improve the financial security of low-income households.
Key Words: Acculturation • income • poverty • diet • food insecurity • food insufficiency • Hispanics • youths • children • third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey • NHANES III
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  J. M. Dave, A. E. Evans, K. A. Pfeiffer, K. W. Watkins, and R. P. Saunders Correlates of availability and accessibility of fruits and vegetables in homes of low-income Hispanic families Health Educ. Res., August 4, 2009; (2009) cyp044v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 N. Darmon and A. Drewnowski Does social class predict diet quality? Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, May 1, 2008; 87(5): 1107 - 1117. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. Gushulak Healthier on arrival? Further insight into the "healthy immigrant effect" Can. Med. Assoc. J., May 8, 2007; 176(10): 1439 - 1440. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. van der Horst, A Oenema, I Ferreira, W Wendel-Vos, K Giskes, F van Lenthe, and J Brug A systematic review of environmental correlates of obesity-related dietary behaviors in youth Health Educ. Res., April 1, 2007; 22(2): 203 - 226. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Perez-Escamilla and P. Putnik The Role of Acculturation in Nutrition, Lifestyle, and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes among Latinos J. Nutr., April 1, 2007; 137(4): 860 - 870. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. A. Laraia, A. M. Siega-Riz, C. Gundersen, and N. Dole Psychosocial Factors and Socioeconomic Indicators Are Associated with Household Food Insecurity among Pregnant Women J. Nutr., January 1, 2006; 136(1): 177 - 182. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. Flores and J. Brotanek The Healthy Immigrant Effect: A Greater Understanding Might Help Us Improve the Health of All Children Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, March 1, 2005; 159(3): 295 - 297. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
