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Nutrient Intakes of Foreign‐born Afro Caribbeans Differ From Their United States‐born Counterparts
Author(s) -
Davis Errol,
Fatma G
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.4.a620-d
Subject(s) - medicine , nutrient , demography , foreign born , zoology , biology , population , ecology , environmental health , sociology
Objective To determine and compare nutrient intakes in Foreign‐born Afro Caribbean (FBAC), US‐born Afro Caribbean American (USBACA) and African American (AA) adults. Method A cross‐sectional study design recruited 66 FBAC (31 males; 35 females), living in the US for less than 10 years, 62 USBACA (30 males; 32 females) and 61 AA (30 males; 31 females) adults (18–40 years). Socio‐demographic and dietary data were collected. Findings The USBACA and AA participants compared to FBAC participants consumed significantly (p< 0.05) more protein (mean ± SD) (g) (74.0 ± 44.1 and 74.7 ± 43.3 vs. 57.6 ± 32.2), total fat (g) (66.3 ± 41.7 and 73.0± 47.8 vs. 52.8± 32.3), saturated fat (g) (23.1 ± 14.9 and 24.9 ± 15.8 vs. 18.6± 11.5), energy from fat (%) (33.1 ± 6.5 and 31.4 ± 6.4 vs. 29.3 ± 6.8), dietary cholesterol (mg) (220.4 ± 161.9 and 244.1 ± 155.0 vs. 168.8± 114.0) and sodium (mg) (2245.2 ± 1238.3 and 2402.6 ± 1359.3 vs.1838.0 ± 983.4). The percentages of USBACA (86.9%) and AA (94.9%) participants who consumed less than 2 servings of fruits per day were significantly (p< 0.05) higher than FBAC (78.5%) participants. These differences were also observed in male but not female ethnic groups and remained after adjusting for age. Conclusion This study demonstrated that there are significant differences in mean nutrient intakes between FBAC and their US‐born counterparts. Understanding the ethnic and cultural differences and the variations in health indicators among different ethnic groups of the same race can help us to develop culturally sensitive programs and strategies for the improvement of health outcomes. Source of funding: Florida International University Foundation