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Familiarity with the Food Guide Pyramid and the Food Label among Latina WIC participants in California, Connecticut, Ohio and Texas
Author(s) -
Taylor Christopher Alan,
Putnik Predrag,
Mejia Alfredo,
MelgarQuiz Hugo,
Anders Robert L,
Balcazar Hector G,
SeguraPérez Sofia,
PérezEscamilla Rafael
Publication year - 2007
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.21.5.a302-b
Subject(s) - food guide , food preparation , psychological intervention , medicine , nutrition education , environmental health , pyramid (geometry) , gerontology , psychology , food safety , nursing , pathology , physics , optics
To assess the penetration of federal nutrition education efforts in Latino communities, this multi‐state pilot research assessed familiarity and use of the Food Guide Pyramid (FGP) and the Food Label among Latina WIC participants (N=479, CT n=101; OH n=100; TX n=174; and CA n=104). When asked if they had previously seen the FGP, 92% of the sample were familiar with the image; however, only 74% of OH participants recognized the FGP as a tool for healthy eating. Nearly all of the CT participants recognized the FGP. Likewise, OH participants (94%) were more likely to recognize the food label than the other sites. Less than half (47%) of our sample used the food label while shopping for food. Of those who used the label, only 20% used the label often or very often. Our findings indicate a strong familiarity with the FGP and support the need for developing and testing culturally appropriate nutrition education interventions for translating this awareness into applied knowledge (e.g., food label use) among Latina subgroups.