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Past food deprivation is related to current dietary practices and weight status in Cambodian refugee women
Author(s) -
Peterman Jerusha Nelson,
Wilde Parke E.,
Liang Sidney,
Bermudez Odilia I.,
Silka Linda,
Rogers Beatrice Lorge
Publication year - 2010
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.24.1_supplement.lb292
Subject(s) - overweight , environmental health , food insecurity , refugee , logistic regression , medicine , demography , gerontology , obesity , psychology , food security , geography , sociology , archaeology , agriculture
Objective We investigated the relationship between past food experience of Cambodian refugee women and current food beliefs, dietary practices, and weight status. Methods Survey participants (n=133) were randomly selected from a comprehensive list of Cambodian households in Lowell, MA. Height, weight, 24‐hour dietary recall, food beliefs, past food experience, and demographic information were collected Multivariate logistic and linear regression models were used to analyze relationships. Results Survey respondents with higher past food deprivation scores were more likely to currently report eating meat with fat (OR=1.14 for every point increase on 9–27 point food deprivation measure), and to be overweight/obese by CDC (OR=1.28) and WHO (OR=1.18) standards. Conclusions Refugees who experienced extensive food deprivation/insecurity may be more likely to engage in unhealthful eating practices and more likely to be overweight/obese than those who experienced less extreme food deprivation/insecurity. Funding sources: Cambodian Community Health 2010 program (CDC Agreement Number U50/CCU12215), Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation Catalyst Fund, The Feinstein International Center, Project Bread, and the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell, Inc.