Philadelphia, PA, November 28, 2011 big gaps exist in obesity and other chronic diseases across racial/ethnic groups in the United States. What is the difference of race in the diet, exercise and weight status with regard to better knowledge about healthy eating and awareness of health risks associated with food? Or they are more closely related to differences in socioeconomic status (SES)? A new study published in the December issue of Journal of the American Association of sensible healthy find people with socioeconomic status lower more likely to be overweight, regardless of race/ethnic background, and that the level of knowledge of nutrition and health awareness of the doesn't result in a significant racial differences in body weight and diet.
"Our findings show that the gap in obesity in the United States may be more influenced by the wider social environment," said Youfa Wang writer, MD, PhD, MS, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Global obesity and Professor of international health and epidemiology, and Xialoi Chen, MD, PhD, MPH, Assistant Scientist in the Department of international health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthBaltimore, MD. "Poor quality food retail environment in the vicinity of the disadvantaged, in relation to the limited resources of the economic power of individuals, contribute to an increased risk of obesity in a population of socioeconomically disadvantaged and ethnic minorities."
The authors hypothesized difference between group nutrition and health-related psychosocial factors, including the nutrition knowledge and beliefs, which are important contributors to the great race/ethnic and socioeconomic differences observed in the u.s. adult intake of dietary, exercise, and obesity. They analyze the National representation of the data collected from individuals is 4,356 who have participated in the U.S. Department of agriculture continuing survey of food intake, and individuals who have completed the Diet and health knowledge survey, asking about self-perceptions of nutritional intake, awareness of the relationship between diet and health, perceived importance of nutritional guidelines, and other questions related to health and diet.
Each participant is asked questions 24 to evaluate the nutritional and health-related psychosocial factors (NHRPF). SES was assessed using education and household income. The authors analyse the relationship between NHRPF and SES with a self reported dietary intake, diet quality (measured by the U.s. Department of agriculture healthy eating index HEY), exercise participation, body mass index (BMI), and being overweight or obese. Changes in the racial/ethnic differences in weight compared to the participation status of diet and exercise.
In General, compared to non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanics have higher BMI and scored lower on HEY, and less likely to participate in the exercises. Hispanic scored higher on the HEY. Racial and ethnic differences in diet and BMI change control after a bit of NHRPF. But when controlled for SES, black white HEY difference becomes smaller and the difference white Hispanic become larger.
