Diet and food insufficiency among Hispanic youths: acculturation and socioeconomic factors in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
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.


METHODS
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.
Mazur
Robert E
RE
Department of Sociology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1070, USA. mazur@iastate.edu
Marquis
Grace S
GS
Jensen
Helen H
HH
D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000886:Anthropometry; D002648:Child; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D052756:Nutritional Sciences / Q000193:education; D011203:Poverty; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology