Dietary intake in the lower Mississippi delta region: results from the Foods of our Delta Study.
OBJECTIVE
To collect and evaluate food intake data from a culturally diverse population and compare with national survey data.


METHODS
The Foods Of Our Delta Study was a baseline, cross-sectional survey that utilized random-digit dialing methodology to identify the sample. Food intake was obtained from a 24-hour dietary recall administered by computer-assisted telephone interview using the multiple-pass method.


METHODS
One thousand seven hundred fifty-one adults and 485 children in the Lower Mississippi Delta (Delta) of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi.


METHODS
Comparisons of subsets within the Delta were made using weighted t tests. Comparisons of the Delta with the overall US population from the US Department of Agriculture Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals and with the Dietary Reference Intakes were made using independent sample z tests of weighted estimates.


RESULTS
Energy intake did not differ between the Delta and the US populations. Intakes of protein were lower, fat higher, and certain micronutrients lower in Delta adults than in US adults. Delta adults had a 20% lower intake of fruits and vegetables than the US adults and generally poorer adherence to recommendations of the Food Guide Pyramid. African American Delta adults generally consumed less-optimal diets than white Delta adults. Delta children had diets similar to children of the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals sample population, but lower intakes were noted for vitamins A, C, riboflavin, and B-6, and for calcium and iron.


CONCLUSIONS
Data such as these will help drive intervention development in this rural region and perhaps set the stage for research in similarly impoverished areas.
Champagne
Catherine M
CM
Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4124, USA. champacm@pbrc.edu
Bogle
Margaret L
ML
McGee
Bernestine B
BB
Yadrick
Kathy
K
Allen
H Raymond
HR
Kramer
Tim R
TR
Simpson
Pippa
P
Gossett
Jeffrey
J
Weber
Judith
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001131:Arkansas; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008145:Louisiana; D008297:Male; D008903:Minerals / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008922:Mississippi; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D011204:Poverty Areas; D012423:Rural Health; D014675:Vegetables; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D004043:Dietary Fiber; D008903:Minerals; D014815:Vitamins