A regional food-frequency questionnaire for the US Mississippi Delta.
OBJECTIVE
To describe food sources of nutrient intake for white and African American adults in the Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD), and their use in the development of a regional food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) based on an earlier version of the National Cancer Institute's Health Habits and History Questionnaire.


METHODS
We ranked food sources of energy, macronutrients, vitamins and minerals, and examined portion size distributions for 842 white and 857 African American residents aged 19 years and older, using 24-hour dietary intake recall data from a telephone survey of 36 LMD counties. These values were used to develop a regional FFQ, which was then field-tested with 100 subjects and revised to improve interpretability.


METHODS
The LMD region of the USA.


METHODS
White and African American adult residents of the LMD.


RESULTS
LMD African Americans obtained more of their energy and nutrient intakes from poultry, processed meat, salty snacks, fruit drinks, pork and cornbread; and less from milk, alcohol, legumes, salad dressing, butter/margarine and sweetened tea than did white residents. Regional foods not on nationally used FFQs included grits, turnip greens, okra, ham hocks, chitterlings, crawfish, catfish, cracklings, jambalaya, potato logs, chicken and dumplings, and sweet potato pie. Based on responses during field-testing, the questionnaire was also designed to add four portion sizes for each food item, presented as questions, rather than in grid format.


CONCLUSIONS
Regional food use patterns differ from national patterns and furthermore differ between African American and white adults in the LMD. The resulting Delta NIRI FFQ for Adults should contribute to improved assessment of usual intake for use in studies of diet and health in this region.
Tucker
Katherine L
KL
Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, 711 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USA. katherine.tucker@tufts.edu
Maras
Janice
J
Champagne
Catherine
C
Connell
Carol
C
Goolsby
Susan
S
Weber
Judith
J
Zaghloul
Sahar
S
Carithers
Teresa
T
Bogle
Margaret L
ML
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D005504:Food Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008903:Minerals / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008922:Mississippi; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004043:Dietary Fiber; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D008903:Minerals; D014815:Vitamins