Dietary habits, diversity and the indigenous diet of the Turks and Caicos Islands: implications for island-specific nutrition intervention.
OBJECTIVE
To describe dietary habits in the Turks and Caicos Islands.


METHODS
Food frequency questionnaires were administered to female-household-heads of 144 households randomly selected from three islands' voter's lists (Grand Turk [n = 48], Providenciales [n = 46] and Middle Caicos [n = 50]). Data were collected on the distribution of (a) Households among Levels 0 - 7 of a Food Group Scale, developed using the Cornell Technique of Scaling Dichotomous Data, and based on number of households that consumed seven food groups (meat and legumes, bread/cereals, fruits, vegetables, starchy roots/tubers/fruits; dairy and beverages) weekly; (b) Foods among four categories (common core, island core, occasional or rare) also based on weekly frequency of consumption.


RESULTS
Thirty per cent of households on Grand Turk and 37% on Providenciales were at level 7, the most varied and complex diets, compared to 3% for Middle Caicos, which exemplified the indigenous diet of local seafood, beans, and grits (corn) supplemented with imports eg rice and bread/flour Middle Caicos had substantially fewer island core foods ([n = 16] from four food groups) than did Grand Turk (n = 29) and Providenciales (n = 30), which represented the 7-food groups and included 15 (94%) of Middle Caicos' island core foods.


CONCLUSIONS
Providenciales and Grand Turk had more varied and complex diets. Understanding how various islands supplement the indigenous/traditional diet is imperative to develop and evaluate (a) island-specific nutrition intervention eg culturally appropriate nutrition education messages (eg to increase iron consumption); and (b) future research protocols.
Maitland
T E
TE
Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, Florida International University 11200 SW 8th Street (HLS 449), Miami, FL 33199, USA. maitlant@fiu.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009748:Nutrition Disorders; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014900:West Indies