Poverty and food intake in rural America: diet quality is lower in food insecure adults in the Mississippi Delta.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if measures of diet quality differ between food insecure and food secure adults in a rural high-risk population.


METHODS
Random digit dialing telephone survey of a cross-section of the population designed to collect data on food intake, household demographics, and food security status.


METHODS
A representative sample of adults who live in 36 counties in the Lower Mississippi Delta region of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.


METHODS
One thousand six hundred seven adults, both white and African American.


METHODS
Food security status and diet quality, as defined by adherence to the Healthy Eating Index and Dietary Reference Intakes by determinations from self-reported food intake (1 day intake).


METHODS
Regression analysis, t tests, Wald statistic, and beta tests were employed.


RESULTS
Food secure adults scored higher on Healthy Eating Index than food insecure adults (P=0.0001), but the regression model showed no differences when multiple factors were included. Food secure individuals consistently achieved higher percentages of the Dietary Reference Intakes (specifically Estimated Average Requirements and Adequate Intakes) than food insecure individuals, with the greatest differences seen for vitamin A (P<0.0001), copper (P=0.0009), and zinc (P=0.0022) and very little difference for vitamins C (P=0.68) and E (P=0.32). Both populations consumed diets extremely low in fiber.


CONCLUSIONS
Food insecurity is associated with lower quality diets in this population. It is acknowledged that serious limitations are associated with the use of one 24-hour recall and for comparison between food intake and assessment of food security. These findings still suggest a pressing need for nutrition interventions to improve dietary intake in these at-risk impoverished individuals.
Champagne
Catherine M
CM
Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70808-4124, USA. Champacm@pbrc.edu
Casey
Patrick H
PH
Connell
Carol L
CL
Stuff
Janice E
JE
Gossett
Jeffrey M
JM
Harsha
David W
DW
McCabe-Sellers
Beverly
B
Robbins
James M
JM
Simpson
Pippa M
PM
Weber
Judith L
JL
Bogle
Margaret L
ML
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D001131:Arkansas; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000592:standards*; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply; D006801:Humans; D008145:Louisiana; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D008903:Minerals / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008922:Mississippi; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009753:Nutritive Value; D011203:Poverty; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012423:Rural Health; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D004043:Dietary Fiber; D008903:Minerals; D014815:Vitamins