title: Food concern and its associations with obesity and diabetes among lower-income New Yorkers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine food concern (FC) and its associations with obesity and diabetes in a racially diverse, urban population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional population-based survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five boroughs of New York City.
  
  
  METHODS
  Lower-income adults (n 5981) in the 2004 New York City Community Health Survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall prevalence of obesity was 24 % and was higher among FC than non-FC white men and women, black women, US- and foreign-born whites and foreign-born blacks. In multivariable analysis, FC was marginally associated with obesity (OR = 1·18, 95 % CI 0·98, 1·42) among all lower-income New Yorkers, after controlling for socio-economic factors. The association of FC and obesity varied by race/ethnicity, with FC being positively associated with obesity only among white New Yorkers. FC whites had 80 % higher odds of obesity than whites without FC (OR = 1·80; 95 % CI 1·21, 2·68), with a model-adjusted obesity prevalence of 20 % among non-FC whites v. 31 % among FC whites. FC was not associated with diabetes after controlling for obesity and socio-economic factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of obesity was significantly higher among FC whites and certain subgroups of blacks. FC was positively associated with obesity risk among lower-income white New Yorkers. Programmes designed to alleviate FC and poverty should promote the purchase and consumption of nutritious, lower-energy foods to help address the burden of obesity in lower-income urban populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Sirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yaemsiri
authors.forename: E Carolyn
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.forename: Ka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Bonnie D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Kerker
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005523:Food Supply; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011203:Poverty; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult