Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T06:44:14.608Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Eating at fast-food restaurants is associated with dietary intake, demographic, psychosocial and behavioural factors among African Americans in North Carolina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Jessie A Satia ,
Joseph A Galanko  and
Anna Maria Siega-Riz
Jessie A Satia*
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Joseph A Galanko
Affiliation:
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Anna Maria Siega-Riz
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective:

To examine associations of the frequency of eating at fast-food restaurants with demographic, behavioural and psychosocial factors and dietary intake in African American adults.

Methods:

Self-reported data from a population-based cross-sectional survey of 658 African Americans, aged 20–70 years, in North Carolina. An 11-page questionnaire assessed eating at fast-food restaurants, demographic, behavioural and diet-related psychosocial factors, and dietary intake (fruit, vegetable, total fat and saturated fat intakes, and fat-related dietary behaviours).

Results:

The participants were aged 43.9±11.6 years (mean±standard deviation), 41% were male, 37% were college graduates and 75% were overweight or obese. Seventy-six per cent reported eating at fast-food restaurants during the previous 3 months: 4% usually, 22% often and 50% sometimes. Frequency of eating at fast-food restaurants was positively associated with total fat and saturated fat intakes and fat-related dietary behaviours (P < 0.0001) and inversely associated with vegetable intake (P < 0.05). For example, mean daily fat intake was 39.0 g for usually/often respondents and 28.3 g for those reporting rare/never eating at fast-food restaurants. Participants who reported usual/often eating at fast-food restaurants were younger, never married, obese, physically inactive and multivitamin non-users (all P < 0.01). Frequency of eating at fast-food restaurants was positively associated with fair/poor self-rated health, weak belief in a diet–cancer relationship, low self-efficacy for healthy eating, weight dissatisfaction, and perceived difficulties of preparing healthy meals and ordering healthy foods in restaurants (all P < 0.05). Frequency of eating at fast-food restaurants did not differ significantly by sex, education, smoking, ability to purchase healthy foods or knowledge of the Food Guide Pyramid.

Conclusions:

Eating at fast-food restaurants is associated with higher fat and lower vegetable intakes in African Americans. Interventions to reduce fast-food consumption and obesity in African Americans should consider demographic and behavioural characteristics and address attitudes about diet–disease relationships and convenience barriers to healthy eating.

Keywords

Eating at fast-food restaurantsDietObesityAfrican AmericansPsychosocial factors
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 7 , Issue 8 , December 2004 , pp. 1089 - 1096
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2004

References

1Flegal, KM, Carroll, MD, Ogden, CL, Johnson, CL. Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999–2000. Journal of the American Medical Association 2002; 288: 1723–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2Flegal, KM, Carroll, MD, Kuczmarski, RJ, Johnson, CL. Overweight and obesity in the United States: prevalence and trends, 1960–1994. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 1998; 22: 39–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3US Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010, Washington, DC: US Public Health Service, 2000.Google Scholar
4Surgeon General. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 2001.Google Scholar
5Ghafoor, A, Jemal, A, Cokkinides, V, Cardinez, C, Murray, T, Samuels, A, et al. Cancer statistics for African Americans. CA Cancer Journal for Clinicians 2002; 52(6): 326–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Clayton, LA, Byrd, WM. The African-American cancer crisis, Part I: the problem. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 1993; 4(2): 83–101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7James, DC. Gender differences in body mass index and weight loss strategies among African Americans. Journal of the American Dietetics Association 2003; 103(10): 1360–2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8McCrory, MA, Fuss, PJ, Hays, NP, Vinken, AG, Greenberg, AS, Roberts, SB. Overeating in America: association between restaurant food consumption and body fatness in healthy adult men and women ages 19 to 80. Obesity Research 1999; 7: 564–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9Ma, Y, Bertone, ER, Stanek, EJ III, Reed, GW, Hebert, JR, Cohen, NL, et al. Association between eating patterns and obesity in a free-living US adult population. American Journal of Epidemiology 2003; 158: 85–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10Jeffery, RW, French, SA. Epidemic obesity in the United States: are fast foods and television viewing contributing? American Journal of Public Health 1998; 88(2): 277–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11French, SA, Harnack, L, Jeffery, RW. Fast food restaurant use among women in the Pound of Prevention study: dietary, behavioral and demographic correlates. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 2000; 24(10): 1353–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12French, SA, Story, M, Neumark-Sztainer, D, Fulkerson, JA, Hannan, P. Fast food restaurant use among adolescents: associations with nutrient intake, food choices and behavioral and psychosocial variables. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 2001; 25(12): 1823–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Harnack, L, French, S. Fattening up on fast food. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2003; 103(10): 1296–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14Guthrie, JF, Lin, BH, Frazao, E. Role of food prepared away from home in the American diet, 1977–78 versus 1994–96: changes and consequences. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 2002; 34(3): 140–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15Clauson, A. Spotlight on national food spending. Food Review 2000; (09) 15–7.Google Scholar
16US Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals, 1994–1996. Washington, DC: USDA Economic Research Service, 1997.Google Scholar
17Lin, B, Frazao, E, Guthrie, J. Away From Home Foods Increasingly Important to Quality of American Diet. Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 749. Washington, DC: Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, 1999; 12 pp.Google Scholar
18Clemens, LHE, Slawson, DK, Klesges, RC. The effect of eating out on quality of diet in premenopausal women. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1999; 99(4): 442–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19Haines, PS, Hungerford, DW, Popkin, BM, Guilkey, DK. Eating patterns and energy and nutrient intakes of US women. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1992; 92(6): 698–704, 707.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20Guenther, PM, Perloff, BP. Effects of Procedural Differences between 1977 and 1987 in the Nationwide Food Consumption Survey on Estimates of Food and Nutrient Intakes: Results from the USDA 1988 Bridging Study. NFCS Report No. 87-M-1. Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Agriculture, 1990.Google Scholar
21Shannon, BM, Parks, SC. Fast foods: a perspective on their nutritional impact. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1980; 76(3): 242–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22Satia, JA, Galanko, JA, Rimer, BK. Methods and strategies to recruit African Americans into cancer prevention surveillance studies. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 2004; in press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23Thompson, FE, Kipnis, V, Subar, AF, Krebs-Smith, SM, Kahle, LL, Midthune, D, et al. Evaluation of 2 brief instruments and a food-frequency questionnaire to estimate daily number of servings of fruit and vegetables. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2000; 71(6): 1503–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24Warneke, CL, Davis, M, De Moor, C, Baranowski, T. A 7-item versus 31-item food frequency questionnaire for measuring fruit, juice, and vegetable intake among a predominantly African-American population. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2001; 101(7): 774–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25Havas, S, Heimendinger, J, Damron, D, Nicklas, TA, Cowan, A, Beresford, SA, et al. 5 A Day for better health – nine community research projects to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. Public Health Reports 1995; 110(1): 68–79.Google Scholar
26Block, G, Clifford, C, Naughton, M, Henderson, M, McAdams, M. A brief dietary screen for high fat intake. Journal of Nutrition Education 1989; 21: 199–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27Block, G, Gillespie, C, Rosenbaum, EH, Jenson, C. A rapid food screener to assess fat and fruit and vegetable intake. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2000; 18(4): 284–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28Kristal, AR, Shattuck, AL, Henry, HJ. Patterns of dietary behavior associated with selecting diets low in fat: reliability and validity of a behavioral approach to dietary assessment. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1990; 90(2): 214–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
29Shannon, J, Kristal, AR, Curry, SJ, Beresford, SA. Application of a behavioral approach to measuring dietary change: the fat- and fiber-related diet behavior questionnaire. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 1997; 6(5): 355–61.Google ScholarPubMed
30Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults: executive summary. Expert Panel on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight in Adults. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1998; 68(4): 899–917.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
31Satia-Abouta, J, Patterson, RE, Schiller, RN, Kristal, AR. Energy from fat is associated with obesity in US men: results from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial. Preventive Medicine 2002; 34(5): 493–501.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
32Ainsworth, BE, Haskell, WL, Whitt, MC, Irwin, ML, Swartz, AM, Strath, SJ, et al. Compendium of physical activities: an update of activity codes and MET intensities. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2000; 32(Suppl. 9): S498–504.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
33Glanz, K, Kristal, AR, Sorensen, G, Palombo, R, Heimendinger, J, Probart, C. Development and validation of measures of psychosocial factors influencing fat- and fiber-related dietary behavior. Preventive Medicine 1993; 22(3): 373–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
34Kristal, AR, Patterson, RE, Glanz, K, Heimendinger, J, Hebert, JR, Feng, Z, et al. Psychosocial correlates of healthful diets: baseline results from the Working Well Study. Preventive Medicine 1995; 24(3): 221–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
35Gielen, AC, McDonald, EM. The PRECEDE–PROCEED planning model. In: Glanz, K, Lewis, FM, Rimer, BK, eds. Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice, 3rd ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., 2002; 409–36.Google Scholar
36Satia-Abouta, J, Patterson, RE, Kristal, AR, Teh, C, Tu, SP. Psychosocial predictors of diet and acculturation in Chinese American and Chinese Canadian women. Ethnicity & Health 2002; 7(1): 21–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
37Campbell, MK, Symons, M, Demark-Wahnefried, W, Polhamus, B, Bernhardt, JM, McClelland, JW, et al. Stages of change and psychosocial correlates of fruit and vegetable consumption among rural African-American church members. American Journal of Health Promotion 1998; 12(3): 185–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
38Nielsen, SJ, Siega-Riz, AM, Popkin, BM. Trends in food locations and sources among adolescents and young adults. Preventive Medicine 2002; 35(2): 107–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
39Nielsen, SJ, Popkin, BM. Patterns and trends in food portion sizes, 1977–1998. Journal of the American Medical Association 2003; 289(4): 450–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
40Weisburger, JH. Lifestyle, health and disease prevention: the underlying mechanisms. European Journal of Cancer Prevention 2002; 11(Suppl. 2): S1–7.Google ScholarPubMed
41Vallis, M, Ruggiero, L, Greene, G, Jones, H, Zinman, B, Rossi, S, et al. Stages of change for healthy eating in diabetes: relation to demographic, eating-related, health care utilization, and psychosocial factors. Diabetes Care 2003; 26(5): 1468–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
42Patterson, RE, Kristal, AR, White, E. Do beliefs, knowledge, and perceived norms about diet and cancer predict dietary change? American Journal of Public Health 1996; 86(10): 1394–400.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
43Kristal, AR, Hedderson, MM, Patterson, RE, Neuhouser, M, Neuhouser, ML. Predictors of self-initiated, healthful dietary change. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2001; 101(7): 762–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
44Harnack, L, Block, G, Subar, A, Lane, S, Brand, R. Association of cancer prevention-related nutrition knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes to cancer prevention dietary behavior. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1997; 97(9): 957–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
45Patterson, RE, Neuhouser, ML, White, E, Hunt, JR, Kristal, AR. Cancer-related behavior of vitamin supplement users. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 1998; 7(1): 79–81.Google ScholarPubMed
46Armstrong, BK, White, E, Saracci, R. Principles of Exposure Measurement in Epidemiology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.Google Scholar
47Horner, NK, Patterson, RE, Neuhouser, ML, Lampe, JW, Beresford, SA, Prentice, RL. Participant characteristics associated with errors in self-reported energy intake from the Women's Health Initiative food-frequency questionnaire. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2002; 76(4): 766–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed