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Abstract #152783

Guadalupe Ayala, PhD, MPH¹, India J. Ornelas, MPH², Jan Dodds, EdD³, Elvira Mebane⁴, Earl Horton, BS⁵, Jaime Montaņo⁶, Scott Rhodes, PhD, MPH, CHES⁷, Jim Arnell, PhD², Janelle Armstrong², and Eugenia Eng, MPH, DrPH⁸. (1) Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, 9245 Sky Park Court, Suite 221, San Diego, CA 92123, 619-594-6686, ayala@mail.sdsu.edu, (2) Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, CB #7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7440, (3) Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, School of Public Health CB #7461, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, (4) United Voices of Efland-Cheeks, PO Box 478, Hillsborough, NC 27278, (5) MAN for Health Project, Strengthening the Black Family, Inc., 568 E. Lenoir Street, P.O. Box 28715, Raleigh, NC 27611, (6) Chatham Social Health Council, PO Box 297, Pittsboro, NC 27312, (7) Div of Public Health Sciences/Dept of Social Sciences & Health Policy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, 2000 W. 1st Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1063, (8) Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina, School of Public Health CB #7440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599

Diet is an important determinant of health, and evidence suggests that dietary behaviors tend to co-occur with other lifestyle behaviors. This analysis examined the co-occurrence of both healthy and unhealthy behaviors among Latino and African-American men living in the Southeastern United States. Analyses examined psychosocial correlates of these behaviors to guide future health-promoting interventions. Four hundred and fifty-five adult men participated as part of the MAN for Health study. Language-appropriate (English or Spanish) baseline surveys were self-administered in a group setting. Latino men (n=262) were younger, less educated, and more likely to be employed despite reporting a lower annual household income and a larger household size than African-American men (n=173; all p≤.001). Latino men reported less weekly fast food consumption (p<.05) and more daily fruit consumption (p<.01) than African-American men. Among both Latino and African-American men, greater consumption of fruits and vegetables was associated with any physical activity in the past month (p<.001). Greater fast food consumption was observed among Latinos who reported binge drinking (p<.001) and among Latinos born in the U.S. (p<.05). Finally, across all men, greater use of active support-seeking coping was associated with more fruit (beta = .512, p <.01) and vegetable consumption (beta = .544, p<.001). Negative coping strategies (beta = 1.08, p<.001) and less positive attitudes toward health (beta = -0.55, p<.05) were associated with greater fast food consumption. This research provides evidence for specifying dietary intervention targets for men living in the Southeast, and the importance of coping styles for dietary behaviors.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe differences in the co-occurrence of health behaviors among ethnically diverse men.
• Assess for the relationship between coping styles and health behaviors.
• Prioritize intervention targets for health promotion.

Keywords: Male Health, Minorities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.