The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #64897

Kristin Mueller, BS¹, Eva T. Lopez-Madurga, MD, MPH¹, Guadalupe X. Ayala, PhD, MPH², and John P. Elder, PhD¹. (1) Center for Behavioral and Community Health Studies, San Diego State University, 9245 Sky Park Court Suite 221, San Diego, CA 92123, 619-594-3147, kmueller@projects.sdsu.edu, (2) Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina School of Public Health, CB #7440, Rosenau Hall 315, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7440

Dietary interventions must target behaviors in multiple contexts and requires an understanding of factors that influence dietary decision-making. The purpose of this study is to describe and identify predictors of grocery shopping and restaurant preferences in a sample of 357 U.S. Latinas. Women were recruited via random digit dialing for a nutrition communication intervention and were interviewed in their homes via face-to-face interviews with bilingual, bicultural evaluation assistants. These interviews assessed the participant’s restaurant and grocery store choices, reasons for these choices, and demographic and sociocultural information. Using the North American Industry Classification System, 45% of the women identified fast food restaurants as their primary restaurant choice. Women reported eating fast food a mean of 1.03 times per week (SD = 1.25). The secondary establishment choice was a non-ethnic full-service restaurant (23%). The most prominent reasons for these selections were type of food and quality of service. Non-ethnic grocery stores (36.3%) and supermarkets (33.2%) were the preferred grocery stores, although 65% of the women reported shopping at warehouse stores. Quality and availability of certain foods, as well as familiarity with the store were the most important reasons for these choices. Younger women were more likely to eat at fast food restaurants (p < .05). More acculturated women were more likely to shop in supermarkets (p<.05), while women living in the U.S. a longer period of time were more likely to eat at fast food restaurants (p<.05). These findings indicate an important interplay between measures of acculturation and dietary habits.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participants will be able to:
• Identify predictors of grocery shopping and restaurant preferences in Latinas.
• Assess dietary decision-making choices.
• Apply the North American Industry Classification System for dietary evaluation.

Keywords: Latinas, Dietary Assessment

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.