Co-occurrence of health behaviors among African-American and Latino men

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.