Dietary Habits among Low Acculturated Latino Men Living in the Southern US

Research has established a link between acculturation of immigrants into US society and a shift away from traditional diets toward those which mimic the western diet. “Dietary acculturation”. of Latinos has been the focus of many studies. The purpose of this study was to identify socioeconomic, demographic and psychological factors influencing fat, fruit and vegetable intake and weight gain before the occurrence of dietary acculturation among 103 low-acculturated Latino men (92% Mexican and 8% Central American) in Mississippi. Participants were administered a survey in Spanish by a trained Spanish-speaking interpreter. The survey included the Block short food frequency for fat, fruit and vegetable intake, and the CES-D depression scale. Independent variables as suggested by Satia-Abouta's dietary acculturation model included: spouse living in US, time spent in US, age, education, and income. Multiple regression revealed a significant positive relationship between spouse living in the U.S. and fat intake (ß = .336, p = .012) and between time spent in the U.S. and weight gain (ß =.334, p = .004). There was a negative relationship between time spent in the U.S and fat intake (ß = -.316, p = .041) which agrees with the literature for low acculturated, low income Latinos. A negative relationship was also identified between depression scores and fat, fruit and vegetable intake (ß = -.268, -.360, p = .041, .007). Qualitative research could provide better insight into appropriate ways to target spouses for nutrition education and how to include social/emotional support to reduce depression among these recent immigrants.