Improving Food Selection Options for Latinas with Diabetes and Their Families

What strategies may help Latinas with diabetes make better food decisions? In this study qualitative methods were used to interview nine, mostly mono-lingual Spanish-speaking, women of Mexican origin about their nutritional attitudes and behaviors in Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles, California between 2004-2005. The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and a socio-ecological model of community nutrition environments was used to frame areas in the interview guide and the data analysis. For those of lower socioeconomic status, the greatest struggle was to understand nutrition information; for those with a family, an additional struggle was consideration of family members' preferences. The consumer nutrition environment emerged as a key area where Latinas with diabetes could receive useful support in making food decisions. The consumer nutrition environment encompasses factors such as the availability of healthy options, nutrition information, and price. For those with limited access to health education, the consumer nutrition environment could serve as a useful arena in which to disseminate vital information about making healthier food decisions. The community nutrition environment (i.e. types and locations of food outlets) also is another place where interventions could greatly benefit this population. Many of the participants talked about feeling a great desire for typical but “bad” foods like menudo, pan dulce, and bolillos con mantequilla sold by street vendors. Requiring non-traditional food outlets to provide information about calories, fat, and glycemic index could help Latinas with diabetes make informed decisions (i.e. how much pan dulce to eat, rather than fearing it completely).