Socioeconomic factors associated with diet quality and meeting dietary guidelines in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the Southeast United States

ABSTRACT

Objective: To examine diet quality and dietary intake among residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods in the Southeast United States (U.S.) and to examine associations between dietary and socioeconomic factors.

Design: We examined baseline data from an evaluation study of a healthy food access initiative. Participants were recruited from two urban settings comprising seven neighborhoods of high household poverty (17% to 62%). Participants completed in-person interviews with measures of education, household income, and food security and one unannounced 24-hour dietary recall by telephone with trained registered dietitians. Food desert residence was coded based on U.S. Census data. Proportions meeting 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI-2010) scores were computed. Associations between dietary variables and participant’s education, household income, food security, and food desert residence were tested.

Results: Participants (n = 465) were predominantly African American (92%), women (80%), and overweight or obese (79%), and 52 ± 14 years of age. Sixty-three percent had low or very low food security, and 82% lived in census tracts of low income and low access to supermarkets (urban food desert). HEI-2010 scores averaged 48.8 ± 13.1. A minority of participants met dietary guidelines. Diet quality was lower among participants with lower education and among those from food insecure households (p < .05). Household income and food security were positively associated with meeting several dietary guidelines (p < .05). Food desert residence was unrelated to diet variables.

Conclusions: In this disadvantaged population, significant nutritional concerns were observed, and socioeconomic factors were associated with diet quality and meeting dietary guidelines. Interventions must address broader economic, social, and policy issues such as access to affordable healthy foods.

KEYWORDS:

• Diet quality
• African American
• dietary recommendations
• dietary patterns
• socioeconomic status
• health disparities

Acknowledgements

The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views or policies of the National Cancer Institute or the National Institutes of Health. The authors appreciate the university and local project staff and students' work and assistance from the Hub City Farmers' Market, Butterfly Foundation, Northside Development Group, Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Soulfully Fit Committee, many local community leaders and community-based and governmental organizations. The Institutional Review Board of the University of South Carolina approved the study, and all procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the IRB and the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Verbal informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to any data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Cancer Institute [grant number R01CA180336].