Abstract P343: Diet Behaviors, Income, and Body Composition Among Diverse Adult Populations in the United States

Abstract

Background: Dietary behavior and food components contribute to an increased risk of obesity development and other metabolic disorders across racial groups. Those with favorable healthy diet behaviors and higher incomes experience a lower risk of obesity. Little is known about the effects of diet behaviors and income on body composition among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black men and women. As a step toward developing successful obesity interventions among minority populations, this study aimed to investigate associations and interactions among eating outside of the home, fast foods, and income with multiple measures of obesity. Method: Publicly available data from the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for 3942 Hispanic, non-Hispanic White, and Black women and men were analyzed using two-way MANOVA and sample independent t-tests. Diet behaviors included eating foods outside of the home (FOH) and fast food (FF), while obesity measures included body mass index (BMI), percent of body fat (POF), and waist circumference (WC). Results: Adults were 20-80 years old, with a mean BMI of 25.1, SD=6.4 (men, 24.9; women, 25.2), showing healthy weight overall. On average, men were eating more FOH ( M =0.84, 95% CI: 0.59 to 1.08, p <0.001, Cohen’s d =0.1) and FF ( M =0.57, 95% CI: 0.22 to 0.92, P <0.001, Cohen’s d=0.2) than women; Black men were eating more FOH ( M =1.09, 95% CI: 0.61 to 1.58, p <0.001, Cohen’s d =0.3) than Black women; and there were no significant mean differences on eating FF among Black men and Black women. Women with income <$25000/year were eating more FF and had higher BMI (π 2 =0.013) and POF (π 2 =0.013, p <0.05) than men. On average, Hispanic, White, and Black men were more likely to eat more FOH ( p <0.001) than Hispanic, White, and Black women, and Hispanic and Black women with income <$25000/year were eating more FF and FOH and had higher BMI and WC than Hispanic, White, and Black men ( P <0.05). Conclusion: Understanding associations between diet behaviors, income, and obesity across sex differences and ethnic groups is important to address multilevel public health interventions for those in need of obesity treatment. Additionally, it is important for providers and health professionals to understand obesity risks that are unique by racial group when developing tailored intervention and prevention programs. Key Words: Diet, behavior, income, body mass index, Percent of body fat, waist circumference