Examination of Dietary Behaviors of South Asians for the Development of Culturally Appropriate Nutrition Education Program

Abstract

Nutrition Education programs are needed for South Asian population which is growing at a fast pace in the USA. South Asians (SA) are more susceptible to conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases because of genetic predisposition and acculturation. In order to develop nutrition education programs for this population, needs assessment about the dietary habits is required before designing the program. The objective of this study was to assess the current dietary habits of SA in order to develop a culturally specific nutrition education program for South Asians living in the USA. A cross‐sectional study of 105 South Asian adults (men=58, women=47, mean age=~24 years) was conducted. Participants completed a self‐report survey assessing demographics, Body Mass Index (BMI), family history of diseases, acculturation, weight management and dietary behavior questions adapted from the Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile II.Descriptive statistics were obtained for each of the variables of this study. Also, a score for dietary behavior was determined based on the 4 responses: “Always”, “Often”, “Sometimes” and “Never”. Multivariate Linear Regression Analysis was conducted to predict the relationship between dietary behaviors and other variables of this study.In terms of dietary behavior, it was found that only 29.5% participants indicated that they “always” or “often” choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. Only 26.7% indicated that they “always” or “often” limit use of sugars, sweets, & desserts. Just 23.8% participants indicated that they “always” or “often” eat 2–4 servings of fruit each day and 39% indicated “always” or “often” to consuming 3–5 servings of vegetables each day. In terms of reading labels to identify nutrients, fats, and sodium content in packaged food, 43.8% participants indicated “always” or “often” in making their decision.It was also found that only label reading and BMI were associated with better dietary behavior score suggesting that promoting label reading for food products and weight management strategies should be considered as a part of the nutrition education program. Also based on these results about the dietary behavior, it can be seen that that nutrition education efforts should target limitation of high sugar, high fat foods and emphasize increase in consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grain products for SA. Conclusively, there is an increased need to assess the dietary patterns and behavior of South Asians and efforts need to be taken for the development of nutrition education programs targeting these factors specifically for this population in the USASupport or Funding InformationNone