Quantity and Quality of Fruit and Vegetable Servings in a Lower Mississippi Delta Rural Population Compared with National Survey Data

Abstract

Twenty-four hour dietary intake data were collected for a pilot study from telephone and non-telephone households by telephone/cell phone or in-person interview from 409 subjects residing in three rural counties in the Lower Mississippi Delta. Fruit and vegetable consumption was analyzed for average number of servings. Types of fruits and vegetables consumed were compared to USDA's Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) data. T-tests and chi square analyses were used to determine whether these servings were statistically different from those reported in CSFII. We found that overall mean consumption (±SD) was 0.9±1.3 servings of fruit and 2.8±2.8 servings of vegetables, compared to mean fruit servings of 1.5+1.8 and mean vegetable servings of 3.1±2.2 from CSFII. Additionally, we noted that the consumption of French fried potatoes and potato chips in this population accounted for 30% of the total servings of vegetables (11.5% from chips and 18.5% from fries), compared with 16.7% from CSFII (4.3% from chips and 12.4% from fries). While a decline in consumption of these foods was noted with increasing age in CSFII, we did not observe a substantial decline with age in the Delta population. Furthermore, we found that African-Americans consumed more than twice the number of vegetable servings in the form of pptato chips and French fries as did the Caucasians in our study (34.9% vs 16.5%). These findings have implications for interventions to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables. Culturally appropriate nutrition education and behavioral change strategies are also being considered. The Consortium plans to conduct a subsequent survey to determine food and nutrient intakes in the larger Lower Mississippi Delta population.