The relationship between socio‐demographic characteristics of South Mississippi adults to reported fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity (1021.4)

Abstract

Fruit and vegetable (FV) intake as well as physical activity (PA) participation in Mississippi is consistently lower than recommendations. The objective of this study is to examine FV intake as well as PA participation and how these variables relate to socio‐demographic factors among medically underserved adults in south Mississippi. Fat and FV intakes along with PA participation and socio‐demographic information was collected from a sample of 161 (48 male and 113 female) adults in south Mississippi. A majority (81.9%) of the participants reported consuming less than 5 servings of FV per day and 54% reported exercising less than 3 times a week. Only 14% of participants reported eating a low fat diet. Bivariate correlations revealed no significant relationships between FV and fat intakes with gender, ethnicity, income, marital status, or education. However, there were significant correlations between PA and fat intake (r=‐0.21, p=0.01) and FV intake (r=‐0.21, p=0.05). Higher PA rates were associated with decreased fat and increased FV intakes. PA activity was also higher among men (r=‐0.16, p=0.05) and positively correlated with income level (r=0.21 p=0.01). In order to effectively identify or develop strategies to improve health by promoting increased FV intake and PA, further research is needed to understand the factors that affect behavior choices regarding nutrition and PA in this medically underserved adult population.