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Fathers are potential leaders of healthy behavior changes in their families. Culturally tailored programs are needed to support behavior changes within families, including Latino families; however, there have been few father-focused nutrition programs for Latino families. This study evaluated the immediate effects of ¡Haz Espacio Para Papi! (Make Room for Daddy!; HEPP), a six-week, father-focused, family-centered program focused on nutrition and physical activity near the Texas-Mexico border. A modified stepped-wedge study design included a treatment group for the HEPP pilot and a wait-listed control group. Pre/post-tests included instant skin carotenoid scores, the self-reported dietary intake of fruits and vegetables (FV), and healthy dietary behavior scores (HDBSs). A 2 × 2 mixed analysis of variance evaluated changes in outcomes across time and between groups for 42 fathers with pre/post-test measures. There were no statistically significant changes in fathers' VM scores and FV intake across time or between groups. Fathers' HDBSs increased across time ( p ≤ 0.01, 95% CI [0.23, 1.38]). Age, educational attainment, and the number of children living in the household did not have a significant effect on the program outcomes ( p > 0.05). The HEPP program may guide the design of future father-focused nutrition interventions aimed at dietary behavior changes.

Unhealthy diets are recognized as a major risk factor for many diseases. The decrease in costs of industrialized products, as well as the possible misinformation about a healthy diet, has led to new behaviors in the dietary patterns of the pediatric population. The costs of dietary patterns have not been estimated in our population, so the objective of this study was to determine the cost associated with dietary patterns in Mexican children and adolescents, hypothesizing that a healthy diet is not necessarily more economically expensive. This study analyzed data from a population-based cross-sectional study of healthy children and adolescents in Mexico City. Data were collected from a food frequency questionnaire and the meal cost of habitual food shopping. Eating patterns were obtained by using principal component analysis. A micro-costing technique was performed to obtain the direct costs of each pattern. When comparing the healthy pattern with the transition and non-healthy patterns, it was observed that there were no statistically significant differences between the dietary patterns ( p = 0.8293). The cost of the healthy pattern only takes up 16.6% of the total biweekly income of a salaried Mexican. In this study, no differences were observed between the costs of a healthy and a less healthy diet.

To explore dietary patterns within the context of the nutrition transition among Mexican adolescents, we employed a mixed-methodology that included survey data from a cohort of 550 adolescents and direct ethnographic observations of six families. From the cohort study, we found that diet tended to cluster into 3 patterns. Interpreting the patterns using the ethnographic observations showed that the dietary clustering likely reflected differences in meal organization driven by socioeconomic status (SES). In particular, families of higher SES could afford to prepare larger home-cooked meals on a regular basis while lower SES households had less-stable patterns and greater reliance on processed food. These findings provide a more nuanced interpretation of dietary patterns observed in the Mexico population than is afforded by the food items alone (i.e. a "healthy" or "prudent" pattern versus "unhealthy" or "Westernized")., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To understand non-adherence to medically recommended diets among Mayans with diabetes., Design: Using partially sequential mixed methods, questionnaires, semi-structured brief and in-depth interviews were applied. Questionnaire data were analysed with Pearson's χ2 and Student's t tests and qualitative interviews with grounded theory microanalysis., Setting: Rural, predominantly Mayan communities in Chiapas, Quintana Roo and Yucatan, Mexico, 2008-2012., Participants: Purposive sample of Mayans with type 2 diabetes; using public health care; 168 women and twenty-seven men; age 21-50+ years., Results: Participants understood diabetes as caused by negative emotions, divine punishment, revenge via spells, chemicals in food and high sugar/fat consumption. Eliminating corn, pork, sugary beverages and inexpensive industrialized foods was perceived as difficult or impossible. More Mayans reporting not understanding physician instructions (30 v. 18 %) reported difficulty reducing red meat consumption (P = 0·051). Non-adherence was influenced by lack of patient-provider shared knowledge and medical recommendations misaligned with local culture. Men whose wives prepared their meals, women who liked vegetables and young adults whose mothers prepared their meals reported greater adherence to dietary recommendations. Partial adherents said it made life tolerable and those making no physician-recommended dietary changes considered them too restrictive (they meant 'starving to death'). Over half (57 %) of participants reported non-adherence; the two principal reasons were dislike of recommended foods (52·5 %) and high cost (26·2 %)., Conclusions: Adherence to dietary regimens in diabetes treatment is largely related to social and cultural issues. Taking cultural diversity, food preferences, local food availability and poverty into consideration is essential when developing health-promotion activities related to diabetes.

The cross-cultural testing of scales represents an important step in the scale validation process. The present study evaluated whether the eight-item short version of the recently developed Food Disgust Scale (FDS-short) is a reliable and valid tool for measuring food disgust sensitivity in ten countries: Australia, China, England, France, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the USA. In an online survey, the participants (N = 6128) answered items from the FDS-short and other scales related to (food) disgust sensitivity so as to test the construct and criterion validity of the FDS-short. Confirmatory factor analysis of the one-factor structure of the FDS-short revealed an adequate to good model fit in all the countries except for China. Multiple group analysis to test measurement invariance showed the FDS-short to be metrically invariant in all the tested countries (except for China) relative to Australia. With regard to the construct validity, significant positive correlations were observed in all the countries between the FDS-short and pathogen disgust sensitivity, sexual disgust sensitivity, moral disgust sensitivity, germ aversion, and food neophobia. Criterion validity of the FDS-short in all the tested countries was confirmed by the positive correlations between it and having a sensitive stomach, experiencing gastrointestinal complaints after eating animal-based foods (except for France and Germany), and the perceived infection risk of food-borne diseases in one's country. The direction of the correlations indicated that for each country, those with higher FDS-short scores also scored higher on all the tested constructs than those with lower FDS-short scores. Taken together, the present results indicate that the FDS-short is a reliable and valid tool for assessing food disgust sensitivity across countries., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Promoting traditional diets could potentially reduce the current high rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) globally. While the traditional Mexican diet (TMexD) could be specifically promoted in Mexico, a concise definition of the TMexD and evidence of its association with NCDs are needed before its promotion. To evaluate what constitutes this diet pattern, we aimed to systematically review, for the first time, how the TMexD has been described in the literature to date. A secondary aim was to examine whether the TMexD, as described by available definitions, is associated with NCD outcomes. We searched for records describing a whole TMexD up to July 2019 in 12 electronic databases, reference lists, a relevant journal, and by contacting experts on the topic. We reported the results using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We included 61 records for the definition of the diet and six for the association with NCD outcomes. The food groups characterising the TMexD that were consistently mentioned in all the study subgroups were grains and tubers, legumes, and vegetables; specific foods included maize, beans, chile , squash, tomato, and onion. Other groups also mentioned, although with lesser frequency, were maize products, fruits, beverages, fish and seafood, meats, sweets and sweeteners, and herbs and condiments. Only a few studies reported on the frequency of consumption or the amounts in which these foods were consumed in the TMexD. It was not possible to reach strong conclusions for the association between adherence to the TMexD and NCD outcomes. The TMexD was weakly associated with developing breast cancer, not associated with triglyceride levels, and inconsistently associated with obesity and diabetes outcomes. However, results were limited by the small number of studies ( n = 6), of which most were of observational nature and evaluated diets using different TMexD definitions. These findings provide systematically identified evidence of the characteristics of the TMexD. More studies are needed to ascertain the exact quantities by which foods were consumed in the TMexD in order to establish whether this dietary pattern is associated with health and should be promoted within the Mexican population., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Unhealthy eating and weight control behaviors are important but modifiable factors that contribute to obesity in majority and minority populations. Studies suggest that these behaviors are common in Mexican American women, but most studies completed to date have focused on college enrolled Mexican American women. Little is known about body weight concerns, eating and weight control behaviors in low acculturated immigrant Mexican women. This qualitative descriptive study utilized two focus groups with 15 women to identify and describe body weight and shape perceptions, and thoughts and behaviors related to eating and weight control of low acculturated Mexican American living in disadvantaged economic situations. Conventional content analysis was used to analyze data and three main themes were identified: (1) body weight values and concerns, (2) eating and food, and (3) weight loss strategies and consequences. The first two themes shared five subthemes including emotion, health, age, family, and culture. Results suggest Mexican American women experience weight concerns that are in conflict with food/eating values and experiences. This conflict is influenced by cultural, family, and inter/intrapersonal factors and contributes to unhealthy eating and weight control behavior. The transition and assimilation to the United States is complex and dynamic. Thus understanding how the conflict regarding body weight and food influence Mexican American women's health behaviors is important and provides valuable knowledge essential to guide further research and intervention development.

Migration from lower- and middle-income to high-income countries is associated with dietary change, and especially with the adoption of a modern, less healthy diet. In this article we analyze the dietary changes experienced by Mexican migrants, employing as a theoretical framework the concept of social practice. According to this framework, practices integrate material elements, meanings and competences that provide their conditions of possibility. Practices are shared by members of social groups, and interact with other competing or reinforcing practices. Between 2014 and 2015, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 27 women, international return migrants living in Tijuana, Mexico. The interview guide asked about history of migration and dietary change. We found three main areas of dietary change: from subsistence farming to ready meals, abundance vs. restriction, and adoption of new food items. The first one was associated with changes in food procurement and female work: when moving from rural to urban areas, participants substituted self-produced for purchased food; and as migrant women joined the labor force, consumption of ready meals increased. The second was the result of changes in income: participants of lower socioeconomic position modified the logic of food acquisition from restriction to abundance and back, depending on the available resources. The third change was relatively minor, with occasional consumption of new dishes or food items, and was associated with exposure to different cuisines and with learning how to cook them. Public health efforts to improve the migrants' diets should take into account the constitutive elements of dietary practices, instead of isolating individuals from their social contexts., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among Hispanic women. Certain dietary factors have been associated with the risk of breast cancer recurrence, but data in Hispanic survivors is scarce., Objective: to examine dietary patterns and diet quality in two groups of Hispanic breast cancer survivors., Methods: 23 Mexican-American (MA) and 22 Puerto Rican (PR) female breast cancer survivors completed a culturally adapted validated food frequency questionnaire. Intake was standardized per 1000 kcal and compared to US Dietary Guidelines and the DASH-style diet adherence score was calculated., Results: Overweight/obese was 70 % in MA and 91 % in PR. PR consumed diets rich in fruit/100 % fruit juices and beans, while MA diets were high in vegetables, beans, and total grains. Both groups consumed high amounts of starchy vegetables, refined grains, animal protein and calories from solid fats and added sugars but low intakes of whole grains, dairy products and nuts and seeds. DASH scores were relatively low., Conclusion: MA and PR female breast cancer survivors have different dietary patterns but both groups had relatively low diet quality. These groups could benefit from culturally tailored interventions to improve diet quality, which could potentially reduce cancer recurrence. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01504789.

Background: Dietary changes among Latino immigrants are often attributed to acculturation. Acculturation-diet research typically assumes that migration to the US is necessary for negative dietary changes to occur in Latino immigrants' diets., Objective: The goal of this article is to demonstrate that extant acculturation research is not adequate in capturing changes in Latino immigrants' diets. This is due to the role of globalization and transnational processes in modernizing their diets in Latin America., Design: Utilizing an interactionist cultural studies approach, this exploratory situational analysis based on 27 in-depth interviews with Latino immigrants, nutrition reports, and transnational food companies' websites, examines how Latino immigrants were already engaging in negative dietary practices in their former country., Results: Latino immigrants who resided in urban areas in their former countries and migrated to the US on or after 2000 were fully engaged in negative dietary practices prior to migration. Such practices included consuming food outside of the home and integrating processed food into their cooking. Their dietary practices were also informed by nutrition discourses. The modernization of food production and consumption and the transnational transmission of nutrition are transnational processes changing Latino immigrants' diets prior to migration., Conclusion: Researchers should approach the study of dietary change among Latino immigrants in the US through a transnational perspective in order to avoid overlooking potential confounders such as current food insecurity, new socioeconomic positions as undocumented, low-income persons, and increased hours worked outside of the home.

Previous studies have found increased acculturation to the US lifestyle increases risk for obesity in Latinos. However, methodologies differ, and results in children are inconsistent. Moreover, previous studies have not evaluated risk factors within the heterogeneous US population. We recruited 144 self-identified Latino school children and their mother or father in grades 4-6 in San Francisco parochial schools and South San Francisco public schools using an information letter distributed to all students. Children and parents had weights, heights, demographic information, dietary patterns and lifestyle variables collected in English or Spanish through an interview format. A high percentage of our children were overweight [≥85th percentile body mass index (BMI)] (62.5%) and obese (≥95th percentile BMI) (45.2%). Correspondingly parents also had a high percentage of overweight (BMI ≥ 25 & <30) (40.8%) and obesity (BMI ≥ 30) (45.3%). Mexico was the country of origin for 62.2% of parents, and 26.6% were from Central or South America. In multivariate logistic analysis, speaking Spanish at home was an independent risk factor for obesity [odds ratio (OR) 2.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.28-6.86]. Eating breakfast daily (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.15-0.78) and consumption of tortas (a Mexican fast food sandwich) (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.21-1.00) were associated with decreased risk. In stratified analysis, significant differences in risk factors existed between Mexican origin versus Central/South American Latino children. The processes of acculturation likely impact eating and lifestyle practices differentially among Latino groups. Interventions should focus on ensuring that all children eat a nutritious breakfast and take into consideration ethnicity when working with Latino populations.

Obesity rates are alarming in various ethnocultural groups, particularly in Hispanics. With Hispanics being the fastest growing group to enter college, the aims of the current study were to examine patterns and correlates of exercise and dietary behaviors in Hispanic college students. Data were collected from 693 Hispanic undergraduates who enrolled online and received course extra credit for participation. Individuals completed questionnaires assessing constructs of the transtheoretical model for three health behaviors (exercise, dietary fat, and fruit/vegetable stages of change) along with demographic, psychosocial, and acculturation measures. Less than 1% of students had 0 obesity-relevant risks, while 68% indicated 2 or more risks. Only 2% of the sample met fruit and vegetable guidelines. Lower income was associated with greater obesity-relevant risks, while stress coping ability was associated with fewer such risks. Findings indicate specific obesity risk behaviors in Hispanic college students and suggest demographic and psychosocial targets for prevention and intervention according to stage of change., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Literature on the diet of the Mexican-American population suggests that food consumption differs by nativity and duration of residence in the United States. However, no studies have used dietary pattern analysis to investigate these differences. To create dietary patterns, we used principal components analysis on food frequency questionnaire data for all adult respondents of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey years 2003-2006. Four dietary patterns were identified: Western, Healthy, Tomato/Tortilla, and Coffee/Sugar. Least squares means regression was used to test differences in adjusted mean dietary adherence scores among Mexico-born Mexican-American adults residing in the United States for <15 years (n=302), Mexico-born Mexican-American adults residing in the United States for ≥15 years (n=234), US-born Mexican-American adults (n=509), and US-born non-Hispanic whites (n=2,530) aged 18 to 69 years. Mean score for each diet pattern did not differ significantly by duration of US residence category in the Mexico-born Mexican-American population. However, in comparison to all Mexico-born Mexican Americans, US-born Mexican Americans had significantly lower score for the Tomato/Tortilla pattern, and significantly higher score for the Western pattern. Scores for the Healthy pattern were relatively low in all Mexican-American subgroups, indicating low adherence to the Healthy diet. However, Healthy diet scores of Mexico-born Mexican Americans among those aged ≤41 years appeared more similar to those of US-born non-Hispanic whites than US-born Mexican Americans. Education and policy action promoting healthy food access in Hispanic neighborhoods could help limit consumption of Western and Coffee/Sugar diet patterns and promote healthier choices in the Mexican-American population., (Copyright © 2011 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between nativity and nutritional behaviors and beliefs in the Mexican American population living in the South Texas border region. Mexican Americans living the border region of South Texas were sampled to assess their nutrition behaviors and beliefs. Nativity was measured as whether subjects were born in the United States or Mexico. Nutritional behaviors were measured using the SPAN and indexes were used to measure barriers to good nutrition, dietary self-efficacy, and dietary importance. OLS regression analysis was used and adjustments were made for sociodemographic factors. Differences between US-born Mexican Americans and Mexico-born Mexican Americans existed in nutritional beliefs, but not in behaviors. Mexico-born Mexican Americans reported their dietary choices as more important and reported greater food self-efficacy than their US-born Mexican American counterparts. Socioeconomic status influenced US-born Mexican Americans nutritional beliefs only and the same effect was not observed for Mexico-born Mexican Americans. Despite low levels of overall acculturation in the border region dietary beliefs still exist between immigrants and US-born Mexican Americans in dietary beliefs, but, not behaviors in US-born Mexican Americans.

To address obesity and related morbidities, community-based participatory research (CBPR) strategies were employed to design and evaluate a Spanish-language media campaign promoting physical activity and healthful food choices among Mexican Americans. Process evaluation including content analyses on types and focus of media messages was conducted. Focus groups assessed appeal and trustworthiness of messages. All media campaign products featured role models and experts. Campaign messages primarily (91%) appeared in TV morning show segments. Newsletters presented individual and family role model stories. A majority of newsletters (68%) were distributed through churches and "promotora" outreach efforts. CBPR lends itself to the selection and tailoring of evidence-based media campaigns. Moreover, CBPR guidance resulted in media messages that were credible and appealing to audience. Process evaluation strategies that gather information from the community provide solid evidence for how to modify the campaign to best meet audience expectations.

Objective: To explore risk factors modification, as well as barriers and facilitators for behavioral change in Mexican type 2 diabetics and their families., Methods: Risk assessment and impact evaluation included measurements on anthropometrics, diet, physical activity, nutrition knowledge, and HbA(1c.) The intervention included discussion groups and promoted behavioral change on dietary risk, physical exercise, and basic diabetic knowledge of 48 urban diabetic patients and 38 relatives. The educational method consisted of cognitive reframing and situational problem solving during five meetings over an 8-month period., Results: Diabetics were older and less educated than their participating relatives (55.8+/-11 and 34.7+/-13.7 years old, and 4.5+/-3.4 and 7.8+/-3.7 years of schooling, respectively). Factors such as diet, degree of obesity, physical activity and HbA(1c), reflected that 92% of diabetic patients and 83% of their relatives were at high health risk. After the intervention, nutritional knowledge and diet-health awareness increased (p=.013 and .001 respectively); however, no significant health-risks reduction was observed., Discussion: Focus group analysis suggested that lack of support from family and health services, low income, neighborhood insecurity and misleading "popular knowledge" and advice are key barriers to behavioral change., Practice Implications: The study supports the understanding of constrains to health promotion campaigns and better health provider-patient interactions in Mexican population. Additionally, the study contributes to the general knowledge of ethnic socio-cultural environment influences over health care issues, primarily to diet modifications.

The aim of the study was to develop a model of potential risk factors associated to the development of eating behaviors in Mexican women. A structural equation model was carried out on a sample of 425 women: high school and college students (N=425) with a mean age of 19.1 years (SD=3.8). The variables selected for the model were those that obtained significant correlations with the variable "eating behaviors": criticism by father/mother, depressed mood, body mass index, attitudes and beliefs concerning obesity and dissatisfaction with figure. The model fitted the data well, with a non-significant Chi-square. The proportion of variance explained for eating behavior by the other variables was 59, the direct effects of all the variables were significant, while the total effect of all the variables on eating behavior were also significant, particularly the effects of the "dissatisfaction with figure" and, "attitudes and beliefs concerning obesity". The model yielded similar data to the findings in international literature, since they revealed the influence exerted by social pressure on thinness, the internalization of the socio-cultural ideal of thinness and the role of excess weight in increasing the risk of body dissatisfaction and therefore with the development of eating disorders.

The objective of the study was to determine the degree of adherence to the Food Guide Pyramid recommendations among African Americans, Latinos born in the United States, and Latinos born in Mexico. Subjects were from the Multiethnic Cohort Study in Hawaii and Los Angeles, and completed a self-administered quantitative food frequency questionnaire at baseline in 1993-1996. Dairy recommendations were the least likely of all the food group recommendations to be followed, with 61% to 99% of individuals in the three ethnic groups not consuming the recommended number of servings. African Americans were less likely to adhere to all of the food group recommendations compared to the two Latino groups. A greater percentage of Latinos born in the United States did not adhere to the food group recommendations compared to Latinos born in Mexico. All three groups would benefit from interventions designed to promote healthy food choices.

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of and possible risk factors for overweight in a sample of 5- to 6-year-old Hispanic (predominantly Mexican American) children in Chicago, Illinois, to see if overweight is more common in more highly acculturated immigrant families. There were 250 kindergarten students (92% of those eligible) attending two public elementary schools serving primarily Mexican American neighborhoods measured for height and weight. Consenting mothers were interviewed (n = 80) and measured (n = 38). The interview tool covered demography, acculturation, infant and toddler feeding practices, current eating patterns and food preparation habits, physical activity, and psychosocial family characteristics. Overweight was conservatively defined as weight-for-height at or above the National Center for Health Statistics 95th percentile. The data were used to describe the prevalence of overweight. Overweight and nonoverweight children were compared on all survey variables using appropriate statistical tests, with significance set at.05. There were 23% of the total sample of children (n = 250) and 26% of the subsample of children (those whose mothers were interviewed) who were overweight. Analysis limited to children in the subsample explored risk factors. The median score on the Acculturation Scale was 4.0 (range 2.4 - 10.4) on a scale of 2.4 (entirely not acculturated) to 12 (fully acculturated). There was no significant association between overweight and Acculturation Scale score. Overweight children were more likely than those not overweight to watch television for more than 3 hours during weekend days (48% vs. 22%, P =.03). Overweight children were also more likely to consume sweetened beverages (powdered drinks, soda pop, atole) daily (67% vs. 39%, P =.03). There was a trend indicating that free access to food at home increased the risk of overweight (P = 0.06). No other family- or child-level variables were related to overweight. Only 40% of mothers with an overweight child correctly assessed these children as overweight. Approximately one quarter of the children in the study were overweight. Our hypothesis that their obesity was linked to acculturation was not confirmed. Longer hours of child television viewing on weekends and higher levels of sweetened beverage consumption were important behaviors associated with the occurrence of overweight. These data should be considered when designing future studies in this population.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of maternal acculturation level on child feeding strategies and anthropometry in preschoolers from low-income Mexican-American families., Design/subjects: Data are from a cross-sectional survey of 238 low-income Mexican-American families with preschool children living in California during 1998. Interviewers collected data from the mothers on child-feeding practices and weighed and measured the children in their homes., Statistical Analyses: Spearman's correlation coefficients, analysis of variance, and chi 2 were used to examine the relationship pf maternal acculturation level with feeding strategies and anthropometric measurements., Results: Compared with more acculturated mothers, less acculturated mothers tend to offer alternative foods more often when their children refuse to eat. More acculturated women are less likely to view bribes, threats, and punishments as effective strategies and are more likely to give vitamins than less acculturated mothers. Maternal acculturation is not associated with differences in weight-for-height z-scores, height-for-age, or body mass index of the children. Triceps skinfold thickness are larger in children of more acculturated mothers than in children of less acculturated women., Applications/conclusions: Dietitians should consider differences in child feeding practices due to acculturation among Mexican-Americans. Successful strategies to encourage consumption of nutritious traditional foods and to transition from child-led snacking to more structured meals should be part of nutrition education programs.

Have you ever visited a public market in Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru or Brazil? Have you ever stopped to eat delicious Mayan-style pork tacos, turnovers filled with corn fungus or squash flower, octopus stuffed crepes, crab, cassava, 'alcapurrias' or grasshoppers with lime juice and chili, agave worms or a 'come back to life' seafood cocktail? If you have not, you have been missing a large part of the Mexican, Guatemalan, Panamanian, Colombian, Venezuelan, Peruvian and Brazilian folklore, taste, smell and color. And if you have visited these countries, it will be easier for you to understand the information in this chapter.

Is a fat-avoidance scale a useful tool for monitoring and tracking dietary fat selections of adults and children? Using a seven-point scale, we addressed this question with 341 preschool children and 421 of their parents participating in a longitudinal study of childhood behaviors in San Diego County, California. Milk type and cooking fat reported in the fat-avoidance scale was compared with data reported in a 24-hour food intake record. An overall 86% agreement for milk type and a 78% agreement for cooking fat were noted. Anglo preschoolers (n = 143) had significantly greater mean scores for fat and cholesterol avoidance than did Mexican-American preschoolers (n = 198). Anglo, but not Mexican-American, women avoided fat and cholesterol more often than did their male counterparts. A significantly higher sum score was noted for Anglo men and women and Mexican-American men as education increased. These findings indicate that the fat-avoidance scale has a relative validity compared with a 1-day food record, that fat avoidance can be measured, that differences can be noted in a biethnic sample of children and adults, and that the scale has potential for monitoring success in achieving a lower fat and cholesterol intake.

As service-oriented professionals in a multicultural society, dietitians must be aware of cultural influences on food consumption patterns, population demographics, and health care usage by ethnic groups. The United States has one of the largest Hispanic populations in the world. The major health problems in the Hispanic population are cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and obesity. The use of health care services by Hispanic subgroups is dependent upon their residence in a rural or an urban area. This article summarizes national trends in food consumption, health care usage, prevalent health problems, and eating habits of Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, the most populous of the Hispanic subgroups. We provide diet modifications for energy-, fat- and sodium-restricted diets, which are part of the treatment for problems prevalent in this ethnic population. Dietitians must consider cultural and demographic influences to help Hispanic hospital patients modify their diet in ways that are both healthful and culturally acceptable.