ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the dietary intake of African American women in public housing as related to cancer risk and explores the sociodemographic factors that hinder healthy dietary intake in this population. DESIGN: Demographic and dietary data for this cross-sectional study were collected as part of a Breast Health Education Study. Trained interviewers conducted face-to-face interviews with study participants to assess the frequency of consumption of specified food items. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Study participants included 202 women 35-79 years old residing in six public housing facilities in Atlanta, Georgia. OUTCOME MEASURES: Univariate analyses were performed to report age, marital status, education level, employment status, income level, and frequencies of food items consumed. Correlation coefficients and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the association between the frequency of food item consumption and selected sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: Overall, only 33.7% and 17.9% of the women consumed fruit and vegetables on a daily basis, respectively. Almost two thirds consumed meat daily, while less than a third consumed whole wheat bread and bran cereals daily. A significant proportion of women had a daily consumption of fats, oils, and sweets (13.4%-49.5%). Three sociodemographic factors - young age, low income, and low education--were associated with unhealthy dietary intake. CONCLUSIONS: Strategies to promote healthy dietary intake should be implemented for women in public housing communities to help reduce cancer morbidity and mortality in this population. These strategies should address the barriers to healthy dietary consumption that are faced by women in this setting.
