TITLE: SUPERMARKET SURVEY SHOWS CONSUMERS’PREFERENCE FOR FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES ANDIDENTIFIES EDUCATION AND PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

AUTHOR(S): D.B. Reed, PhD, RD, LD, V.L. Huffman, PhD, TexasTech University, Lubbock, TX; RJ Lucky, BS, Produce for BetterHealth Foundation, Sacramento, CA

LEARNING OUTCOME: To describe the education needs related toincreasing the fruit and vegetable intake of supermarket consumers.

TEXT: The majority of U.S. adults do not meet the recommendedguidelines for fruits and vegetables (F&V). Sixty-one percent ofconsumers look to supermarkets for help in eating F&V and feel thatsupermarkets could be doing more. To more effectively planeducation interventions in supermarkets, a survey was conducted to:assess the knowledge level of local consumers regardingrecommended fruit and vegetable intake; explore the acceptability offrozen or canned F&V in meeting recommended number of servings;and determine strategies that supermarkets can use to increase thepurchase of F&V. Trained graduate students interviewed 290customers at a local supermarket. For fruits, females reported higherservings needed (n�168, mean 3.84 � 1.62 SD) compared to men(n�104, mean 3.04 � 1.27 SD) (t-test, p� .001). Similarly forvegetables, females reported higher servings needed (n�167, mean4.03 �1.63 SD) compared to men (n� 101, mean 3.31 �1.29 SD (t-test, p� .001). While a majority of the respondents (84%) were awarethat U.S. adults are not meeting recommended servings of F&V, onlyone-third of respondents said they would consider other forms of F&Vbesides fresh. Ways that the supermarket could encouragerespondents’ F&V intake were lower prices and coupons. Due to thenumbers of customers, point-of-purchase opportunities, and consumertrust, supermarkets are an important way to reach consumers withmessages for increasing F&V intake. Surveys, such as the one usedin this study, may help to provide insights into the F&V educationneeds of local consumers.

FUNDING DISCLOSURE: None

TITLE: INFANT FEEDING PRACTICES AND BELIEFS AMONGWOMEN IN PODOR, SENEGAL

AUTHOR(S): H. Schwartz, C.B. Hollenbeck, PhD, C. Fields-Gardner,MS, RD, K. Sucher, ScD, RD, M. Diop, MS; Department of Nutritionand Food Science, San Jose State University; Cutting EdgeConsulting, Cary, IL; Counterpart International, Senegal

LEARNING OUTCOME: Participants will gain an understanding ofthe feeding practices and beliefs in rural West African villages in thePodor region of Senegal.

TEXT: The study objectives were to determine and describe infantfeeding practices and beliefs in the Podor region of Senegal, WestAfrica. Data gathered via structured interviews included:demographics, breastfeeding, complementary feeding and weaningpractices and beliefs. Participants (n�45) were randomly selected on-site; three participants were interviewed from each of the 15 villages.Inclusion criteria required all participants to have at least onechild � 24 months of age. The mean age at the time of the interviewwas 28�7 years. The mean parity was 4.4�2.2. All participants weremarried and reported to be of the Tijaniya brotherhood of Islam.Initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of the infant’s lifeoccurred with 50% of the participants. Colostrum was given to 87% ofthe infants. There was no reported use of infant formula. Meanbreastfeeding duration was 21�4.3 months. Exclusive breastfeedingwas reported by 84% of participants, with mean duration of 4.7�2.5months. Forty percent of participants introduced foods/beveragesbefore 3 months. Most participants believed that breast milk is thehealthiest nourishment and introduced other foods/beverages fortraditional belief that it complemented breastfeeding. The majority ofparticipants reported giving their infant goat/cow milk and rice/milletduring the first year. The results indicate that some of the infantfeeding behaviors approaches the infant feeding guidelinesestablished by the World Health Organization and UNICEF.However, there are many, such as the early introduction ofcomplementary foods, that could be improved upon.

TITLE: AN EXAMINATION OF ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN DIETARYINTAKE, SEDENTARY BEHAVIORS, AND BODY COMPOSITIONAMONG 6TH GRADE CHILDREN

AUTHOR(S): A. Campbell, Bsc; K. Younger, MSc, PhD, R Nutr; C.J.Boushey, PhD, MPH, RD; Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, Ireland;Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

LEARNING OUTCOME: To identify the association of sedentary anddietary behaviors to body composition measures in early adolescents.

TEXT: Sedentary behaviors, such as television viewing, and consumptionof snacks are common among adolescents. This study examined self-reported information on customary dietary intake and leisure activities(television/video/DVD watching, computer use, reading/studying) toinvestigate the relationship between body composition and these factors inearly adolescents. Cross-sectional analyses of sedentary and dietarybehaviors reported by 6th grade students recruited from 3 middle schoolsfor the Eat, Move, Learn project comprised the study sample (n�267:males�133, females�134). Students completed a Food and ActivityQuestionnaire and had anthropometric measures (weight, height andbioelectrical impedance) taken during a school class period. Multivariateregression was used to examine associations between independent anddependant variables, controlling for age, race/ethnicity and school. Alldifferences were considered statistically significant at P�0.05. Intake ofsnack foods was significantly greater in boys who watched the mosttelevision/video/DVD compared with the lowest users of this media.Among girls, significantly more fried foods were consumed by hightelevision/video/DVD viewers compared to low users. Girls that spent themost time playing with computers/video games consumed more soft drinksthan either medium or low users. Sedentary activities and dietary intakeswere not associated with BMI, percent body fat or fat free mass in thissample. Sedentary behaviors were associated with increased consumptionof fried foods, snack foods, and soft drinks. However, in this cross-sectionalanalysis, these dietary behaviors did not translate to a positive associationwith body size. The long-term health consequences of sedentary behaviorscombined with poor food choices needs further examination.

FUNDING DISCLOSURE: Supported by the National ResearchInitiative (NRI) of the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education andExtension Service, award number 04-35215-14268.

TITLE: FOOD PATTERNS ASSOCIATED WITH COMPONENTS OFMETABOLIC SYNDROME IN YOUNG ADULTS

AUTHOR(S): C.E. O’Neil, PhD, RD, S.-J. Yang, MS, T.A. Nicklas, DrPH,G.S. Berenson, MD; Louisiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge,LA; Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine,Houston, TX; Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, NewOrleans, LA

LEARNING OUTCOME: To explore the relationships between foodpatterns, demographic variables, and components of metabolic syndrome.

TEXT: Young adults are a nutritionally vulnerable, poorly studied group;little is known about their risk factors for metabolic syndrome. Dietary intakedata were collected in 1995-1996 on 1,012 young adults (20-38 years) (61%female; 21% black) using the youth/adolescent questionnaire, a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Demographics, anthropometrics,blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and lipid profiles were quantified; a riskscore for metabolic syndrome was calculated. Food items were placed into 36predefined food groups; factor analysis retained two factors based on theirEigen-values, the Scree test, and interpretability of derived factors: “low fat/sugar pattern” and “high fat/sugar pattern.” Each group explained 31% of thevariance. Linear regression was used to examine the association betweenthese patterns and health outcomes; ANOVA was used to test mean intakedifferences in the patterns by socioeconomic status. Blacks (p � 0.0001) andmales (p � 0.0001) consumed more servings of high fat/sugar foods thanwhites and females. Young adults (p � 0.05) and those with higher incomes/education (p � 0.01) consumed more servings of high fat/sugar foods. Themean number of servings of low fat/low sugar foods was higher in youngadults who were very physically active outside of work (p � 0.05). Waistcircumference, triceps skin folds, systolic blood pressure, and triglycerideswere negatively associated (p � 0.01) with the low fat/low sugar eatingpattern, which in turn was negatively associated with metabolic syndrome(p � 0.01). These data suggest that food patterns of young adults are clearlylinked with socioeconomic factors and risk factors for metabolic syndrome.

FUNDING DISCLOSURE: Louisiana AgCenter LAB93676 HATCH;other support is from USDA, ERS Cooperative Agreement No. 43-3AEL-2-80122, NHLBI grant HL-38844, and National Institute of Aging grant AG-16592.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

POSTER SESSION: WELLNESS AND PUBLIC HEALTH

Journal of the AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION / A-71