Cultural aspects of African American eating patterns

Abstract

The high mortality from diet-related diseases among African Americans strongly suggests a need to adopt diets lower in total fat, saturated fat and salt and higher in fiber. However, such changes would be contrary to some traditional African American cultural practices. Focus group interviews were used to explore cultural aspects of eating patterns among low- and middle-income African Americans recruited from an urban community in Pennsylvania. In total, 21 males and 32 females, aged 13-65+ years were recruited using a networking technique. Participants identified eating practices commonly attributed to African Americans and felt that these were largely independent of socioeconomic status. They were uncertain about links between African American eating patterns and African origins but clear about influences of slavery and economic disadvantage. The perception that African American food patterns were characteristically adaptive to external conditions, suggest that, for effective dietary change in African American communities, changes in the food availability will need to precede or take place in parallel with changes recommended to individuals. Cultural attitudes about where and with whom food is eaten emerged as being equivalent in importance to attitudes about specific foods. These findings emphasize the importance of continued efforts to identify ways to increase the relevance of cultural context and meanings in dietary counseling so that health and nutrition interventions are anchored in values as perceived, in this case, by African Americans.

The Impact of Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities on Binge Eating and Self-Efficacy among Adults in a Behavioral Weight Loss Trial

“…Cultural differences in exercise behaviors, food choice, and food preparation may serve as partial contributors ( Airhihenbuwa et al, 1996;James, 2004). In addition, investigators are becoming increasingly aware of the differential presence of environmental factors (for example, food deserts, inadequately built environment, systems of oppression, allostatic load) and psychosocial barriers (for example, reduced self-efficacy, binge eating, limited problem-solving skills) that affect the development of overweight and obesity among residents in low-income and racial and ethnic minority neighborhoods ( Chang, Nitzke, Guilford, Adair, & Hazard, 2008;Jeffery, Baxter, McGuire, & Linde, 2006;Taylor et al, 2013).…”

Dietary interventions for weight loss and cardiovascular risk reduction in people of African ancestry (blacks): a systematic review

“…The higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in blacks has been attributed to multiple influences of genetics, socio-economic factors and lifestyle that promote obesity and make weight loss difficult (36)(37)(38)(39)(40) . Reducing CVD risk factors in blacks by weight control has therefore not been effective, probably due to a lack of cultural competency in weight management programmes coupled with a failure to address issues of relevance to the population (41,42) .…”

Factors influencing dietary fat intake among black emerging adults

“…The high consumption of fat among Blacks could be in part due to their traditional diet (Airhihenbuwa et al, 1996;Gary et al, 2004;Hargreaves, Schlundt, & Buchowski, 2002;Robinson & Hunter, 2001), which consists of more fried and high-fat foods compared to other ethnicities (Patterson, Harlan, Block & Kahle, 1995) and less fruit, vegetables, and fiber than the recommended guidelines (Fitzgibbon et al, 2008). As total fat intake increases, the amount of saturated fat consumed generally increases.…”