Piloting A 12-week Nutrition Education Program And Its Influence On Eating Habits Of African American Seniors

Purpose: Independently living African American (AA) seniors face significant health disparities often due to socio-economic factors, access to nutritious foods, and an increased susceptibility to diseases such as overweight and obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Additionally, many older AA adults are unfamiliar with the current United States Dietary Guidelines for Americans and other practical nutrition-related strategies which can shape optimal patterns of food consumption and daily intake of nutrients and calories. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of a tailored 12-week, in-person nutrition education program on measures of eating behaviors of independent-living AA seniors aged 60 and older. Methods: A 12-week interactive nutrition education intervention, tailored to the USDA Guideline Recommendations for people 60+, was provided across three independent living communities. Thirteen seniors (Mage77; 92% female, 100% African American) participated in the intervention. Pre and post intervention, participants completed the 10-scale Healthy Eating Assessment questionnaire. Paired sample t-tests were used to compare pre to post intervention mean changes of participant’s eating habits. Results: Significant mean decreases were revealed with two scales from the Healthy Eating Assessment. Specifically, participants reported reduced frequency of daily consumption of fast/fried food/or packaged snacks high in fat/salt/or sugar scores t(12) = -2.31, p = .02, Cohen’s d = .961, and the participant’s total daily consumption of sugar sweetened beverages including soda, sweet tea, juice, energy/sports drinks, sweetened coffee t(12) = -2.52, p = .01, Cohen’s d = .660. Conclusion: Results suggest a 12-week nutrition program based on USDA Guidelines may improve African American senior’s choices to reduce consumption of fast or fried foods high in salt, fat, or sugar and sugar sweetened beverages. Given the positive association with the consumption of highly processed foods and sugary beverages with adverse health outcomes, additional research is needed using larger sample sizes, and follow-up studies to explore whether measured effects of nutrition education on African American participants are sustained over time. Michigan HealthEndowment Fund Grant R-2103-148372