Food Serving Size Knowledge in African American Women and the Relationship with Body Mass Index
published online 18 January 2010.
Abstract
Objective
To examine serving size knowledge in African Americans and how it is related to body mass index (BMI).
Design
Serving size knowledge of food commonly consumed by African Americans was assessed by asking the subjects to select the amount of food considered to be a single serving size by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. Seventeen food items were tested, and the amounts selected were weighed. Body mass index was estimated from measured height and weight.
Setting
Churches.
Particpants
Ninety-five African American women.
Main Outcome Measures
Amount of food selected and BMI.
Analyses
The amount of food selected was compared with the respective standard serving using the 1-sample Wilcoxon signed rank test. The association between BMI and the amount selected was assessed by logistic regression.
Results
The subjects significantly overestimated (P = .001 to .02) serving sizes for cornflakes, apple, watermelon, butter, whole milk, chips, and regular soda. Body mass index was significantly associated with overestimation of cornflakes, butter, cookies, and macaroni and cheese (P = .01 to .03), and the odds ratio for overestimating these food items was 1.46-1.65 times greater per 5-unit increase in BMI.
Conclusions and Implications
African American women overestimated the serving sizes for 7 of the food items tested, and 4 of the estimates were correlated with BMI. Education regarding serving size is recommended for certain food items.
1Department of Kinesiology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
2Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX
Address for correspondence: Meena Shah, PhD, Department of Kinesiology, Texas Christian University, TCU Box 297730, Fort Worth, TX 76129; Phone: (817) 257-6871; Fax (817) 257-7702
ABSTRACT