K. HERT, M.G. WAGNER, L. MYERS, J. LEVINE*, T. HECK, Y. RHEE HEALTH, NUTRITION, AND EXERCISE SCIENCES, NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, FARGO, ND, *FAMILY NUTRITION SCIENCES, CONCORDIA COLLEGE, MOORHEAD, MN Anthropometric Measurements Differ among Overweight and Obese Adults of Varying Socioeconomic Status but no Differences in Fruit and Vegetable Intake

ABSTRACT Background: Individuals of lower socioeconomic status (SES) tend to have higher rates of obesity and eat poorer quality diets than their counterparts of higher SES. Purpose: To determine if fruit and vegetable (F/V) intake and anthropometric measurements differ among overweight and obese adults of varying SES. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional design that included 38 adults from the Midwestern United States with a body mass index (BMI) of >25 kg/m 2. The study looked at education level, personal income, and household income separately to assess SES. Weight, height, body fat percentage, and waist circumference were measured and BMI was calculated. Intake of F/V was measured by averaging daily intakes from three-day food records. Results: The results showed that F/V intake did not vary significantly among those of varying SES but BMI and body fat percentage did. Individuals with higher education levels as well as higher personal incomes had a significantly lower BMI and body fat percentage. Also, those with higher household incomes had a significantly lower body fat percentage. Discussion: Overweight and obesity appear to be more prevalent among those of lower SES, which is why nutrition intervention is important for this population. However, focus should be on barriers to eating higher quality diets, other than affordability, such as taste, availability, and motivation to make changes.

INTRODUCTION Less than 25% of adults in the United States consume the recommended servings of fruit and vegetable (F/V) daily with individuals of lower socioeconomic status (SES) eating less F/V 1,2 Increased consumption of F/V has been shown to have a positive effect on obesity and chronic disease 3 From , obesity rates doubled for adults and tripled for children 4 Individuals of lower SES tend to have higher rates of obesity 5

PURPOSE To determine if overweight and obese adults of lower SES have lower intakes of F/V than their counterparts of higher SES To determine if overweight and obese individuals of lower SES have greater rates of obesity than those of higher SES

METHODS Design Cross-sectional Part of a larger study, which was a randomized, controlled trial that consisted of three phases o Pre-testing o Intervention o Post-testing Data from pre-testing were used for the current study

METHODS Participants Adults aged 18 years and older Exclusion criteria o BMI <25 kg/m 2 o Persons with a history of bariatric surgery o Current smokers o Pregnant or lactating

METHODS Socioeconomic status was measured by self-reported: o Education level <college degree, bachelor’s degree, graduate degree o Personal annual income <$30,000, $30,000-<70,000, ≥$70,000 o Household annual income <$50,000, $50,000-<90,000, ≥$90,000

METHODS Fruit and vegetable intake was measured by three-day food records from two weekdays and one weekend day Analyzed using The Food Processor® (ESHA Research, Salam, OR) All food records were entered by the same person to ensure consistency

METHODS Anthropometric Measurements Height o Stadiometer ( HR-200, Tanita Corporation of America, Inc., Arlington Heights, IL ) Weight and body fat percentage o Tanita Body Composition Analyzer ( TBF-300A, Tanita Corporation of America, Inc., Arlington Heights, IL ) Waist circumference o Fabric tape measure BMI o Calculated from height and weight measurements from weight and height measurements

METHODS Statistical Analysis SAS ( version 9.2; SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC ) Significance level p<0.05 Descriptives Frequencies Analysis of Variance

RESULTS

DEMOGRAPHICS 38 adults Age: 48.0 (±10.4) years Body mass index: 33.9 (±6.6) kg/m 2

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS DISTRIBUTION

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE INTAKE BY EDUCATION LEVEL *No significant differences seen between groups

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE INTAKE BY PERSONAL ANNUAL INCOME n= 20 *No significant differences seen between groups

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE INTAKE BY HOUSEHOLD ANNUAL INCOME n= 20 *No significant differences seen between groups

BODY MASS INDEX BY SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS ^Significant differences seen between groups, p=0.04 and 0.01 respectively

BODY FAT PERCENTAGE BY SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS ^Significant differences seen between groups, p=0.049, 0.02, and 0.03 respectively

DISCUSSION Intake of F/V did not differ significantly among adults of varying SES looking specifically at education and income levels BMI and body fat percentage were significantly higher among those with lower education levels and lower personal annual incomes Body fat percentage was also significantly higher among those with lower household annual incomes It appears that overweight and obesity are more prevalent among those of low SES

LIMITATIONS Participants were self-selected Conducted during September in the Midwest, fresh F/V are more available and cheaper during this month than winter months Small sample size Majority of participants had post-secondary education

CONCLUSION Future interventions should target on individuals of lower SES, but should focus on barriers to eating F/V other than affordability Other barriers to consider include taste, availability, and motivation to make changes

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