Fruit and vegetable dietary patterns and weight loss in Mexican-American women

Carla Isabel Mercado, The University of Texas School of Public Health

Abstract

Although dietary patterns and their association with health outcomes is not a new topic, they have not been widely studied in Mexican-American populations. There are no studies of fruit and vegetable dietary patterns related to weight loss in Mexican-American women. This study aims to examine whether a change in proportion of fruit and vegetable consumption results in a change in weight. A secondary data analysis of 208 overweight or obese Mexican-American women from the Unidos en Salud weight loss intervention study was performed to investigate this relationship. Through regression analysis, the change in weight for every unit change in proportion of fruits and vegetables was tested with appropriate adjustment for age. The results showed a significant inverse association between fruit and vegetable intake densities and weight change. These results support previous studies and provide a possible effective and efficient method to reduce body mass index (BMI) among overweight or obese Mexican-American women.

Subject Area

Womens studies|Public health|Hispanic Americans|Epidemiology

Recommended Citation

Mercado, Carla Isabel, "Fruit and vegetable dietary patterns and weight loss in Mexican-American women" (2007). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI1450341.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI1450341

Share

COinS