Gina Evans

Predicting Fat Consumption Among African American Women Gina Evans

African American women develop life threatening health diseases such as hypertension, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and obesity at higher rates than Caucasian women. Dietary differences between African American and Caucasian women are one of the most prominent factors attributing to the disparity in health conditions between the two groups. The relationship between psychosocial factors and dietary choices has been explored, but cultural factors have been given much less attention. The purpose of this study was to predict the influence of these psychosocial (food preference and preparation methods, perceived support from family and friends, and attitude toward health) and cultural (acculturation levels) variables on African American women's level of dietary fat intake. An additional purpose of this study was to predict the influence of the psychosocial variables as moderated by acculturation levels, on African American women's level of dietary fat intake.