A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF THE DIETARY PRACTICES OF BLACK-AND-WHITE GIRLS 9 AND 10 YEARS OLD AT ENROLLMENT - THE NHLBI GROWTH AND HEALTH STUDY

Purpose: To determine whether there are racial differences in the freq uency with which black and white girls engaged in eating practices com monly targeted for modification in weight reduction programs. Methods: This is part of the NHLBI Growth and Health Study, a longitudinal stu dy of preadolescent girls designed to examine the factors associated w ith development of obesity, and its later effects on cardiovascular ri sk factors. Black and white girls ages 9-10 years at entry (n = 2,379) were recruited at three clinical sites. Racial differences were exami ned in 11 ''weight-related'' eating practices such as eating with TV, eating while doing homework, and skipping meals. Multiple logistic reg ression analyses were then conducted for each of the dependent variabl es. Results: Black girls were more than twice as Likely as white girls to frequently engage in the targeted weight-related eating practices. The odds of a study girl frequently engaging in most of these eating practices decreased with an increase in parents' income and education level. However, even when controlling for socioeconomic and demographi c effects, black girls remained more likely to engage in these eating practices than white girls. For most of the behaviors, girls who frequ ently practiced a behavior had higher energy intakes compared to those who practiced it infrequently. Conclusions: The finding that black gi rls at an early age more frequently engage in eating practices associa ted with weight gain may have significant implications for obesity dev elopment. For both young black and white girls, early education effort s may be necessary in helping develop good eating habits. Since it app ears that black girls have a higher risk of developing adverse weight- related eating practices, culturally appropriate education materials m ay be required. (C) Society for Adolescent Medicine, 1997