Perceptions of African American Women About Their Dietary Habits

Recent years have seen a tremendous growth in scientific knowledge of the relationship between diet and health. This increase in knowledge has informed dietary recommendations to promote health. It has also started a campaign to educate Americans on more healthful eating habits. (Guthrie, Derby and Levy, 1994). American consumers show a high level of awareness of the relationship between their diets and serious diseases such as heart disease and cancer. (Derby and Fein, 1995). Public health campaigns, along with growing media attention to diet and health topics have raised awareness among less educated as well as the more educated consumers (Ippolito and Mathios, 1996). This study will provide an up-to-date picture of the degree to which three groups of African American women are meeting dietary recommendations. The women in the study will be grouped according to age, income and education. They will complete a survey concerning their dietary habits. This study was designed in hopes that it would contribute to the evolving literature concerning the factors that promote general poor health among African American women.