Assessing the diet of the British African-Caribbean population: frequency of consumption of foods and food portion sizes

Abstract

There is a very high prevalence of diet related disorders in the British African-Caribbean population but very few studies have determined associations between diet and disease within this community. There are virtually no published data on the frequency of foods consumed by this population or on the usual portion sizes which are necessary not only for nutritional epidemiological studies but also for treating diet related conditions such as diabetes. Here we present the frequency of foods consumed, assessed by a quantitative FFQ specifically developed for this sample, and the usual portion size reported by 210 randomly selected adult men and women. Frequency of consumption of foods and food portion sizes reported differed greatly from those consumed by the majority White population. This paper highlights the need to collect valid food consumption data for specific ethnic groups rather than using data available from another population, which is inappropriate. Such data will enable more precise dietary assessment and will further our understanding of the role of diet in the aetiology and prevention of diet-related diseases.

Dietary intake and development of a quantitative food-frequency questionnaire for the Barbados National Cancer Study

“…Establishing a food list for the development of the QFFQ, based on national or community surveys, is a method used by many other researchers 8,12,13 . Portion sizes were assessed using appropriate food models to assist participants in describing their usual amounts consumed, as has been done in other studies 14 . We used eight categories of frequency in ascending order, in the final QFFQ.…”

Serving size guidance for consumers: is it effective?

“…Consequently, efforts are being made to improve advice so that it resonates better with consumers (81) , in a manner similar to Australian guidelines (82) . In the US and the UK, selfreported PS of ethnic minority groups were often multiple times the recommended SS (83,84) . These larger habitual PS can easily promote a distorted view of recommendations, causing over-estimated SS of various foods (79) .…”

“…Another issue is that SS guidance does not always consider the types and amounts of foods typically eaten by ethnic minorities (83,84) . 'The plate model' was considered useful, but concerns have been expressed about the large proportion of vegetables recommended because of the customary addition of fats and oils to vegetables by some ethnic groups.…”

“…'The plate model' was considered useful, but concerns have been expressed about the large proportion of vegetables recommended because of the customary addition of fats and oils to vegetables by some ethnic groups. For example, a typical PS of vegetable soup for a British-African-Carribean group (which was more than double that of the Caucasian population in the UK) could contain up to 25 g of fat (84) . A Canadian study conveyed that the 'hand jive' method (e.g.…”

All cause and cardiovascular mortality in African migrants living in Portugal: evidence of large social inequalities

“…In Kenya, those who moved to Nairobi had higher urinary sodium-potassium ratios than those who remained in rural areas, suggesting higher salt intake among those who moved [16]. In the UK, British-born Black Caribbeans have higher caloric intake from fat, lower levels of high-density lipoprotein and smoke more than foreign-born Black Caribbeans [17].…”