Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 9, 1 September 2016 — National Surveys Can Be Useful [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

National Surveys Can Be Useful

By Claire Ku'uleilani Hughes, Dr. PH„ R.D. Arecent national survey showed more American adults are eating better, however, the trend of improving nutrition was found only among middle- and upper-income white Americans. The National Heahh and Nutrition Examination Survey is a federally-funded survey on food consumption and other health-re-lated behaviors among adults that has been used for several decades. The survey asks Americans to recall and report all foods consumed

within the last 24-hours. Survey results showed the gap in nutrition intakes had widened between white Americans, African-Americans and MexicanAmericans. The study demonstrated that Americans, 20 years and older, have reduced their sugar-sweetened soda intake by nearly half and almost doubled their whole-grain consumption. Additionally, these Americans started eating slightly more nuts and seeds and had modestly boosted fish and shellfish intake. However, they did not increase vegetable and fruit intake nor reduce red meat and processed meats as recommended. The proportion of U.S. adults whose diets were assessed as "poor" decreased from 55.9 percent in 2000 to 45.6 percent in 2012. The middle-group (between "poor" and "ideal") increased to 53.9 percent in 2012 from 43.5 percent in 2010.

The small fraction of U.S. adults remaining (0.6 percent in 2000 to 0.5 percent in 2012) followed "ideal" dietary patterns recommended by the American Heart Association that promote cardiovascular and metabolic heahh. Both men and women upgraded the quality of their

diets from poor to intermediate and improvement was seen across all age groups. However, progress was far more uneven when viewed along ethnic lines. Non-Latino Blacks and Mexican-Americans - the only two ethnic minority groups to be studied recently - were significantly less likely to have upgraded the quality of their diets than were non-Latino whites. The assumption would be that trends found in this national study would be similar in Hawai'i's population. However, no actual comparison ean be made to the nahonal survey. Lirst, the ethnic composition of Hawai'i's populahon is not similar to that of the continental U.S., making the ethnic percentages different. We are aware of several other issues that influenee island eating. Lirst, food costs are higher in Hawai'i and there is variability in distribution and pricing of food products on and across the islands. I am always stunned by the differences in distribution (availability) and higher cost of all

foods on neighbor islands and it's even worse in all rural eommunities. Lamily incomes vary between islands, too, so family food budgets differ. Hawai'i families' food choices are different than "Mainlanders'" as we are influenced by a variety of ethnic food choices. These variations make precise eomparisons extremely difficult. We ean aspire to make changes that improve our own health and nutrition status by improving daily food choices and increasing daily exercise. Aim to eat more whole grains and vegetables (dark green leafy and orange colored) and fruit every day. Choose fish, ehieken and turkey more often than red meat and eat markedly less preserved meat like hot dogs, Spam, haeon and ham. Avoid fried foods and pastries. Drink six to eight glasses of water daily and choose to limit soda and aleohol drinks to three or fewer per week. Impossible? No. Somewhat difficult at first. . ,after all, it is a change, but a change for the better. ■

OLAKINO Y0UR HEALTH

A healthy diet includes whole grains, vegetables and fruit on a daily basis. - lllustration: Thinkstock