Associate Professor David López-Carr and PhD student Daniel Ervin received a 2012 – 2013 UC Global Health Institute (UCGHI) Award for $8,853. This award will be used for Daniel’s dissertation research about dietary change in Latino immigrants. The Institute’s three multi-campus, transdisciplinary Centers of Expertise comprise dozens of faculty across the 10-campus UC system and are harnessing their expertise to address the increasingly complex global health problems and needs of the world’s most vulnerable populations. More information about the UC Global Health Institute can be found here.
Abstract: Immigrants from Mexico and Central America undergo a transition in diet when they enter the US. This change has been characterized by an increase in meat and dairy products, as well as processed and prepared foods. The traditional diet in Mexico and Central America includes a large amount of directly consumed corn and an increasing amount of cane sugar. However, the ‘Western’ diet is replete with embedded corn and cane sugar, whether as additives and fillers in processed and prepared food, or as feed for meat and dairy animals. This diet is associated with numerous negative health outcomes including obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. This project will study the change in diet of Latino immigrants from Mexico and Central America by integrating three distinct methods. A survey will serve as the anchor of the research and will be analyzed in relation to measurements of body mass index and blood pressure as proxies of cardiovascular health and to carbon-isotope analysis of hair samples as measures of corn and sugar consumption among survey respondents. The purpose of this study will be to examine four hypotheses: 1) change in immigrant’s diets will be associated with a number of immigration, social, and demographic factors; 2) this change will be associated with negative health outcomes as reflected by present health conditions reported on the survey or by high BMI and blood pressure readings; 3) reported change in diet will be associated with increased corn and cane sugar consumption levels in the carbon-isotope analysis; and 4) the carbon-isotope analysis results will correlate significantly with the other two measures.
.jpg)
