NOURISHING THE FUTURE: THE CASE FOR COMMUNITY-BASED NUTRITION RESEARCH IN THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY. HOUSTON

Authors: DAY, R. SUE - U.TX HEALTH SCIE CNTR; Bogle, Margaret; Onstad, Charles; SANDERSON, MAUREEN - U TX HEALTH SCIE CNTR; ANDING, JENNA - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY; ROBINSON, JOHN - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY; MIER, NELDA - TEXAS A&M HEALTH SCIENCE; FLORES, ISIDORE - TEXAS A&M HEALTH SCIENCE; MILLARD, ANN - TEXAS A&M HEALTH SCIENCE; DEYHIM, FARZAD - TEXAS A&M KINGSVILLE

Submitted to: Complete Book
Publication Type: Monograph
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2004
Publication Date: 8/1/2004
Citation: Day, R.S. 2004. Nourishing the Future: The Case for Community-Based Nutrition Research in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Houston, TX: The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston. 187 p.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Lower Rio Grande Valley Nutrition Intervention Research Initiative (LRGVNIRI), undertaken by a 10-member consortium of federal and Texas government agencies and Texas institutions of higher education, is the first program of its scope to select the Hispanic community as a focus for studying nutritional health and disproportionate rates of nutrition-related health problems. Assessments from selected federal nutrition programs operating in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV), Starr, Hidalgo, Willacy and Cameron counties, indicate that large percentages of participants have intakes of the major food groups that are below levels recommended by the federal government. Other indicators of poor nutritional status in the valley are the high rates of nutrition-related health outcomes such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, cervical cancer, and neural tube defects. Among reported statistic are the following: 1) Hispanics have the highest lifetime risk of diabetes of any racial or ethnic group; 2) Overweight and obesity are at alarming rates for both Hispanic adults and children; 3) Physical activity levels of children is lower than desirable for the majority of the eight- and eleventh-grade children; 4) Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among Americans of Hispanic descent; and 5) Incidence and mortality rates for cervical cancer among residents of the LRGV are higher than they are for residents of Texas and the United States. Having enough food is also a problem for LRGV families, though the precise dimensions of food insecurity and/or hunger are unclear; nonetheless, the documented prevalence of poverty, number of adults without high school education, high unemployment, and the number of female-headed households in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy counties suggest that food insecurity exceeds the national average. The paucity of data specific to the LRGV prohibited detailed description of many factors. The consortium is developing a strategic plan to assess the depth and type of nutrition messages provided, to investigate access and interest issues, and to establish surveillance and monitoring systems to gather valley-specific data to benchmark future initiatives.