BALTIMORE, March 27 (UPI) -- U.S. adults buy foods based on price and faith in a food's health benefit and cost, but a new study suggests ethnicity and gender also impact food choices.
The study, published online in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found income constraints on individuals and families can lead to a poorer quality diet. For instance, African-Americans with lower incomes responded food prices were more important than whites at the same income level.
The study of 4,356 U.S. adults 20 to 65 also found Caucasians of lower socio-economic status ate more fat and saturated fat, but African-Americans showed no association between income level and fat intake.
Among all study participants, the perceived barrier of food price appears to increase sodium intake while reducing fiber intake, according to researchers at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Women ate less total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium than men, but men had higher intake of fruits and vegetables, fiber, calcium and dairy products -- mainly because they consumed more food, the researchers said.
