Impact of a cancer intervention on diet-related cardiovascular disease risks of white and African-American EFNEP clients

This study involved a retrospective data analysis of a previously published cancer prevention study. Diet-related cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks of white and African-American low-income women and reported changes, as a result of an educational intervention, were investigated. Participants were 150 Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) homemakers (103 African-Americans and 47 whites) who were randomly assigned to either a control or an experimental group. An 18-lesson educational series, emphasizing dietary and lifestyle changes to reduce cancer risks, was conducted with the experimental group over 6 months. Three random-repeat 24-hour dietary recalls, height, and weight were collected on participants, before and after the intervention. Recalls were analyzed on Nutritionist III to obtain average daily intakes of foods and nutrients. Preintervention comparisons between whites and African-Americans indicated that both had risks for CVD due to higher-than-recommended intakes of total Eat, saturated fat, sodium, and the fats/sweets group, low intakes of protective food components, and a high prevalence of obesity. African-Americans had significantly higher intakes than whites of total and monounsaturated fat and the meat group. Based on body mass index, 40% of whites and 58% of African-Americans were moderately to morbidly obese. Changes from pre- to post-test on dietary components of experimental participants were significantly greater than those of controls for 9 of 17 nutrients/foods. Results indicate that both the white and African-American women in EFNEP had substantial diet-related CVD risks, based on self-report, and those risks were reduced by the cancer intervention program at immediate postcourse assessment.