Purpose: To examine racial/ethnic differences in dietary intake of women in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: Data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Participants: Women 19 to 50 years of age living in WIC-participating households.
Measures: Nutrient/food group intake from one 24-hour dietary recall.
Analysis: Multivariable linear regression was used to evaluate the relationship between race/ethnicity and nutrient/food group intake.
Results: Compared to non-Hispanic white women, Hispanic women had lower dietary energy density (1.7 ± 0.1 vs 2.2 ± 0.1 kcal/g, P < .001), and better nutrient intake, including more folate (429 ± 20 vs 364 ± 29 µg, P = .024), fiber (20.1 ± 0.9 vs 13.6 ± 0.9 g, P ≤ .001), and potassium (2575 ± 78 vs 2251 ± 66 mg, P = .012). This may be related to greater consumption of total vegetables (1.67 ± 0.16 vs 1.17 ± 0.17 cup equivalents [c-eq], P = .029), including more red and orange vegetables (0.64 ± 0.11 vs 0.32 vs 0.09 c-eq, P = .013) and more legumes (0.17 ± 0.04 vs 0.07 ± 0.02 c-eq, P = .006). Both Hispanic and non-Hispanic black women consumed more sodium (Hispanic: P = .015; non-Hispanic black: P = .008), but less added sugars (Hispanic: P ≤ .001; non-Hispanic black: P = .015), than non-Hispanic white women.
Conclusion: These findings highlight differences in dietary intake by race/ethnicity and can inform nutrition messages of WIC nutrition educators and dietitians.
Keywords: NHANES; WIC; dietary intake; maternal nutrition; nutrient intake.