New ICTR-Funded Grant Surveys Diet Quality In American Indian Communities

What environmental and cultural factors influence diet quality in Wisconsin's rural American Indian (AI) families? What types of community programs could improve diet quality, thereby helping to reduce obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in the American Indian population?

Department of Family Medicine investigator Tara LaRowe, PhD, hopes to find answers to those questions through a new one-year, $45,000 pilot study funded by the University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR).

The project will survey 50-75 AI families with children living on the Menominee reservation. It will collect data on diet, proximity to food outlets (such as grocery or convenience stores), food costs, purchasing habits, family food attitudes, and other variables.

"This grant will allow us to really learn what major issues are related to healthy eating in AI communities," Dr. LaRowe said. "For example, are families restricted by budget or access to food? What are the family's purchasing habits? What kind of foods are available in the home, and do parents set any family rules for snacking or eating certain foods?", she continued.

The project team will then analyze the data to identify what types of culturally appropriate programs could help increase healthy eating. "In future projects, we would like to work with the community to develop appropriate interventions," said Dr. LaRowe.

Dr. LaRowe is the project's principal investigator. She is joined by two co-investigators: Alexandra Adams, MD, PhD, from the DFM, and Samuel Dennis, PhD, from the UW Department of Landscape Architecture.

Dr. LaRowe's grant was one of the first 16 pilot projects funded by ICTR. ICTR was established in 2007 to provide financial support, infrastructure, training, and resources for clinical and translational research throughout UW and Wisconsin.