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Description
While the prevalence of infectious disease has decreased during the 20th century, the prevalence of chronic disease has increased. The four common risk factors for chronic diseases are lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, tobacco use, and excessive alcohol consumption. Public health policy has been geared towards decreasing the preponderance of these risk factors. Of interest is the attempt to improve the diet of the US populace. As part of this effort, the US Department of Agriculture has developed dietary guidelines, with the most recent being published in 2011. It advocates that half of the food on an individuals plate, by volume, should consist of fruits and vegetables. This cross-sectional, ecological study examines the proportion, by weight, of food purchased for home use that is composed of fruits and vegetables, to determine if it is associated with hypertension rates within the six geographic regions that make-up San Diego County. Socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity were included as covariates. The results indicate that, at a population level, the residents of San Diego County households purchase the same amount of fruits and vegetables regardless of which region they live in; 15.9% of the food purchased for use at home, by weight, is composed of fruits and vegetables. In a multiple linear regression, none of the factors or covariates were significantly related to hypertension rates. These results can be used by the county health department to develop education programs for the population, about the types of foods that should and should not be consumed. It is also the basis for further investigation examining alternative methods to collect food data for future studies
