Healthcare provider-delivered healthy eating recommendations among US Hispanic/Latino adults

U.S. Hispanic/Latino adults are at heightened risk for developing diet-related chronic diseases. Healthcare provider recommendations have shown to be effective for promoting health behavior change, but little is known about healthcare provider healthy eating recommendations among Hispanics/Latinos. To investigate the prev-alence of and adherence to healthcare provider-delivered healthy eating recommendations among a U.S. sample of Hispanic/Latino adults, participants (N = 798; M = 39.6 +/- 15.1 years; 52% Mexican/Mexican American) were recruited via Qualtrics Panels to complete an online survey in January 2018. Most (61%) participants reported having ever received a healthcare provider-delivered dietary recommendation. Higher body mass index (AME = 0.015 [0.009, 0.021]) and having a chronic health condition (AME = 0.484 [0.398, 0.571]) were positively associated with receiving a dietary recommendation while age (AME =-0.004 [-0.007,-0.001]) and English proficiency (AME =-0.086 [-0.154,-0.018]) were negatively associated. Participants reported adhering regularly (49.7%) and sometimes (44.4%) to recommendations. There were no significant associations with patient characteristics and adherence to a healthcare provider-delivered dietary recommendation. Findings inform next steps toward increasing implementation of brief dietary counseling from healthcare providers to support prevention and management of chronic diseases among this under-studied population.

Automated summary

Hispanic/Latino adults in the U.S. are more likely to develop diet-related chronic diseases. While healthcare provider recommendations have been effective in promoting health behavior change, there is limited information about healthy eating recommendations specifically for Hispanics/Latinos. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and adherence to healthcare provider-delivered healthy eating recommendations among a sample of Hispanic/Latino adults.