Association of education with dietary intake among young adults in the bi-ethnic Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) cohort.

OBJECTIVE To examine associations of changes in dietary intake with education in young black and white men and women. DESIGN The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, a multi-centre population-based prospective study. Dietary intake data at baseline and year 7 were obtained from an extensive nutritionist-administered diet history questionnaire with 700 items developed for CARDIA. SETTING Participants were recruited in 1985-1986 from four sites: Birmingham, Alabama; Chicago, Illinois; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Oakland, California. SUBJECTS Participants were from a general community sample of 703 black men (BM), 1006 black women (BW), 963 white men (WM) and 1054 white women (WW) who were aged 18-30 years at baseline. Analyses here include data for baseline (1985-1986) and year 7 (1992-1993). RESULTS Most changes in dietary intake were observed among those with high education (>or=12 years) at both examinations. There was a significant decrease in intake of energy from saturated fat and cholesterol and a significant increase in energy from starch for each race-gender group (P<0.001). Regardless of education, taste was considered an important influence on food choice. CONCLUSION The inverse relationship of education with changes in saturated fat and cholesterol intakes suggests that national public health campaigns may have a greater impact among those with more education.