Obesity, diet and functional health in African-Americans

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The African American elderly population will more than triple by the year 2050. Current evidence indicates that declines in functional health are more common in this group than in Americans in general, yet little is known about modifiable risk factors that could reduce the observed declines in functional health. The purpose of this research is to determine associations of functional health with body weight, fat distribution, diet quality and alcohol consumption in African American men and women. Associations between functional health and the exposures of interest will be examined cross-sectionally, prospectively, and as a function of mean annual changes. Data for this study will come from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort. Information on functional health is available from 1,616 African American women and 877 African American men ages 54-73 years who participated in the visit 4 examination (1996-1998). Functional health will be assessed using lower extremity function, activities of daily living (ADLs), and instrumental activities of daily living (ADLs). Other data available include: a total of 4 measures of weight, height, waist and hip circumference, and alcohol consumption collected at 3 year intervals over 9 years prior to visit 4 and at visit 4; reported weight at age 25; and a 66-item food frequency questionnaire administered at visit I (9 years prior to the outcome measures). This proposal is directly responsive to PA-01-082 to "... suport researchers interested in undertaking secondary data analyses of data related to ... behavioral research on aging" and "... epidemiological research on the aging process and on the determinants of health and mortality in older populations .... "