Nutrition Facts Panel Use is Associated With Diet Quality and Dietary Patterns Among Latinos With Type 2 Diabetes

Objective: The study aims were to (i) identify determinants of Nutrition Facts Panel (NFP) use and (ii) describe the association between NFP use and dietary intake among Latinos with type 2 diabetes.
Design: Baseline cross-sectional data from a clinical trial were used to assess the association between NFP use and dietary intake. Diet was measured using two methods: (i) a diet quality score (the Healthy Eating Index-2010) derived from a single 24 h recall and (ii) dietary pattern (exploratory factor analyses) from an FFQ. Multivariable logistic and non-parametric quantile regressions were conducted, as appropriate.

Settings: Hartford County, Connecticut, USA.

Subjects: Latino adults (n 203), ≥21 years of age, with diagnosed type 2 diabetes, glycosylated Hb≥7 %, and without medical conditions limiting physical activity.

Results: Participants’ education level, diabetes-related knowledge and English speaking were positively associated with NFP use. At the higher percentiles of diet quality score, NFP use was significantly associated with higher diet quality. Similarly, NFP users were more likely to consume a ‘healthy’ dietary pattern (P=0·003) and less likely to consume a ‘fried snack’ pattern (P=0·048) compared with NFP non-users.

Conclusions: The association between reported NFP use and diet quality was positive and significantly stronger among participants who reported consuming a healthier diet. While NFP use was associated with a healthier dietary pattern, not using NFP was associated with a less-healthy, fried snack pattern. Longitudinal studies are needed to understand whether improving NFP use could be an effective intervention to improve diet quality among Latinos with type 2 diabetes.