Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
Notice.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that a proposed collection of information has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Fax written comments on the collection of information by September 22, 2011.
To ensure that comments on the information collection are received, OMB recommends that written comments be faxed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attn: FDA Desk Officer, FAX: 202–395–7285, or e-mailed to
Denver Presley, Office of Information Management, Food and Drug Administration, 1350 Piccard Dr., PI50–400B, Rockville, MD 20850, 301–796–3793.
In compliance with 44 U.S.C. 3507, FDA has submitted the following proposed collection of information to OMB for review and clearance.
Recent estimates suggest that Hispanics (defined as those who identify themselves as of Hispanic or Latino origin) are the largest and fastest growing minority group in the nation; the proportion of the U.S. population that was Hispanic was 14 percent in 2005 and is projected to increase to 29 percent in 2050 (Ref. 1).
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that, in 2005 and 2006, 34.3 percent and 32.7 percent of the U.S. adult population are obese and overweight, respectively (Ref. 2). According to CDC, Hispanics had 21 percent higher obesity prevalence than Whites in 2008 (Ref. 3). CDC data also indicate variations in prevalence of obesity among adults of different race-gender groups; for example, during 2006 through 2008, non-Hispanic Blacks had the greatest prevalence of obesity (35.7 percent), followed by Hispanics (28.7 percent), and non-Hispanic Whites (23.7 percent); non-Hispanic Black women had the greatest prevalence (39.2 percent), followed by non-Hispanic Black men (31.6 percent), Hispanic women (29.4 percent), Hispanic men (27.8 percent), non-Hispanic White men (25.4 percent), and non-Hispanic White women (21.8 percent) (Ref. 3).
While some Hispanics living in the United States use the English language exclusively or more often than Spanish (English-dominant Hispanics), other U.S. Hispanics predominantly use the Spanish language in their daily lives
Existing research suggests that, in addition to language and other demographic differences, acculturation is an important factor associated with individual differences in dietary and public health-related perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors among Hispanics. Acculturation is defined as the change in behavior and values by immigrants when they come in contact with a new group, nation, or culture (Ref. 9). Immigrants may possess different degrees of acculturation, depending on the time of migration and other factors, such as the dominant culture of the neighborhoods where they live and work and type of education received (Refs. 10 and 11). Hence, variation in the degree of acculturation can lead to differences in lifestyle and behaviors, including behaviors related to dietary choices and to use and understanding of nutrition information on food labels, because of English proficiency and degree of assimilation into the values, lifestyles, and diets prevalent in this country. The existing research has shown the influence of acculturation on Hispanics' perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors relating to public health factors including dietary practices, nutrition, the health practices of pregnant women, obesity, coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, alcohol consumption, and smoking behavior (for example, Refs. 10 and 12 through 21).
FDA needs an understanding of how different population groups perceive and behave in terms of food label understanding and use, nutrition, and health to inform possible measures that the Agency may take to help consumers make informed dietary choices. FDA is aware of no consumer research on a nationwide level of the impact of language and acculturation on Hispanics' dietary choices and label use. This study is intended to provide answers to research questions such as whether and how much Spanish-dominant Hispanics, English-dominant Hispanics, and English-speaking non-Hispanics differ in their knowledge, attitude, and behavior toward food label use, nutrition, and health among three population groups and the role that demographic and other factors may play in any differences.
The proposed study will use a Web-based survey to collect information from 2,400 adult members in online consumer panels maintained by a contractor. The study plans to randomly select 800 members into each of three groups: Spanish-dominant Hispanics, English-dominant Hispanics, and English-speaking non-Hispanics. Either an English or a Spanish questionnaire will be used, as appropriate. The study plans to include topics such as: (1) Nutrition and health; (2) use and understanding of food labels and labeling information; (3) degree of capacity to understand and use health information; and (4) levels of acculturation among Hispanic respondents as measured by a Hispanic acculturation scale that is widely used in social science research (Ref. 22). To help understand the data, the study will also collect information on participants' background, including, but not limited to, health status and demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, education, and income.
The study is part of the Agency's continuing effort to enable consumers to make informed dietary choices and construct healthful diets. The results of the study will not be used to develop population estimates. The results of the study will be used for informing possible measures that the Agency may take to help consumers make informed dietary choices.
To help design and refine the questionnaire, we plan to conduct cognitive interviews by screening 72 adult panelists in order to obtain 9 participants in the interviews. Each screening is expected to take 5 minutes (0.083 hour) and each cognitive interview is expected to take 0.5 hour. The total for cognitive interview activities is 11 hours (6 hours + 5 hours). Subsequently, we plan to conduct two waves of pretests of the questionnaire before it is administered in the study. We expect that 360 invitations, each taking 2 minutes (0.033 hour), will need to be sent to adult members of the online consumer panels to have 180 of them complete a 15-minute (0.25 hour) pretest. The total for the pretest activities is 57 hours (12 hours + 45 hours). For the survey, we estimate that 4,800 invitations, each taking 2 minutes (0.033 hour) to complete, will need to be sent to adult members of the online consumer panels to have 2,400 of them complete a 15-minute (0.25 hour) questionnaire. The total for the survey activities is 758 hours (158 hours + 600 hours). Thus, the total estimated burden is 826 hours. This estimate is 496 hours lower than the 1,322 hours published in the 60-day notice and reflects 20 fewer hours for pretest invitation and 476 fewer hours for survey invitation. Recent evidence available to the Agency suggests the study will not need to send as many invitations as originally estimated to achieve its target sample sizes in pretest and survey. FDA's burden estimate is based on prior experience with research that is similar to this proposed study.
In the
FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as follows:
The following references have been placed on display in the Division of Dockets Management (HFA–305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852, and may be seen by interested persons between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. (FDA has verified the Web site addresses but is not responsible for any subsequent changes to the Web site after this document publishes in the
1. Passel, J.S. and C. D'Vera, “U.S. Population Projections: 2005–2050,” Pew Research Center, Washington, DC, February 11, 2008, (
2. CDC, “Prevalence of Overweight, Obesity, and Extreme Obesity Among Adults: United States, Trends 1976–80 Through 2005–2006,” December 2008, (
3. CDC, “Differences in Prevalence of Obesity Among Black, White, and Hispanic Adults—United States, 2006–2008,”
4. CDC, “Health Disparities Experienced by Hispanics—United States,”
5. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, “Epidemiologic Research in Hispanic Populations: Opportunities, Barriers and Solutions,” December 3, 2003, (
6. Information Resources, Inc., “Times & Trends: Hispanic Consumers—Capturing CPG Market Potential,” April 2008, (
7. Yang, S., M.G. Leff, D. McTague,
8. Lin, C.-T.J. and S.T. Yen, “Knowledge of Dietary Fats Among U.S. Consumers,”
9. Marin, G., F. Sabogal, B.V. Marin,
10. Satia-About, J., R.E. Patterson, M.L. Neuhouser,
11. Lin, H., O.I. Bermudez, and K.L. Tucker, “Dietary Patterns of Hispanic Elders Are Associated With Acculturation and Obesity,”
12. Otero-Sabogal, R., F. Sabogal, E.J. Pérez-Stable,
13. Lara, M., C. Gamboa, M.I. Kahramanian,
14. Winkleby, M.A., S.P. Fortmann, and B. Rockhill, “Health-Related Risk Factors in a Sample of Hispanics and Whites Matched on Sociodemographic Characteristics: The Stanford Five-City Project,”
15. Byrd, T.L., H. Balcazar, and R.A. Hummer, “Acculturation and Breast-Feeding Intention and Practice in Hispanic Women on the U.S.-Mexico Border,”
16. Cobas, J.A., H. Balcazar, M.B. Benin,
17. Dixon, L.B., J. Sundquist, and M. Winkleby, “Differences in Energy, Nutrient, and Food Intakes in a U.S. Sample of Mexican-American Women and Men: Findings From the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994,”
18. Khan, L.K., J. Sobal, and R. Martorell, “Acculturation, Socioeconomic Status, and Obesity in Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, and Puerto Ricans,”
19. Markides, K.S., D.J. Lee, and L.A. Ray, “Acculturation and Hypertension in Mexican Americans,”
20. Stern, M.P., C. Gonzalez, B.D. Mitchell,
21. Sundquist, J., and M.A. Winkleby, “Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Mexican American Adults: A Transcultural Analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, 1988–1994,”
22. Thomson, M.D., and L. Hoffman-Goetz, “Defining and Measuring Acculturation: A Systematic Review of Public Health Studies With Hispanic Population in the United States,”