Perceived Family Social Support for Healthy Eating Is Related to Healthy Dietary Patterns for Native Americans

Native Americans continue to suffer health disparities ameliorated by healthy dietary patterns. The study objective was to determine moderating effects of perceived family social support on the relationship between ethnicity and diet behaviors. Dependent variables included dietary variables, and independent variable was family social support for healthy eating. Analyses included Pearson χ 2 and correlation, one-way analysis of variance, and regression tests. Higher social support was related to lower consumption of added sugars, sugar-sweetened beverages, and red/processed meats for Native Americans. More research is needed to confirm the moderating effect of family social support on dietary behaviors.