Region of birth and black diets: the Harlem Household Survey.

OBJECTIVES: This study compared dietary risk factors among Southern-born and other Blacks in Central Harlem. METHODS: A survey of residents of Central Harlem was used to compute a "healthy diet" score for 621 subjects. RESULTS: Southern-born respondents had the highest-risk diets. Although their numbers were small, Caribbean-born respondents, particularly those younger than 45 years, had the lowest-risk diets. CONCLUSIONS: The variation in diets in Central Harlem was considerable, with Southern-born Blacks at highest dietary risk for chronic diseases. These results remain to be tested elsewhere, as does the contribution of other chronic disease risk factors.