Patterns of fruit, vegetable, and milk consumption among smoking and nonsmoking female teens

The increase in teenage smoking, and the fact that concern about body weight is given as a reason for smoking initiation by girls, suggest that food intake may be compromised in female teens who smoke. Daily consumption of a variety of foods is important due to the health-protective constituents they contain. Few studies have documented how smoking and the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and milk may be associated in female teens.

This study examined the relationship of smoking and the consumption of fruit, fruit juice, vegetables, and milk in ninth- to twelfth-grade Caucasian (n=2797), African-American (n=2196), and Hispanic (n=2052) female teens. Data from the Youth Behavior Risk Survey (1999) were analyzed with SUDAAN software, using logistic regression models.

Smoking was significantly associated with decreased odds of consuming milk at 0.74 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55-0.98); fruit, 0.70 (95% CI, 0.54-0.92); fruit juice, 0.74 (95% CI, 0.56-0.98); and vegetables, 0.75 (95% CI, 0.63-0.89) among Caucasian female teens, and with decreased odds of consuming fruit juice among Hispanic female teens at 0.59 (95% CI, 0.40-0.89). For each significant food variable, a dose-response relationship was detected with significantly more females consuming each food at lower smoking levels and significantly fewer doing so at the highest level (p<0.05). By contrast, African-American female teen smokers tended to consume higher levels of the specified food/beverages than nonsmokers, but this relationship was not statistically significant.

This study establishes a smoking/food intake interaction for the specific foods tested, in an adolescent female population. Compromising the intake of healthy foods and their protective nutrients leaves young women more vulnerable to the serious health consequences of smoking. These results underscore the need for young women to be educated on the importance of eating maximum servings of fruits and vegetables and dairy products, such as milk, particularly if they smoke or are at risk for smoking initiation. The study also underscores the need to culturally tailor programs according to differences in smoking initiation and eating/dieting behaviors.