Researchers at New Mexico State University are trying to find ways to encourage Mexican American families to eat more fruits and vegetables. Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption has been strongly associated with reductions in Mexican American health disparities, such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. The 18-month project is funded by the Paso del Norte Health Foundation.
Over the course of the study, Collin Payne, an assistant marketing professor in NMSU's College of Business and the study's principal investigator, will partner with NMSU professors Mihai Niculescu of the College of Business and Rebecca Palacios of the College of Health and Social Services, as well as Cornell University professor David Just, to assess the layout of grocery stores in the region. The group will then analyze the purchasing and consumption patterns of Mexican American families and use sustainable marketing-oriented environmental changes to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables. These environmental changes would include the use of in-store, "socially driven" messages, such as "Eighty-two percent of shoppers in this store buy tomatoes for a healthy heart." Among the study's objectives are to increase fruit and vegetable purchases by 10 percent over a six month period.
Once the study is complete, Payne's group plans to work with the Paso del Norte Health Foundation to disseminate their findings, including public policy recommendations to encourage greater governmental and commercial cooperation in finding ways to improve healthier eating.
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