Menu labeling perception and health behaviors among immigrant and US born minority populations: assessment in two Los Angeles public markets.

OBJECTIVE To analyze menu labeling perception and food choices/health behaviors in two Los Angeles public markets. Labels with food caloric content were displayed in the food court of one of these markets. MATERIALS AND METHODS Bivarate means analyses compared the surveyed population by market and by nativity status. The main predictors of menu-labeling influence were identified in the sample from the market that displayed labels. A separate analysis investigated food choices/health behaviors among immigrant cohorts by time of US residence. RESULTS Reading labels when shopping was one of the main predictors associated with menu labeling influence. Longer-stayed immigrants were more likely to afford "balanced meals", but they were also more likely to eat in fast food restaurants and less likely to engage into moderate/intense physical activity. CONCLUSIONS While nativity was not a significant predictor of menu labeling influence on food choices, our findings suggest food choices/behaviors convergence among immigrant and US-born populations.