FIGURE 2-2 Distribution of seafood consumption by place it was consumed.

^aIncludes food eaten at takeout restaurant, in store, and in car.

^bIncludes food eaten by children in day care.

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, 1999/2000.

methodological and reporting differences, they are useful for gleaning some insights into differences in consumption among different groups.

The Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study is a large, population-based study designed to assess variations in specific rates of cancer occurrence among various ethnic groups and to characterize both environmental and genetic factors contributing to cancer incidence. Conducted between 1993 and 1996, the study collected comprehensive lifestyle and dietary data on the cohort (Sharma et al., 2003, 2004). The cohort reflected a range of educational levels, although cohort members were more educated than the general population.

Study participants in Hawaii and Los Angeles, California, included population samples from five self-identified ethnic groups—African Americans, Latinos, Japanese Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Whites—aged 45 to 75 years, who completed a mailed self-administered quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) that was developed specifically for the study population (Sharma et al., 2004). The study objectives included providing prospective data on exposures and biomarkers thought to alter cancer risk; data collected from the questionnaires included information on dietary and other lifestyle and health practices (Kolonel et al., 2004). Table 2-5 shows