OBJECTIVE: To examine associations of changes in dietary intake with education in young black and white men and women.

DESIGN: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, a multi-centre population-based prospective study. Dietary intake data at baseline and year 7 were obtained from an extensive nutritionist-administered diet history questionnaire with 700 items developed for CARDIA.

SETTING: Participants were recruited in 1985-1986 from four sites: Birmingham, Alabama; Chicago, Illinois; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Oakland, California.

SUBJECTS: Participants were from a general community sample of 703 black men (BM), 1006 black women (BW), 963 white men (WM) and 1054 white women (WW) who were aged 18-30 years at baseline. Analyses here include data for baseline (1985-1986) and year 7 (1992-1993).

RESULTS: Most changes in dietary intake were observed among those with high education (>or=12 years) at both examinations. There was a significant decrease in intake of energy from saturated fat and cholesterol and a significant increase in energy from starch for each race-gender group (P<0.001). Regardless of education, taste was considered an important influence on food choice.

CONCLUSION: The inverse relationship of education with changes in saturated fat and cholesterol intakes suggests that national public health campaigns may have a greater impact among those with more education.