Nutrition in Transition: How Immigrants and Communities Culturally Adapt

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Nutrition in Transition How Immigrants and
Communities Culturally Adapt

• Society for Nutrition Education
• San Francisco, CA
• July 17, 2006
• Lauren Haldeman, Ph.D.

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Outline

• Immigrants in US
• Demographics
• Socioeconomic Status
• Health status (physical and mental)
• Barriers
• Acculturation
• Nutrition education needs
• Challenges
• Reaching groups
• Reaching communities

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Demographics(CPS, 2005)

• 35.2 million (legal and illegal)
• 12.1 of US population
• Mexican born - Largest by more than double
• 10 undocumented
• Of adults 31 less than HS education
• Average age (2000-2005) 33 years

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Socioeconomic Status(CPS, 2005)

• Significantly higher rates of
• poverty
• Adults with minor children (25)
• welfare program use
• Median annual earnings (2000-2005) 15,600
• Lack health insurance

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Food Security Status(ERS, 2005)
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Food SecurityMexicans - NC(Colby et al., 2004
Roney et al, 2006)
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Health Status

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Mental health

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Overweight/ObesityMexican Americans(Ogden et
al., 2006)
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Overweight/ObesityMexicans - NC(Colby et al.,
2004 Roney et al, 2006)
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Diabetes

• Mexican Americans 1.7 times as likely to
  develop Type II Diabetes than non Hispanic
  Whites. (National Diabetes Education Program)
• Lifetime risk of developing diabetes for U.S.
  individuals born in 2002 is about one in three
  for the general population, but about one in two
  for the Hispanic population (Narayan et al., 2003)

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Mental Health

• Higher rates of stress and depression among
  undocumented Mexican immigrants (Sullivan and
  Rehm, 2005)
• Failure
• Limited resources
• Isolation
• Stigma
• Vulnerability

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Barriers(Colby et al., 2004)

• Food availability
• Difficulty eating healthy (N153)

Total gt100 due to multiple responses
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Barriers

• Immigration status
• Acculturation
• Language
• Length of time in US
• Generational differences

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Acculturation

• Unidimensional
• Linear ? not acculturated to acculturated
• (Lara et al., 2005)
• Bidimensional
• Emphasize biculturalism

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Proposed Acculturation Categories (Juan Carlos
Molleda see final slide)

• NEWCOMERS
• Have spent less than a ¼ of their life in the U.S
  
• Most attitudes and behaviors stem from country-of
  origin
• Low level of assimilation
• Spanish dominant. Spanish dependent.
• TRANSITIONALS
• Spent ¼ to ½ of life in the U.S.

• Unique mix of experiences most of youth in
  country-of-origin and adult life in U.S.
• TRANSPLANTS
• Spent majority of life in U.S.
• Exhibit characteristics of first-borns.
• Function as bilingual and bicultural.
• Maintain cultural values/attitudes linked to
  country-of-origin as opposed to U.S. born.

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Proposed Acculturation Categories

• FIRST BORNS
• U.S. born with one foreign-born parent.
• Spent entire lives exposed to U.S. media,
  attitudes and behaviors.
• Heavily influenced by parents character.
• Function in both worlds.
• Lean more to English usage.

• DEEP ROOTS
• At least second generation, both parents are U.S.
  born
• Vast majority of Hispanics are in this stage.
• Almost totally assimilated and English dominated,
  not entirely English dependent.

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Proposed Acculturation Categories

• GENERATION Ñ (EN-YE)
• Under 35 year-of-age Latinos who are first and
  second generation born in the U.S.
• Not only mainstreaming themselves and their
  bicultural, bilingual lifestyles, but they are
  also Hispanicizing American mainstream culture
  (cross-over music celebrities.)
• Sixty-eight percent are Spanish-Dominant or
  bilingual
• Consume Spanish and English broadcast media at
  nearly equal rates, but Spanish-language
  television and radio outpace English.
• Heavy readers of magazines with lifestyle,
  entertainment, automotive and sport focus.
• Like to have the latest electronic equipment.
• They are concerned with looking young, but do not
  exercise regularly or eat a balanced diet.
• Shop on the Internet more than ever.
• More likely to believe that ads give true
  picture.

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Nutrition Education

• Newcomers
• Consume products similar to those at home
• Transitionals
• Clearly advancing on assimilation with regard to
  media preferences and consumer behavior.
• Transplants
• More comfortable using U.S. products and with
  English language.

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Nutrition Education

• First Borns
• Heavily influenced by parents character.
• Function in both worlds.
• Deep Roots
• Majority maintain strong cultural identification
  and value cultural maintenance.
• Generation Ñ
• Impulsive and buy on the spur of the moment.
• Experimenters change brands often

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Challenges

• Identifying target audience
• Material translation
• Assessing acculturation level

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Challenges

• Audience receptiveness
• Overcoming stigma
• Community responsibility

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Acculturation Process Reference

• Stages came from multiple sources compiled by Dr.
  Juan Carlos Molleda at the University of Florida
• Website http//iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04
  /Ramirez/immigration2.htm