TITLE:
Acculturation and Dietary Change in Mexican-American Immigrant Women
AUTHORS:
Maria Isabel Ortega-Velez, Pedro Alejandro Castañeda-Pacheco
KEYWORDS:
Acculturation, Immigrant Women, Diet, Dietary Change, Obesity
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.5 No.7,
July
17,
2017
ABSTRACT: Our study explored the process of acculturation among Mexican women living in southwest U.S., and the consequences regarding dietary risk factors associated to health. The cross-sectional study included face to face interviews with 150 migrant women and 150 non-migrant women. Interviews consisted of two non-consecutive 24-hour recalls, and data on anthropometry, acculturation, dietary change and lifestyle. Multiple regression analysis showed that consumption of calories from saturated fat and body mass index (BMI) were significantly higher in migrant women compared to non-migrant women, even after adjusting for other lifestyle and diet related variables. Overall, acculturation seems to be associated with more access to food rather than with a change in consumption of dietary risk components. Furthermore, acculturation was associated positively with socioeconomic status, indicating interplay of socioeconomic and cultural variables related to eating behavior in Mexican immigrant women. Positive association of BMI with acculturation and of acculturation with socioeconomic status suggests that health risk factors among Mexican immigrant women follow similar trends of those of women in their born country.