A Systematic Examination of Food Intake and Adaptation to the Food Environment by Refugees Settled in the United States

Abstract

The United States is the largest refugee resettlement country in the world. Refugees may face health-related challenges after resettlement in the United States, including higher rates of chronic diseases due to problems such as language barriers and difficulty adapting to new food environments. However, reported refugee diet challenges varied, and no systematic examination has been reported. This study examined refugee food intake pre-and postresettlement in the United States and differences in intake across various refugee groups. We systematically reviewed relevant studies that reported on refugee food intake and adaptation to the US food environment. We searched PubMed for literature published between January 1985 and April 2015, including cross-sectional and prospective studies. Eighteen studies met inclusion criteria. Limited research has been conducted, and most studies were based on small convenience samples. In general, refugees increased meat and egg consumption after resettling in the United States. Changes in refugee intake of vegetables, fruits, and dairy products varied by socioeconomic status, food insecurity, past food deprivation experience, length of stay in the United States, region of origin, and age. South Asians were more likely to maintain traditional diets, and increased age was associated with more conservative and traditional diets. Despite the abundance of food in the United States, postresettlement refugees reported difficulty in finding familiar or healthy foods. More research with larger samples and follow-up data are needed to study how refugees adapt to the US food environment and what factors may influence their food-and health-related outcomes. The work could inform future interventions to promote healthy eating and living among refugees and help to reduce health disparities. Adv Nutr 2016;7:1066-79.

Identification of health risk behaviours among adolescent refugees resettling in Western Australia

“…Transition from a traditional to a Western diet, previous food insecurities and poor health literacy can result in obesity or undernutrition in refugee children and adults from specific ethnicities 28. A greater risk of eating disorders has been suggested in immigrant youth, including refugees 29.…”

“Food is Environmentally and Culturally Specific!”: A Preliminary Qualitative Study on U.S. Immigrant Parents’ Perceptions of School Lunch

“…The above-mentioned view regarding children's preference to eat what others are eating reinforces Bandura's Social Learning Theory (1977) [29], which indicates that environmental factors have the potential to shape behaviors. [2][3][4] has steadily been correlated with greater risk for obesity and its associated health problems including chronic diseases. Our study indicates that parents' fear of their children eating fatty and sugary foods contributed to their decision to prepare lunch for their children to avert the obesity problem.…”

“…On food choices by immigrant children in North America, studies such as those of Wang et al (2016), Wang et al (2011), Chen et al (2011), Blanchet et al (2017) [2,3,6,7], and many others have examined such important issues as food choices and food intake by Asian (Chinese, Korean, etc. ), Latino, sub-Saharan African, and Caribbean immigrants living in the United States of America (USA) and Canada.…”

Comparative UAV and Field Phenotyping to Assess Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Hybrid and Conventional Barley

“…Global nitrogen fertilizer use is expected to exceed 200 million tons in the next year and continue to increase at 1.8% per year (FAO et al, 2015 ). The estimated increase in fertilizer use by 22.4% globally over the last 10 years (2004–2014) differs from an increase of 14.3% at the European level, where there is stronger and growing presence of precision agriculture management practices (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2017 ), but still demonstrates a growing demand for increased yields and an upwards trend in intensity of agricultural practices.…”

“…Strikingly, this increase in fertilizer application only corresponded to barley ( Hordeum vulgare ) yield increases of 9.3 and 10.6% at the global and European scales, respectively. For barley, the fourth global grain in terms of production (FAO et al, 2015 ), this represents only 5.7 and 3.3% increases in nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) over a period of 10 years, approximately half of which is attributed to improved management practices (Raun and Johnson, 1999 ). Given global barley production at 144.6 million tons annually, improvements in NUE represent significant savings that may enable production to meet future demand and increase profits (Raun and Johnson, 1999 ).…”