Dietary acculturation among the South-Asian Surinamese population in the Netherlands: the HELIUS study

Abstract

Objective: To test Koctürk's model of dietary change among South-Asian Surinamese in the Netherlands. The model categorizes foods into staple, complementary and accessory foods and postulates that dietary change after migration begins with accessory foods while foods associated with ethnic identity (staple foods) change at a slower rate. Design: Cross-sectional data from the HELIUS study. Dietary intake was assessed with an FFQ. Acculturation was based on social contacts and sense of belonging and was translated into four strategies of acculturation: assimilation, integration, separation and marginalization. Other indicators of acculturation included residence duration, age at migration and migration generation status. Setting: Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Subjects: Participants of Dutch (n 1456) and South-Asian Surinamese origin (n 968). Results: Across all acculturation strategies, South-Asian Surinamese participants reported significantly higher intakes of rice (staple food) and chicken (complementary food) and significantly lower intakes of red meat and vegetables (complementary foods) and cookies and sweets (accessory food) than Dutch participants. Men, second-generation and assimilated South-Asian Surinamese were inclined towards Dutch foods such as potato, pasta and red meat. Accessory foods like fruits showed variation across acculturation strategies. Conclusions: Consistent with the Koctürk model, the intake of staple foods was stable among South-Asian Surinamese irrespective of acculturation strategy while the intake of accessory foods like fruit varied. Contrary to expectations, South-Asian Surinamese showed consistently high intakes of complementary foods like chicken and fish irrespective of acculturation strategy. Public health practitioners should take into consideration the complex and dynamic nature of dietary acculturation.

Differences in diet quality and socioeconomic patterning of diet quality across ethnic groups: cross-sectional data from the HELIUS Dietary Patterns study

“…Retention of elements of traditional diets could explain higher diet quality among migrants compared with Dutch participants, assuming that the Western diet is less healthy [25]. This could also explain inconsistent socioeconomic patterning of diet quality among ethnic minority groups, if components of the traditional diets are retained as a way of expressing cultural identity, regardless of socioeconomic position [5]. Cultural expectation of hospitality [26], and the food preferences of family and friends, especially in collectivist cultures, may also prevent or slow shifts in dietary habits from the traditional diet.…”

“…Prevalence of disease is often higher in ethnic minority groups, and socioeconomic position is on average lower [4], so poorer diet quality among these groups may be expected. Dietary patterns and dietary behaviours differ between ethnic groups [5,6], which could contribute to ethnic differences in diet quality, and could also modify the relationship between socioeconomic position and diet [7]. These relationships warrant further study, as interventions and policies aiming to improve population diet quality and reduce dietary inequalities should take subgroup differences into consideration.…”

Acculturation and Food Intake Among Ghanaian Migrants in Europe: Findings From the RODAM Study

“…Findings of this study are consistent with previous studies that showed traditional staples of migrants remained important components of their diets. 3,4 However, findings in this study indicated that although plantain, roots, and tubers were still consumed in Europe, bread and cereals were the most important sources of staples, contributing to almost half of the total staple intake of Ghanaian migrants in Europe. Similar to a qualitative study 27 conducted among Ghanaian migrants in Berlin, this study also demonstrated a shift from a fish-based diet in Ghana to a more meat-based one in Europe.…”

“…Several studies 3,35,36 showed consistent associations between acculturation and diet irrespective of the acculturation strategy used. However, a key finding from this study is that associations between acculturation and dietary intake differed according to the acculturation proxy that was applied.…”

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Immigrants in Portugal: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

“…The Canadian Community Health Survey showed two different outcomes: data from 2009 revealed that immigrants consumed less F&V than those born in Canada [ 54 ], while data from 2007 found no statistically significant difference in F&V intake between immigrants and Canadians [ 55 ]. In two other studies conducted in the Netherlands, results showed that South Asian (Surinamese and Pakistanis) generally reported lower frequency of fruit and vegetables compared with the Dutch population [ 56 , 57 ]. The Oslo Immigrant Health Profile from 2008, showed that Vietnamese men had the lowest and Turkish women the highest consumption of F&V, while Norwegians were neither the end nor the beginning of spectrum [ 36 ].…”