A literature review of dietary accultaration in Asian Americans

ABSTRACT

The overall goal of this literature review is to promote a better understanding of the construct of dietary acculturation in recent years and how it affects the dietary intake of Asian-American population. Four databases were searched simultaneously Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Medline, Pub Medical, and Journals at OVID. The key terms used in the search were Asian-Americans, dietary practices, eating habits, and dietary acculturation. A total of seven articles were relevant and met the inclusion criteria. The findings from these studies of dietary acculturation in Asian Americans are generally in agreement with other dietary acculturation research conducted in non-Asian population samples. These results suggests that immigrants who have adapted to the US lifestyle are more likely to adopt a Western dietary pattern, while those who immigrate at an older age or live in metropolitan areas where traditional foods are available and affordable are more likely to maintain traditional dietary patterns. Although the studies presented in this literature review represent the recent researches conducted in Asian populations in the US, the research in dietary acculturation remains sparse. Nurses need to understand that although their Asian American patients may have resided in the US for many years and may have demonstrated some degree of acculturation, may retain some of their traditional dietary practices at the same time. Nurse researches can capitalize on further studies in examining important variables to Western food choices and better understanding of the influence of traditional health beliefs, pre-migration factors, and social and environmental influences on the dietary practices of Asian immigrants.