“I DON’T MAKE THE SOUPS ANYMORE”: PRE- TO POST-MIGRATION DIETARY AND LIFESTYLE CHANGES AMONG LATINOS LIVING IN WEST-CENTRAL FLORIDA

7/28/2019 I DONT MAKE THE SOUPS ANYMORE: PRE- TO POST-MIGRATION DIETARY AND LIFESTYLE CHANGES AMONG LATIN

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Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 46: 427444, 2007

Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 0367-0244 print / 1543-5237 online

DOI: 10.1080/03670240701486719

427

GEFN0367-02441543-5237Ecology of Food and Nutrition, Vol. 46, No. 5-6, June 2007: pp. 127Ecology of Food andNutrition

I DONT MAKE THE SOUPS ANYMORE:

PRE- TO POST-MIGRATION DIETARY AND

LIFESTYLE CHANGES AMONG LATINOS

LIVING IN WEST-CENTRAL FLORIDA

Post-MigrationDietary Change among LatinosD. HIMMELGREEN ETAL.

DAVID HIMMELGREEN

NANCY ROMERO DAZA

ELIZABETH COOPERDINORAH MARTINEZ

Department of Anthropology, University of South

Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA

Eighteen Latino adults living in the U.S. for less than 2.5 years were sur-

veyed and interviewed about their pre- and post-migration diets and life-

styles. While this mostly female sample reported that their primary

language was Spanish, many had some limited skills in written and spoken

English. Two thirds were from Colombia, married, and had between 1 and4 children, and more than half had post-secondary education. Percent

change in diet, food habits, and activities associated with lifestyle, regard-

less of the direction, ranged from a low of 27.8% of the sample for alcohol

consumption to a high of 100% for both physical activity and sedentary

behavior. In most cases, post-immigration food types and behaviors rep-

resented unhealthy changes, including weight gain, a lack of physical

activity, and a corresponding increase in television viewing time and in

the consumption of fast food, processed food, soda, and, to a lesser

extent, artificial juices. Ten participants were interviewed about daily life

in their native countries (pre-migration) and since coming to the U.S.

(post-migration). Six primary themes emerged with regard to post-migration lifestyle changes: pace of life, family interaction, social integra-

tion, socioeconomic status, physical security, and control over childrens

Address correspondence to David Himmelgreen, Department of Anthropology,

University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave, SOC 107, Tampa, Florida 33620-8100,

USA. E-mail: [email protected]

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428 D. HIMMELGREEN ET AL.

eating patterns. All of these themes were related to decision-making

regarding food choices and food habits, and in many cases such decisions

were detrimental to health.

KEYWORDS dietary change, acculturation, lifestyle, latinos

PREFACE

As this is a special issue of Ecology of Food and Nutrition honoring the

contributions that Christine Wilson made to anthropology, it is fitting to

begin this article by mentioning that early on in her career Wilson recog-

nized the importance of being a broadly trained anthropologist. Simi-

larly, she appreciated the need for collaborative research spanning

multiple disciplines. Humans are far too complicated for any one singlescience to fully understand.

Christine Wilson was among a cadre of pioneers who came to

anthropology through a circuitous route, and along the way studied biol-

ogy, biochemistry, and public health nutrition. Wilson wanted to

become a bridge between the biological and behavioral sciences

(Wilson, 2002:64) and she admirably succeeded in this goal. Like Margaret

Mead, she recognized that spaces had to be created in order to bring

together experts from across and within various disciplines to conduct

food and nutrition research. She encouraged her colleagues to critically

evaluate whether the recommendations they made to the public wereunderstood and carried out.

Today, there is a push in the behavioral and social sciences and

public health to conduct collaborative and interdisciplinary research,

but the continued inter- and intra-disciplinary specialization makes it

difficult for researchers to communicate with one another. This is cer-

tainly the case for anthropology where continued fragmentation threat-

ens the relevance of the discipline in the 21st Century. Yet the time is

ripe for anthropology to bring together its holistic epistemology to

address issues such as health disparities, race and racism, and environ-

mental degradation.

Christine Wilson was ahead of her time. She understood that the

human endeavor is complex and multidimensional; that we must use our

collective brainpower to not only study it, but also to find solutions to the

many challenges we face. Her message is well-taken today and for that

we are greatly indebted to her. Hopefully, we will heed Wilsons call.

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POST-MIGRATION DIETARY CHANGE AMONG LATINOS 429

INTRODUCTION

Latinos constitute the largest ethnic minority group in the U.S., compris-

ing over 35.3 million people, or 12.5% of the total population (U.S. Cen-

sus Bureau, 2001). With continued migration and growth, it is projectedthat this ethnic minority group will surpass 102.5 million by 2050 and

make-up nearly one-quarter of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau,

2004). This is a heterogeneous group encompassing different nationali-

ties, ethnicities, languages, education levels, economic classes, and lived

experiences.

There is growing interest in the role that immigration plays in the

health behaviors and health of Latino and other migrants. Immigration is

associated with language barriers, low socioeconomic status, limited

access to healthcare, and cultural differences, which often limit social

mobility and negatively affect health (Gorden-Larson et al., 2003; Wolfe,

1994; Leiberson, 1980). Research suggests that difficulties associated with

immigration decline through time as a result of the process of accultura-

tion and with each succeeding generation (Hirshman, 1996). However,

when looking at Latino health behaviors and risk factor profiles, there is

contradictory evidence with regard to the acculturation hypothesis.

Greater acculturation has been associated with an increased likelihood of

high alcohol intake, current smoking, and high body mass index (Abraido-

Lanza et al., 2005). Furthermore, while the prevalence rates of diet-related

diseases such as cardiovascular disease, gall bladder disease, and somecancers are greater among non-Latino whites than among Latinos, there

are data showing a convergence in these rates as Latinos become more

acculturated (Lara et al., 2005). Conversely, higher acculturation has been

correlated with an increase in recent leisure-time exercise activity

(Abraido-Lanza et al., 2005). Finally, Latinos have lower all-cause mortal-

ity rates when compared to non-Latino whites (Lara et al., 2005).

STUDY AIMS

The aim of this exploratory study is to examine dietary acculturation

among a sample of recently arrived Latino women and men residing in

Tampa, Florida. Dietary acculturation is a term used to describe the pro-

cess whereby immigrants adopt the food habits and food consumption

patterns of the larger society in which they find themselves. This process

is multidimensional, dynamic, and complex; [and] varies considerably,

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depending on a variety of personal, cultural, and environmental

attributes (Satia-Abouta et al., 2002:1105).

There were two objectives in this study: First, to collect retrospective

data on the participants lives in their countries of origin in order to contex-tualize the acculturation process which often begins before migrants set

foot in the United States. Second, to examine changes in lifestyle (e.g., time

spent at work and with family and friends, meal preparation) and food hab-

its (e.g., fruit and vegetable consumption) since arrival to the United States.

METHODS

Research Setting

Data were collected from 21 Latino adults during 2001. Three participantshad been living in the U.S. for seven or more years, and were removed from

the analysis in order to control for length of time in the U.S.; the remaining

18 were in the country for less than 2.5 years. Participants were recruited

through Project PAN (Promoting Adequate Nutrition), which involved a

series of bilingual nutrition education and food access workshops targeting

recently arrived Latino immigrants that attended a free health clinic in

Tampa. The goal of Project PAN was to increase food security through bet-

ter knowledge about local food assistance and through improved access to

healthy foods on a limited income. For example, participants learned about

the cost savings of using generic brands, how to use food coupons, how to

interpret food labels, and how to understand unit pricing.

Since many of the immigrants that attended the free health clinic

were undocumented, the data reported here represent a hard-to-reach

population, which is often unwilling to participate in research studies for

fear of being discovered by immigration officials. After rapport building

by both the free clinic staff and by our Latino bilingual graduate research

assistant, we were able to recruit a relatively small sample of participants.

Hence, while this sample may not be representative of the larger Latino

immigrant population to Tampa, the study provides important insights

about a population at high risk for food insecurity and poor health.

Research Design

Surveys were conducted with all 18 participants. The surveys included

information on age, sex, ethnicity, birthplace, length of time in the U.S.,

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words and phrases were properly translated into English. The resulting

narratives were then assessed using a form of qualitative typology coding

described by Seale and Kelly (1998).

Limitations

The major limitations of this study are its small sample size and the fact

that it included a self-selected population of undocumented individuals

that attended a specific free clinic in Tampa. Nonetheless, the results are

likely to be important in that the participants represent a hard-to-reach

population that is growing not only in Florida but elsewhere in the U.S.

Moreover, to a great extent the findings from this study mirror the results

of studies on other recently arrived immigrant groups (see Himmelgreen

et al., 2005). Finally, even though the sample was small, saturation wasreached for many of the responses given by the participants.

RESULTS

Sample Characteristics

The study sample was overwhelmingly female (83.3%) with a mean par-

ticipant age of 37 and a median of 35 years. Only two of the 18 respon-

dents were over the age of 50. Reported number of offspring was

generally small, ranging from one to four children with an average of 1.5children per household. Twelve participants (66.7%) were married at the

time of the study, while four (22.1%) remained single. Information on

total household size was not directly collected. However, qualitative data

indicate that many migrants now live in non-traditional arrangements, at

times unaccompanied by their families. Twelve of the respondents were

from Colombia, while the remaining persons emigrated from Cuba,

Mexico, and Peru. It is of interest to note that when questioned about

ethnicity, 12 of the participants (66.7%) self-identified as Hispanic while

the remaining six stated that they were Colombian. Participants had been

living in the U.S. for a relatively short period of time (mean = 1.14 years),

and Spanish was the primary language for the entire sample. However, 13

individuals (72.2%) indicated that they could speak English and 10

(55.4%) reported English literacy, although fluency and level of writing

ability appeared to be restricted. Only five respondents (27.8%) claimed

more than limited English language skills, and no one classified his or her

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abilities as excellent. This was, however, a well-educated group with over

half of the sample (55.5%) having received postsecondary training at

either a technical or vocational school or university. When asked about

pre-migration employment, many reported professional status, citing jobtitles such as architect, nurse, nutritionist, or businessperson. Sample

characteristics are summarized in Table 1.

Quantitative Findings: Dietary and Lifestyle Changes Since

Arrival in the U.S.

We were interested in assessing overall change in diet, food habits, and

activities associated with lifestyle. Generally speaking, the largest

changes in post-immigration lifestyle related to activity levels, with all

respondents reporting changes in physical activity since leaving theirhome countries. Not surprisingly, the great majority (85.7%) stated that

they had become much more sedentary since arriving in the U.S., and

60% reported increases in the time spent watching television. Changes in

dietary habits were evident as 71.4% reported that they had less time for

food preparation than in their countries of origin, and relied more on fast

foods (76.5% of the participants). Also evident were increases in the con-

sumption of processed foods (66.7%), soda (61.1%), artificial juice

Table 1. Sample characteristics of immigrated Latino Adults

Characteristic N Mean SD Median

Age (yr) 18 37.06 11.88 35.0

Time in U.S. (yr) 18 1.14 0.88 0.85

Number of children 18 1.5 1.2 1.0

N Percentage

Female 15 83.3

Country of origin: Colombia 12 70.6*

Married 12 66.67

Speak English 13 72.2

English fluency: good 3 16.7

Write English 10 55.6

English writing ability: good 3 16.7

Education

Technical or vocational 4 22.2

University 6 33.3

*One respondent did not provide information on country of origin.

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(55.6%), and sweets (46.7%). Fifty percent of the sample also reported

increases in dairy product consumption. In contrast, meat, grain, and

fruit and vegetable consumption showed far less variation when compar-

ing pre- and post-migration patterns. It is interesting to note that 46.7%of the sample indicated that they had increased their consumption of

healthy foods since migrating to the U.S. While participants viewed

changes associated with relocation either positively (71.4%) or with

ambiguity (28.6%), 60% of the sample felt that changes directly associ-

ated with diet and physical activity had been detrimental. This was espe-

cially relevant for the 82.4% of the respondents who reported increases

in body weight since the time of arrival to the United States.

Because of the small sample size, no inferential statistical analysis was

conducted. However, it is possible to identify trends in the relationships

between pre- and post-migration behavior change and various samplecharacteristics. This was accomplished by stratifying variables to create

two dichotomous categories and comparing the percent change for each

group. Differences in change prevalence of 20% or more were found in

association with participant age, marital status, English language and lit-

eracy, time spent in the U.S., level of educational attainment, and the

number of children in the household. The results of this analysis effec-

tively demonstrate that post-immigration change is not primarily unidirec-

tional. In most cases, sample characteristics appear to predispose a

subgroup to behavior modification, while contextual factors determine

the direction of that change. For example, all of the respondents under the

age of 35 cited a change in the amount of healthy foods they consumed.

Yet, there was no difference in the number of these respondents who

reported increases and those who reported decreases. Only six notable

unidirectional changes were associated with sample characteristics:

reduced alcohol consumption among unmarried participants; reduced

food preparation time and increased weight gain among immigrants resid-

ing in the U.S. for one year or more; increased grain intake for those with-

out a post-secondary education, and increased consumption of meat and

processed foods among households with fewer offspring.

Qualitative Findings: Pre- and Post-Migration Changes in Food

Habits and Lifestyle

Ten participants were interviewed about a typical day in their country of

origin (pre-migration) and since coming to the U.S. (post-migration).

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The primary themes that emerged when discussing life in the United

States included increased pace of life, reduced family interaction, more

social isolation, reduced socioeconomic status (SES), and decreased

control over childrens food consumption patterns and overall health.However, a common pattern reported was also an increased sense of

physical security for the individual and the family. As will be shown later,

most of these themes can be related to decision-making regarding diet

and food habits.

In the words of one study participant, Life here is faster, so I am

always on the run. Eighty percent of respondents made similar refer-

ences to the increased pace of life in the U.S., explicitly citing its effects

on decreased time available for cooking, increased reliance on processed

foods and soda, and reduced physical activity and social interaction. One

woman stated: I dont make the soups anymore, just rice, always rice.Its quick, easy, and I rush off to work. The loss of traditional soups,

made from scratch, was often cited, becoming almost emblematic of

post-migration change. Homemade fruit juices were also sacrificed as

here soda is convenient, and we dont have the same fruits or the time

[to prepare natural juices]. Physical fitness also suffered. I dont do

exercise. I used to exercise one hour a day, and here I dont have time for

that. Participants linked this loss of time with other lifestyle themes

such as social isolation, stating, Life is fast here. You have less time to

spend at home with your family. All you do is work and sleepno time to

be with friends.

As indicated in the above quotes, changes in household labor dis-

tribution and an associated reduction in income and loss of household

help may contribute to this anxiety over limited time. While the situa-

tion in many countries of origin is changing, particularly in urban

areas, a number of respondents indicated that only one adult had pre-

viously worked outside of the house. Female participants especially

experienced increased work demands both at home and in the formal

employment sector in the United States. Adjustment pains were com-

pounded by the long hours and strenuous tasks associated with thelow-paying jobs that sample participants were often forced to accept.

Many well-educated professionals were no longer working in their

chosen fields due to their undocumented status, lack of English profi-

ciency, or because they did not have the certification or licenses

required to work in the U.S. The following quote serves to document

these changes:

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All I do is work. . .I leave at 6:00 am and get home at 3:30 and [then]

start housework. I dont have anyone else to help us with the house

chores. In Colombia, my job was to take care of the kids. I did not have

to worry about what to make for dinner or about laundry because some-one else would always help me. . .Here I have to work and do everything

else all by myself.

Reduced family interaction was also a central theme. Half of the

study respondents made explicit reference to family time in their home

country, recounting activities such as shared meals and playtime with

children. In addition to the conspicuous absence of these activities in

descriptions of post-immigration life, 60% commented on the loss of

quality time. In the words of one respondent, We used to have more

time with each other to talk and be a family. Here the little free time wehave is to rest. Long or inconvenient working hours, exhaustion, time

constraints, language barriers, and physical distance (i.e., family mem-

bers remaining in the country of origin) were all reported factors.

Changes were not limited to parent-child interactions. Marital relation-

ships were also impacted, albeit with mixed results. While one woman

stated, My husband has changed 100%. He was mean in Colombia and

now he is nicer to us, others indicated that their relationships had suf-

fered. The qualitative assessment has also highlighted a need for further

study regarding possible post-migration changes in the qualityof family

interaction. A number of participants indicated that they had substituted

joint physical activity such as walking or biking with more sedentary pur-

suits. As one Colombian woman said, I play with my child and we

watch the soap operas and then go to sleep. On the weekends I try to

spend time with them to walk, but I dont have the time.

The positive, buffering effect of the Hispanic ghetto, described by

Gordon-Larsen and colleagues (2003:2030) as the retention of tradi-

tional lifestyle patterns among low SES immigrants who speak their

native language and live in neighborhoods with high immigrant density

and availability of traditional goods and services was not supported inthis study. While one Colombian participant did state, We have come

together more and work together more and take better care of each

other, post-migration social isolation appears to be the norm, in spite of

a lack of English proficiency and reduced economic standing. Sixty per-

cent of the sample commented on the loss of social integration as repre-

sented in the following narrative.

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In Colombia, I had friends and people to hang out with, all our neigh-

bors. In Colombia, everyone knows their neighbors and the whole neigh-

borhood. Here you dont even know who lives next to you. We miss that

very much.

The impacts of post-migration social isolation on physical activity, men-

tal health, and access to medical care clearly warrant further study. Even

within this limited sub-sample (n = 10), there were two explicit reports of

participants feeling depressed. In the words of one woman,

I never knew what depression was until I got here. I gained weight and

that made me even more depressed. Now I get depressed very easily. I

dont know why. Life is so different. . . I cannot work in this country and

that frustrates you. . .I had a job and big family in Mexico. I was satis-fied with my job and was doing a lot, and here it has changed. I cant

work and my family is far away.

While one respondent reported a post-migration improvement in socio-

economic status, 50% of the sample noted the opposite effect, and a com-

parison of job titles before and after migration supports these assertions.

One participant stated, Our social class has changed dramatically. . .My

husbands job is very different. . .He was the owner of a car dealership,

and here he works at a carwash. This loss of status is generally accepted

as a trade-off for increased security. In the words of one respondent,

Our economic level has changed, but it is worth it. Moreover, partici-

pants are quick to emphasize the reduced stigma associated with lower

social classes in the U.S., and often classify the change as a learning

experience.

Now my father is a deliveryman. Our social class has changed, but here

people dont differentiate as much between a poor person and a rich per-

son and maybe the middle class, which is the biggest.

I have several friends in Colombia that ask me what kind of job Ihave. When I tell them I work at a restaurant they freak outhow

horriblewhich is really looked down upon in our country. They are of

a lower rank, and here when we came we had to do all that and it made

us really uncomfortable. . .Here, however, there is more equality in that

discrimination against lower social classes is not so clearly visible. . .You

are not looked down upon because you work in a restaurant.

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Yet in spite of all this, the loss of socioeconomic status often acts as a

stressor, posing a threat to the familys independence. Associated struc-

tural barriers to health and nutrition should also be considered, includ-

ing detrimental forms of food substitution and reductions in physicalactivity level. The experiences of one Colombian man provide a clear

example.

In Colombia, I was very independentmy own boss. Here I am on salary

and work for someone else. That has changed. . .We lived on a farm

where it was wide open, and now we live in an apartment. . .It is harder

for the children. They were used to running around and be free on the

farm.

It is important, however, to distinguish social status from purchasingpower, as participant responses are more mixed in this regard. Although

reports do conflict, the general consensus seems to be that The mini-

mum wage here [in the U.S.] does allow you to live and eat. Money here

can last you to the next pay period. This is contrasted with the situation

in Colombia and Peru, which is often characterized as expensive. In the

words of one participant:

My job gives me enough to pay for my needs. In Peru, my salary did not

last. It was a poor salary even though I was a professional. Now I can

purchase things and I am not so tight for money and save money and

have things I did not have in Peru.

Another positive aspect of migration has been increased physical

security. Sixty percent of respondents indicated that this was missing in

their home country or emphasized it in regards to life in the U.S. While

many references to the political and social situation in Colombian were

somewhat vague or shielded, stating simply that the situation was bad

or difficult, one respondent addressed the issue with unusual clarity

and detail, stating:

We do live with a lot more peace here. Over in Colombia, I could not

sleep if my older son was out, because of the guerillas, or if he went out

with his school I would worry the guerillas would kidnap him. . .We are a

lot more relaxed here and are not worried about the kids getting hurt by

the guerillas.

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In many instances, however, the threat of violence was exchanged for a

more generalized form of insecurityuncertainty about the days ahead.

With their daily routines disrupted, many participants expressed discom-

fort that, There are no typical days here in the U.S.A. and commonlycited fear and insecurity in regards to the future.

This worry was often extended to child health with 40% of the sam-

ple citing such concerns. Issues ranged from changing food habits, par-

ticularly a growing preference for American foods, to differences in

weight and appetite, and a loss of control over the childs eating habits.

Mothers often attempted to medicalize these problems by consulting

physicians and commonly implicated schools as the source of change.

These themes are demonstrated in the following quotes.

[My child] is really picky here. He wont eat the same things he ate inColombia. He used to eat fruits and veggies and here, nothing. . .My

child has given me a lot of problems. I cant get him to eat the same

things. I guess its the taste thats different. He used to eat meat in

Colombia, but he wont touch it here, and he does eat chicken but not

like in Colombia. His appetite changed. The doctor says he is fine.

I am bringing my child to the doctor because his appetite has

decreased and he wont eat Colombian food. All he wants is pizza or a

hamburger. In Colombia, he did not know what that wasonly on rare

occasion did he eat that. At school, he has to eat lunch there and so he

wont eat the food at home, only American food.

As the respondent above mentions, the consumption of American-style

fast foods in Colombia is usually limited to rare occasions and is often

associated with special events such as birthdays and other celebrations.

This is mostly due to their relatively high prices when compared to tradi-

tional Colombian foods. As such, fast food items such as pizza and ham-

burgers are often considered high status foods. Several respondents

mentioned that because of such perceptions the low cost and easy access

to fast foods in the United States is especially appealing not only to chil-dren but also to adults.

In spite of their limited numbers, this sub-sample provided insight

into the multiple conflicting and reinforcing themes associated with

migration. Their narratives explored the interaction of perceived

increases in the pace of life, declining social and familial interactions,

reductions in social status coupled with selective increases in purchasing

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power and the limited availability of domestic help, evolving sources of

insecurity, and a loss of control over family life. The participants stories

portray a complex post-migration context. Figure 1 provides a simplified

visual representation of these interactions.

DISCUSSION

The role that acculturation has on Latino health is complex and not well

understood (Abraido-Lanza et al., 2005; Lara et al., 2005). Existing liter-

ature indicates that immigration and acculturation have both negative

and positive consequences with regard to health behaviors and health

outcomes. The lack of clarity may well be due to the difficulty in measur-

ing acculturation, which is often viewed as being unidirectional, but in

reality it is a multi-dimensional process. As Norman and colleagues(2004) demonstrate, the operational definition of acculturation signifi-

cantly influences study results. Hunt and colleagues (2004) have soundly

criticized the acculturation concept because of conceptual flaws, lack of

a concise definition in the literature, and the possibility that as a con-

struct, it may be based on nothing more than ethnic stereotyping. More-

over, the variety of dietary assessment instruments and acculturation

Figure 1. Narrative themes and interactions.

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scales currently in use makes the synthesis and application of this exten-

sive body of literature problematic. Instead of using an acculturation

scale in this study, a survey and interview were administered to examine

specific behaviors associated to pre- and post-migration diet and life-style. Unlike other acculturation studies that ask participants to choose

from a set of responses, which are then used to categorize individuals

into artificial levels of acculturation to be correlated with diet, food hab-

its, or changes in body weight, we used a more exploratory and respon-

dent-centered method. Here, extensive quantitative and qualitative data

on behavioral change prior to and after immigration were collected, with

the participants themselves defining what constituted behavior change,

its causes, and its impact on food habits. This approach can potentially

generate data which can be used to develop and test new hypotheses on

the role of migration and acculturation on health behaviors and healthstatus.

Although the sample in this study and the conclusions should be

taken with caution, they are consistent with the literature that looks at

the experiences of recent immigrants (Chvez et al., 1994; Cairney and

stbye, 1999; Aldrich and Variyam, 2001; Opare Obisaw et al., 2001;

Himmelgreen et al., 2005). The vast majority of respondents had been in

the United States for 2.5 years or less and reported significant changes

regarding food choices, dietary practices, and other health related behav-

iors. For example, a large proportion of participants reported consuming

more artificial drinks, processed food, and fast food. They spent less time

preparing food at home and spent less time with their families at meals.

Respondents indicated that their children were less likely to eat tradi-

tional foods and that, as parents, they had less control over what their

children ate. Findings of increased weight with increased residency in the

U.S. parallel earlier work by Himmelgreen et al. (2004; 2005), Kaplan

et al. (2004), and Gordon-Larsen et al. (2003). Before any firm conclu-

sions can be reached from the results presented here, a longitudinal

study, including a larger sample, is warranted.

More research needs to be done to ferret out the complexities ofmigration and acculturation in relation to not only diet and food habits,

but also to nutritional status and diet-related diseases. Of special impor-

tance are issues such as the initiation of dietary change. As several partic-

ipants stated, dietary change did not begin with their migration to the

U.S. In fact, the respondents mentioned the rising popularity of fast food

in their native countries and the increased reliance on quick meals and

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processed foods. An exploration of how this process is initiated and how

it is accelerated upon migration to the United States is needed. Impor-

tant here is the association of fast foods with special social status in some

of the respondents home countries. For example, the fact that inColombia, fast foods such as pizza and hamburgers are relatively expen-

sive and are thus reserved for special celebrations (e.g., birthdays) leads

to a perception of such foods as high status items to which those of

higher social class have easier access. The accessibility and affordability

of those food items in the United States, coupled with the high prestige

they are assigned, might lead to increased consumption among recent

immigrants. Also worthy of examination is the perceived loss of control

that parents feel in relation to the food consumption patterns of their

children. Such loss of control appears to be directly related to the fact

that children might get one or more meals at school. Exploring ways inwhich parents can be more involved with the dietary decision making of

their school-age children is important. This will call for projects that

actively involve children as subjects of research. Finally, while small sam-

ple size may account for the contrary finding that unmarried individuals

reported drinking less alcohol since coming to the U.S., this is a finding

that deserves more attention in future studies.

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Documents

“I DON’T MAKE THE SOUPS ANYMORE”: PRE- TO POST-MIGRATION DIETARY AND LIFESTYLE CHANGES AMONG LATINOS LIVING IN WEST-CENTRAL FLORIDA