A University of Illinois study suggests coming to 'the land of milk and honey' can be hazardous to new immigrants' diets and health.
Ilana Redstone Akresh, visiting University of Pennsylvania professor of sociology, led the study analyzing changes in immigrants' diets after arriving in the United States and the subsequent relationship between those changes and their body mass index and health status.
She found 39 percent of her sample of 6,637 adults reported at least one significant change in their diet - most commonly increased consumption of junk food and meat.
More than 10 percent of the sample reported eating more junk food in the United States, while more than 8 percent said they ate more meat than they did in their home countries. Nearly 15 percent reported eating fewer vegetables, fruit, fish or rice and beans.
As a consequence, many immigrants are not only "bulking up," but also becoming less healthy, Akresh said.
The changes immigrants make may have short- and long-term health consequences, said Akresh. "Understanding these changes and examining their determinants is an important precursor to a fuller understanding of immigrant health."
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
Related stories:
Public health clinic study links 'Americanization' and depression
A study of 439 U.S. and Mexican-born Latinas seeking pregnancy and postpartum services at public health clinics in San Antonio uncovered elevated levels of depression among the more "Americanized" women, report researchers from The University of Texas School of Public Health and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in the most recent online issue of the
Maternal and Child Health Journal.
Diversity in primary schools promotes harmony
For the first time, children as young as 5 have been shown to understand issues regarding integration and separation. The research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), confirms that the ethnic composition of primary schools has a direct impact on children's attitudes towards those in other ethnic groups and on their ability to get on with their peers.
Study helps identify which populations of foreign-born persons living in US at higher risk of TB
The relative yield of finding and treating latent tuberculosis is particularly high among higher-risk groups of foreign-born persons living in the U.S., such as individuals from most countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, according to a study in the July 23/30 issue of
JAMA.
Asians who immigrated to US before age 25 have poorer mental health than older immigrants
Asian-American immigrants who came to the United States before they were 25 years old have poorer mental health than their compatriots who came to this country when they were 25 or older, according to data from the first national mental health survey of Asian-Americans.
New evidence from earliest known human settlement in the Americas
New evidence from the Monte Verde archaeological site in southern Chile confirms its status as the earliest known human settlement in the Americas and provides additional support for the theory that one early migration route followed the Pacific Coast more than 14,000 years ago.
Study finds that discrimination varies by gender and race
Men are more likely to tolerate discrimination than women, however both sexes tend to accept prejudice against poorly educated immigrants and Arab-American airplane travelers, according to a study by the USC-Caltech Center for the Study of Law and Politics.
Woodburn, Ore.: a microcosm of immigrant shifts in America
Travelers on I-5 know that Woodburn, Ore., is home to the region's largest tax-free outlet center. A University of Oregon researcher, however, turns away from the mall to study the heart of town, which, she says, provides insight on how new immigrant settlement patterns are transforming place and identity in small- to medium-sized U.S. cities.
Neglected tropical diseases burden those overseas, but travelers also at risk
Though little known to most Americans, lymphatic filariasis, trachoma, leishmaniasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis and other so-called neglected tropical diseases are responsible for severe health burdens, especially among the world’s poorest people. Together, it is estimated that these illnesses, most of which are caused by worms or other parasites, rank sixth among all conditions worldwide in robbing people of quality of life and life itself through disability or premature death, respectively.