How and Why Diets Change Post Migration for Chinese Immigrants

Abstract

\n \n \n Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is disproportionally greater in Chinese immigrants in Australia compared with in China. Dietary acculturation is implicated as a CVD risk factor. This study aimed to explored Chinese immigrants’ perspectives on how and why their diets change post migration.\n \n \n \n An exploratory qualitative interview study was undertaken with adult Chinese migrants who had been living in Australia for less than 10 years. Semi-structured interview questions were designed to draw out participants’ experience, emotions and thoughts of dietary change. Interviews were conducted via Zoom in participants’ preferred language (Mandarin or English). Interviews were transcribed verbatim and translated into English for analysis. A constructivist approach was adopted to thematically analyse the interviews.\n \n \n \n A total of 11 participants were interviewed (n\xa0=\xa03 males and n\xa0=\xa08 females) and ranged in age from 22–68 years old with length of residence in Australia ranging from 1–8 years. Key themes pertaining to how and why dietary changes that occur post migration are: that breakfast is the first meal to change from Chinese to Western style, convenience is one of the primary drivers of change in dietary habits, dinner is most frequently maintained in Chinese style, cultural identity is an important influence on dietary habits, and awareness of dietary change among Chinese immigrants is low as evidenced through statements such as “not much has changed” when asked about differences in their diet, but further probing identified that their post migration diets were quite different from their diets in China. Participants also reported a lack of general healthy eating knowledge and lack of nutrition education from China.\n \n \n \n Though diets of Chinese immigrants to Australia change post migration, particularly in relation to breakfast, due to convenience, awareness of this change is low. Low awareness of dietary change along with lack of knowledge relating to healthy eating, could be a mechanism for adoption of unhealthy dietary patterns that may contribute to increased chronic disease risk for Chinese immigrants over time.\n \n \n \n No funding to declare.\n