|
Extensive research has pointed out the importance of acculturation in dietary behaviors and food
choices. Acculturation is defined as the modification of the culture of a group or individual by contact
with a different culture, for our purposes the process by which immigrants adjust to the values, customs,
beliefs and behaviors of a new mainstream culture. The following chart exemplifies some of the
behaviors involved in the acculturation process in Latinos with diabetes.
Typically, Latino individuals living less than 10 years in the US manifest a lower level of acculturation
in comparison with those Latinos who have lived here for a longer time. Individuals with a low level
of acculturation still maintain many of the healthy practices from their country, meaning that they
maintain their original dietary practices and physical activity behaviors.
There is a higher risk for negative health outcomes for those Latinos living in the intermediate level of
acculturation, since they have forgotten their healthy practices and have acquired negative behaviors in
terms of diet and lack of physical activity.
Once they have acquired a higher level of acculturation, Latinos may or may not manifest different or
new behavioral strategies in terms of diet and physical activities from the mainstream group.
As you can see from the following graph, those Latinos living at the intermediate level are the ones that
have the highest health risk.
A recent report, Hispanics and Health Care in the United States: Access, Information and Knowledge,
listed the following key findings:
- Foreign born and less assimilated Latinos are less likely than other Latinos
to report that they have a usual place to go for their health care needs.
- About seven in 10 respondents reported they had seen a physician in the past
year and 77 percent of them rated their care as excellent.
- More than 83 percent stated that they obtained health information (and more
than three-quarters acted upon it) from media sources, in particular television.
- Fifty-eight percent of respondents scored high on a test assessing their
knowledge on diabetes.
<<PREVIOUS | NEXT>>
|
