Draw and Tell: Dietary Acculturation as Lived by Black Immigrant Children of African and Caribbean Descent Residing in Canada

Application of the Social Cognitive Theory amid food parenting practices of Black immigrant mothers in the US: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Children of Black immigrant parents living in the US are at elevated risk of being overweight or obese, thus increasing their risks of morbidity and mortality as they age. Parents play a crucial role in shaping their children's nutrition through their food parenting practices. The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) can explain Black immigrant mother's FPP and their children's dietary behavior. This study aimed to assess SCT's constructs, personal (maternal knowledge, attitudes, beliefs) and environmental factors (acculturation) in relation to the behavioral factor (food parenting practices) among a sample of Black immigrant mothers living in Metro Atlanta, Georgia.

METHODS

Convenience sampling was employed to recruit 30 Black immigrant mothers who lived in seven Metro Atlanta, Georgia counties in the summer of 2022. Four focus group interviews were conducted over two weeks. The qualitative data analysis was thematic.

RESULTS

Focus group data analysis revealed seven major themes: knowledge, attitude, belief, modeling, acculturation, coercive control, and structure, and six subthemes. Mothers discussed being intentional about encouraging healthy foods and limiting unhealthy foods for their children. Overall, acculturation influenced mothers' food parenting practices. Since migrating to the US, some mothers' nutrition changed in positive (e.g., eating more fruits) and negative ways (e.g., snacking more) because of schedules, cost, and access. Children ate a mixed diet, the mother's native diet and the American diet, and the former was considered healthier and affordable by most.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study to look at the food parenting practices of Black immigrants in the US. By identifying key factors that influence the food parenting practices of this population and their children's dietary habits, this study's findings are useful to practitioners or researchers who work with this population on nutrition.

Children's evaluations of culturally diverse lunchbox foods

Previous research indicates that children make ingroup-outgroup judgments based on notions of food conventionality and that ethnic minority children have been teased or bullied for bringing non-conventional foods to school. This series of three studies experimentally investigated U.S. school-age children's evaluations of culturally diverse lunchbox foods. Study 1 examined an online sample of children aged 5 to 12 years and their evaluations of foods from four cultures (mainstream American, Chinese, Indian, and Mexican) on the taste, smell, and messiness of the food, the appropriateness of bringing the food to school, and whether "cool kids" eat the food. Compared with the mainstream American lunchbox, children rated the Chinese, Indian, and Mexican lunchboxes as less tasty, more messy, and less likely that cool kids would bring those foods to school. In Studies 2 and 3, we examined children's behavioral choices in a hypothetical cafeteria. In both studies, we found that the match between children's own lunch preferences and what was displayed in the mainstream American lunchbox was the only predictor of children's choice to sit at the table with the American lunchbox. Individual variables (e.g., child age, food pickiness) and contextual variables (e.g., neighborhood diversity) did not predict children's table choices. This research highlights children's understanding of familiarity and conventionality of foods and the social consequences of their behavioral choices.

The extent and nature of children's involvement in food practice research: a scoping review of qualitative studies

OBJECTIVE

Aligning with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, amplification of children's voice in food practice research aims to inform initiatives that cater to children's needs and thus improve nutritional outcomes. The aim of this study was to describe children's (aged 6-11 years) involvement across qualitative research investigating their food practice perspectives.

DESIGN

A scoping review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Six electronic databases were searched up until March 2023 (Cochrane, CINAHL, Embase, ERIC, Medline and PsychInfo). The Wellcome Framework for young people's involvement in health research guided data extraction. Data were described according to inclusiveness, geography, food-related study topic, research stage and method, and child involvement.

RESULTS

The search identified 120 peer-reviewed studies (134 papers). Active participation was only seen within research implementation stages (i.e. data collection (n 134), analysis (n 31), dissemination (n 9) and re-design (n 7)). More passive forms of participation were identified in research design stages (i.e. agenda setting, resourcing and design). Studies that utilised participatory research methodologies and developmentally appropriate and engaging methods (e.g. PhotoVoice) saw more active participation by children.

CONCLUSION

This review identified a lack of opportunities for children's active participation in all stages of food practice research. Without a radical shift towards providing these opportunities, food and nutrition initiatives, policies or further research that do not meet the needs of children's food-related worlds will continue to be developed. Instead, researchers and their institutions need to advocate for and, where possible, provide voluntary opportunities for children to actively participate in food practice research.

Assessing the Validity and Reliability of a French Version of the Child Feeding Questionnaire among Black Mothers Living in Ottawa (Canada)

The Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) is a well-established tool used to assess parental beliefs, attitudes, and child feeding practices, with a focus on childhood obesity proneness. To date, there is no French version of the CFQ, nor any Canadian studies assessing its construct validity. The aim of this study was to assess the construct validity and the reliability of a French version of the CFQ among Black mothers (n = 136) of school-aged children living in Ottawa (Canada). The final best fitting model included 7 factors, 20 items, and 1 error covariance. This model was retained as the final model as it (1) excluded two items with very low factor loadings; (2) had the lowest χ², AIC, BIC, RMSEA, and SRMR values; and (3) had CFI and TLI values ≥ 0.95. Internal consistency ranged from poor to good; the restriction subscale had the lowest internal consistency, followed by the perceived responsibility, pressure to eat, perceive child weight, concern about child weight, and monitoring scales, respectively. Our results showed that a seven-factor model with minor modifications was best fitted to the current data. Future studies are needed to test the validity and reliability of the CFQ in other population groups and among fathers.

Food environment interactions after migration: a scoping review on low- and middle-income country immigrants in high-income countries

Objective:

To map and characterise the interactions between the food environment and immigrant populations from low- and middle-income countries living in high-income countries.

Design:

A scoping review was carried out following the framework outlined by Arksey and O’Malley, as well as Levac et al. Peer-reviewed studies in English published between 2007 and 2021 were included. Two reviewers screened and selected the papers according to predefined inclusion criteria and reporting of results follows the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A ‘Best fit’ framework synthesis was carried out using the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO) framework.

Setting:

High-income countries.

Participants:

Immigrants from low- and middle-income countries.

Results:

A total of sixty-eight articles were included, primarily based in the USA, as well as Canada, Australia and Europe, with immigrants originating from five regions of the globe. The analysis identified three overarching themes that interconnected different aspects of the food environment in addition to the four themes of the ANGELO framework. They demonstrate that in valuing fresh, healthy and traditional foods, immigrants were compelled to surpass barriers in order to acquire these, though children’s demands, low incomes, time scarcity and mobility influenced the healthiness of the foods acquired.

Conclusion:

This study brought together evidence on interactions between immigrant populations and the food environment. Immigrants attempted to access fresh, traditional, healthier food, though they faced structural and family-level barriers that impacted the healthiness of the food they acquired. Understanding the food environment and interactions therein is key to proposing interventions and policies that can potentially impact the most vulnerable.

Factors associated with feeding practices of black immigrant mothers of African and Caribbean origin living in Ottawa, Canada

In Canada, Black immigrant women and their children are at higher risk of developing obesity. Factors that could influence children's weight status include parental feeding practices. Feeding practices such as monitoring, restriction and pressure to eat, are well studied among non-Hispanic White and Latinos groups, however, little is known about the feeding practices of Black immigrant parents of African and Caribbean origin. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with feeding practices of Black immigrant mothers in Ottawa, Canada. The sample includes 188 Black mothers of African and Caribbean origin and their 6-12-year-old children. The Child Feeding Questionnaire was used to assess mothers' feeding practices. Demographic and socioeconomic data were collected using questionnaires. All participants' weight status was determined from measured weight and height. Pearson Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regressions were performed. Results showed that mothers who felt responsible for feeding their children were more likely to monitor their children's food intake (p < 0.05). While mothers of children with underweight or normal weight were more like to use pressure to eat (p < 0.01), mothers of children with overweight or obesity were more like to use restriction (P < 0.05). Recent immigrant mothers were also more likely to use pressure to eat (P < 0.05). This study also provides evidence for associations between maternal feeding practices and mothers' weight status, household income and food security status. Findings build on previous research suggesting that parental feeding practices vary based on parents' and children's characteristics. Longitudinal studies are needed to assess the directionality of the association between mothers' feeding practices, and children's weight, diet quality and health in this population.

Food, culture, and identity in multicultural societies: Insights from Singapore

The choice of food practices can be influenced by one's identity in many societies, but has mostly been evaluated in light of the maintenance of cultural identity in migrant populations. This study focused on understanding the influence of identity on food practices among individuals in multicultural societies. We conducted 18 focus group discussions (n = 130) among Indian, Chinese and Malay women in Singapore. Focus group transcripts were analysed using Thematic Analysis both inductively and deductively. Deductive analysis was framed within a Social Representations Approach, a social psychological theory that allows a deeper understanding of the contextual aspects of identity. Participants highlighted the central position of food in social events, cultural celebrations, and persistent traditional beliefs about health (such as 'hot-cold balance'). These beliefs extended to the perception of certain traditional foods possessing medicinal properties. Importantly, the consumption of these traditional foods was accepted as necessary for the maintenance of health by the women. We propose that while cultural food practices are integral to identity preservation and identity continuity for Singaporean women from all three racial groups, this is different to other multicultural societies such as Canada where communities preserve their cultural food practices, in part, due to fear of cultural identity loss. In addition, cross-cultural food practices are readily adopted in participants' daily lives for a number of reasons such as the promotion of health, convenience, and variety. At times, this adoption blurred boundaries between different cultural cuisines. Food practices in multicultural societies like Singapore are thus a reflection of everyday multiculturalism, multicultural social policies, and attitudes towards traditional healthful food practices, and these aspects need to be considered in the development of public health policies and interventions.

Acculturation and Dietary Acculturation among Arab Muslim Immigrants in Canada

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to assess Arab Muslim immigrant mothers’ acculturation level, to explore apparent links between acculturation level and experiences of dietary changes, and to gather information on factors affecting dietary acculturation.

Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews focusing on food choices were conducted with 24 mothers who had been in Canada 5 years or more. An adapted version of an existing acculturation scale was used to assess participants’ perception of their own acculturation.

Results: Arab Muslim mothers retain traditional food preparation. However, several factors led to changes in their daily food consumption such as children’s preferences, time concerns, and availability of Arabic food. No significant relation was found between measured levels of acculturation and the adoption of Canadian food behaviour or the retention of preparation and consumption of traditional foods (dietary acculturation); however, a greater length of stay in Canada was somewhat associated with limitations on preparing traditional food. The findings indicated that many of the Arab Muslim mothers interviewed retain important aspects of their traditional cuisine.

Conclusions: Dietary acculturation for Arab Muslim immigrants to Canada involved a balance between carrying forward food-related traditions and adapting to Canadian culture, including Canada’s food culture.

"Food is Environmentally and Culturally Specific!": A Preliminary Qualitative Study on U.S. Immigrant Parents' Perceptions of School Lunch

Children spend most of their day hours in school, so the dietary choices they make during school days are important for their childhood development and later life. This research examined food choices among immigrant families with school-age children in Indiana, USA. Open-ended questions were answered by 52 immigrant parents in 2017. Parents who answered the questions had children in classes ranging from kindergarten to grade 12. NVivo 11 was used for the initial analysis of the dataset, and several themes were identified. After the initial analysis, the data were categorized into major themes to condense the themes. Thirty-eight (73%) of the respondents indicated that their children ate school lunch, 14 (27%) indicated that they prepared lunch for their children to eat at school, and 39 (75%), mostly from non-industrialized countries, indicated that their children ate their home-country staple foods for dinner and on non-school days. Parents indicated that schools are serving the needs of immigrant children by serving varieties of foods during lunchtime.

Growing Roots: A Newcomer Nutrition Program Designed Using Action Research Methods

Many newcomers to Canada struggle with food insecurity and the health impacts of dietary acculturation. "Growing Roots" is a newcomer nutrition program designed through a community development approach to help immigrants and refugees adapt positively to the Canadian food environment. This qualitative action research project documented the development, implementation and impacts of the program in an inner city neighbourhood of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Data was collected through oral questionnaires and interviews. Impacts included: 1) Healthy adaptation to the Canadian foodscape; 2) Enhanced nutrition knowledge and behaviours; 3) Improvements to food security status; and 4) Enhanced social networks.