Masculinities, diet and senior Punjabi Sikh immigrant men: food for Western thought?

The high rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease among Punjabi Sikh (PS) men are often linked to diet. Although some high fat and sugar foods in both traditional and Western foods negatively influence these illnesses, little is known about what underpins PS immigrant men's dietary practices. This article details the connections between masculinities and diet to reveal how varying gendered ideals can inform and influence the practices of senior PS Canadian immigrant men who attended community-based men's groups. Participants' masculine ideals and their alignment to those ideals were deeply rooted in spirituality and traditional cultures, which shaped the use of specific foods and beverages, yet there was also evidence that the availability and affordability of dairy products and alcohol in Canada strongly influenced men's diets. While the men's group leaders educated attendees about diet, ideologies reinforcing ties between femininities and the cooking of meals often prevailed. Linkages between participants' masculine ideals and dietary practices were both similar and discordant with the findings reported in studies of Western men. The findings drawn from this study may direct what, how and where dietary messages are targeted to senior PS Canadian immigrant men.

British Gujarati Indian immigrants' and British Caucasians' beliefs about health and illness

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

This study examined cultural differences in beliefs about health and illness to explore differences in younger and older British Caucasians' and British Gujarati Indian immigrants' beliefs about health and illness.

METHODS

This study required a matched group consisting of first- and second-generation Gujarati Indian immigrants and native British Caucasians to complete a questionnaire assessing their beliefs concerning health and illness.

RESULTS

Factor analysis of the health beliefs questionnaire identified six clear factors accounting for 36.04% of the variance. Subsequent ANCOVAs conducted on the factor scores, partialling out the demographic differences between the participants, revealed that Gujarati Indian immigrants agreed with items reflecting supernatural explanations of ill health more than indigenous British Caucasian participants. Older Indian immigrants also rated chance-related factors as more important than older Caucasian immigrants. There were no significant differences between the Gujarati Indian immigrants and British Caucasians in terms of attributions made to psychological factors and self-responsibility, social factors and life circumstances, medical treatment and physical vulnerability and the external environment.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings are discussed in relation to the model proposed by Helman (2001) and the impact of migration on health beliefs systems; practical implications of the findings are also highlighted.