[Nutrition among Moroccan immigrants in the community of Madrid: factors affecting the choice of food].
OBJECTIVE
To describe the main characteristics of the diet of Marrocan immigrants in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, and to explore the factors that may influence their selection of foods.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study. Two-stage cluster sampling of 179 immigrants.


METHODS
Health Area number 6 of the Autonomous Community of Madrid.


METHODS
Marrocan immigrants, older than 14 years of age who had lived in Spain more than 3 months.


METHODS
Personal interview including a 24-hours recall of food consumption. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression using SPSS 8.0 for Windows.


RESULTS
The factors that have a larger influence in the food consumed are the age of the person, whether the person lives in a couple or not, and whether the person is able to read and write in Spanish. Gender and number of years living in Spain had very limited or no influence in the food items referred to as consumed by the person. Conclusions. The results of our study contrast with findings from studies conducted in other countries. The diet of the immigrants in our study would seem to become more varied and balanced, and therefore improve, with the progression of the acculturation process, with age and in people who live with their partners. People who have migrated recently have a less varied diet and may be proned to suffer nutritional deficiences.
Montoya Sáez
P P
PP
Departamento de Salud Internacional, Escuela Nacional de Sanidad, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid.
Torres Cantero
A M
AM
Torija Isasa
M E
ME
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009018:Morocco / Q000208:ethnology; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D013030:Spain; D014171:Transients and Migrants