Development of scales to measure dietary acculturation among Chinese-Americans and Chinese-Canadians.
OBJECTIVE
To develop simple scales to measure a Chinese immigrant's adoption of Western eating patterns (dietary acculturation).


METHODS
Data are from 244 less-acculturated women of Chinese ethnicity living in Seattle, Wash, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Interviewers collected information on sociodemographic characteristics, acculturation indices, items that reflect Western and Chinese dietary behavior, and consumption of fruits, vegetables, and fat.


METHODS
Analysis of variance and linear regression analyses examined associations among dietary measures and acculturation variables, controlling for age, education, and city of residence.


RESULTS
We developed 2 scales to assess dietary acculturation: the Western Dietary Acculturation Scale and the Chinese Dietary Acculturation Scale, measuring Western and Chinese eating behavior, respectively. Although the population in this study was a less-acculturated sample, most participants reported some Western dietary practices, such as drinking milk (78%), eating cheese (78%), eating at Western fast-food restaurants (56%), and eating between meals (72%). Younger, highly educated women employed outside the home had the highest Western dietary acculturation scores (P < .001). Women with high scores on the Western scale reported higher-fat dietary behaviors and had increased fruit and vegetable intake since immigration compared to those with lower scores (P < .001). There was good agreement between the dietary acculturation scales and traditional acculturation indicators (P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Nutrition programs for immigrant/minority groups may be more effective if they are tailored to level of dietary acculturation. Therefore, the ability to accurately assess dietary acculturation is an important component of nutrition education, interventions, and counseling in these populations.
Satia
J A
JA
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Cancer Prevention Research Program, 1100 Fairview Ave, N, MP-702, Seattle, WA 98109-1024, USA.
Patterson
R E
RE
Kristal
A R
AR
Hislop
T G
TG
Yasui
Y
Y
Taylor
V M
VM
D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001213:Asian; D001955:British Columbia; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004651:Employment; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006285:Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D014675:Vegetables; D014861:Washington
D004041:Dietary Fats