title: Acculturation and nutritional health of immigrants in Canada: a scoping review.
abstract: Although recent immigrants to Canada are healthier than Canadian born (i.e., the Healthy Immigrant Effect), they experience a deterioration in their health status which is partly due to transitions in dietary habits. Since pathways to these transitions are under-documented, this scoping review aims to identify knowledge gaps and research priorities related to immigrant nutritional health. A total of 49 articles were retrieved and reviewed using electronic databases and a stakeholder consultation was undertaken to consolidate findings. Overall, research tends to confirm the Healthy Immigrant Effect and suggests that significant knowledge gaps in nutritional health persist, thereby creating a barrier to the advancement of health promotion and the achievement of maximum health equity. Five research priorities were identified including (1) risks and benefits associated with traditional/ethnic foods; (2) access and outreach to immigrants; (3) mechanisms and coping strategies for food security; (4) mechanisms of food choice in immigrant families; and (5) health promotion strategies that work for immigrant populations.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Thompson Hall-35 University Private (room 036), Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada, dsanou@uottawa.ca.
authors.forename: Dia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sanou
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
authors.forename: Ismael
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ngnie-Teta
authors.forename: Malek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Batal
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mondain
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Andrew
authors.forename: Bruce K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Newbold
authors.forename: Ivy L
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Bourgeault
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D002170:Canada; D003710:Demography; D004032:Diet / Q000208:ethnology*; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000208:ethnology*; D005523:Food Supply; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D009752:Nutritional Status