title: Asian Indian views on diet and health in the United States: importance of understanding cultural and social factors to address disparities.
abstract: This study describes Asian Indian immigrant perspectives surrounding dietary beliefs and practices to identify intervention targets for diabetes and heart disease prevention. Participants were asked about conceptualizations of relationships between culture, food, and health during 4 focus groups (n = 38). Findings reveal influences of beliefs from respondents' native India, preservation of cultural practices within the US social structure, conflicts with subsequent generations, and reinterpretation of health-related knowledge through a lens, hybridizing both "native" and "host" contexts. Galvanization of ethnically valued beliefs incorporating family and community structures is needed for multipronged approaches to reduce disproportionate burdens of disease among this understudied minority community.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
authors.forename: Arnab
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mukherjea
authors.forename: Kelsey Clark
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Underwood
authors.forename: Anita L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Susan L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Ivey
authors.forename: Alka M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kanaya
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D003469:Culture; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology*; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014481:United States