Crane, Nancy T. and Nancy R. Green. 1980June. Food habits and food preferences of Vietnamese refugees living in northern Florida. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 76: 591-593.
Food habits are an aspect of culture in which personal, social, and situational factors interplay. When people are relocated from one society to another, differences in both customs and food production capabilities may influence the foods they eat. Familiar foods may be less available, and new foods more so.
Several studies have reported on food habits of immigrants who have settled in the United States. None of these, however, focused on the most recent and massive immigration, that of Vietnamese refugees. Between April 1975 and march 1977, 144,758 refugees were admitted to the United States from South vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia (1). The influex of vietnamese continues today. For some Vietnamese, the cost of resettlement may be high and may include not only challenges of cross-cultural adjustment but also separation from family and acceptance of a lower station in life (2). Many of the former inhabitants of South Vietnam have settled in the states of California and Florida, which have climates and coastlines similar to those of their homeland. This study was designed to determine food habits and preferences of Vietnamese refugees living in northern Florida, to explore the extent of dietary change resulting from resettlement in the United States, and to provide dietitians with some information about the dietary patterns of the refugees.
Dietary assessment
The population for this survey consisted of 260 vietnamese refugee families residing in leon, bay, and Escambia Counties in northern Florida. Names and addresses were obtained from Catholic Social Services in Pensacola, which functions as a resettlement office for Vietnamese families. A three-part questionnaire was developed to investigate: (a) Food habits of Vietnamese refugees as defined by the frequency of consumption of food groups, (b) change in food habits as defined by an increase or decrease in consumption of specified foods after resettlement in the United States, (c) food preferences, and (d) identification of food-related problems associated with relocation.
Part I of the questionnaire, in multiple-choice format, requested information about the subjects and about food habits (e.g., familiarity with the preparation of American meals and frequency of eating out). Part II, a food frequency technique adapted from Cosper (3), was designed to determine the average number of days each week a specific food item was eaten. Change in food habits was determined by comparing frequency of consumption of a food item in the United States with that in vietnam. Part III was a food preference check-list to indicate degree of liking for specified American and vietnamese foods.
A possible bias in mail surveys is that respondents may differ from non-respondents because of the understanding required to complete questionnaire was translated into Vietnamese and revised after review by two vietnamese students at florida State University. A letter explaining the nature and importance of the survey was mailed with the questionnaire to vietnamese families. The head of the household was asked to complete the questionnaire since he/she was presumed to have the educational level needed to respond accurately. Of the 260 questionnaires mailed, 79 (30 per cent) were returned. A few questionnaires were only partially completed, presumably because of difficulty in understanding instructions.
Background information on subjects
There were limitations on extrapolating survey results to family (and especially children's) diets and food preferences, because the questionnaire was completed by household head. The majority of respondents (96 per cent) had lived in the United States from two to four years. Sixty-four per cent reported a change in their weight after coming to the United States. Of this 64 per cent, 77 per cent had gained at least 5 lb., and 23 per cent had lost at least that much. The desirability of this weight change is not reported, since the weight of these individuals while in Vietnam is not known. The average yearly income of 45 per cent of the households sampled was under $5,000. Only 12 percent had annual incomes above $11,000.
Eight per cent of the sample did not watch television; 22 per cent watched at least 20 hr. a week. Approximately half (51 per cent) subscribed to one or two American magazines and newspapers; 38 per cent received no American publications. Only 6 per cent ate out frequently (at least once a day); more than half (53 per cent) ate out less than once a month. More than half usually shopped at an Oriental market and a supermarket.
There was a wide fifference of opinion concerning the costs of preparing Vietnamese and American meals. Thirty-five per cent of respondents reported that preparing American meals was more economical; 27 per cent indicated that preparing Vietnamese meals was more economical; and 38 per cent were unable to differentiate. The price ranges for foods included in both Vietnamese and American meals are presumed to account for this disagreement.
General eating habits
Food items consumed five to six times a week by Vietnamese living in the United Sttes included rice, fresh vegetables, milk, soft drinks, and cooking oil (Table 1). Consumption of soft drinks and milk significantly increased over that reported to have been used in Vietnam; consumption of rice and fresh vegetables was about the same. Although these differences are statistically significant at the 0.05 level, the nutritional significance is more meaningful. For example, eating rice on an average of five days instead of six a week, although statistically significant, does not necessarily reflect a change in food habits. Of perhaps more significance is the rise in soft drink consumption from 2.9 times a week in Vietnam to 5.4 times in the United States. Also, average milk consumption increased from 3.9 times a week in Vietnam to five times in this country. A previous study conducted in Vietnam suggested that calcium was lacking in the Vienamese diet (3). The increase in soft drink consumjption is nutritionally and economically significant with respect to sugar intake and additional cost for low-income families.
Foods eaten three to four times a week by vietnamese living in the United States included eggs, pork, beef, chicken, fruit, bread, candy, butter or margarine, coffee, and tea. Of these, tea is the only item that was consumed to a greater extent in Vietnam. Consumption of eggs, beef, fruit, candy, and butter or margarine signficantly increased among the families in the United States. Butter and margarine were used four times a week as compared with twice in Vietnam. No change in eating habits was noted with respect to pork, chicken, bread, and coffee.
Two food groups eaten twice a week were potatoes and fish. A slight increase in potato consumption was apparent. A much larger change, however, was that fish was eaten 2.2 times a week in this country as compared with at least four times a week in Vietnam.
The only food item on the questionnaire that Vietnamese consumed once a week or less was canned vegetables. This is interesting in view of the wide use of vegetables in Vietnamese dishes and the availability of canned vegetables in America.
Because the food intake data were expressed in days per week a food was eaten, the nutritional adequacy of this diet could not be assessed. However, protein intake appeared to be sufficient.
Food Preferences
Not surprisingly, most respondents preferred Vietnamese foods (Table 2). Steak was the only American food these refugees liked as much as or more than vietnamese dishes listed. Fried chicken, pizza, and French fries were the next favorite food items. However, at most, 55 per cent of the respondents liked these foods, the same percentage reporting liking the least favorite Vietnamese foods. Forty-one per cent of the respondents said that they disliked breakfast cereal; 9 per cent liked it. Twenty-six per cent reported disliking sandwiches.
At least 50 per cent of the respondents liked all of the Vietnamese foods listed. The most popular items were chao gio (rice paper rolls filled with various types of meat, egg, and chopped vegetables and deep fried) and nuoc mam (the traditional Vietnamese fish sauce). Other popular dishes included pho (soup with meat and noodles), cha tom (prawn paste wrapped around sugar cane pieces and broiled), banh cuon (steamed rice dumpling), and bo bay mon (beef served in seven varieties). At least half of the respondents enjoyed other dishes, including thit kho (a pork dish), ca kho (a stewed fish dish), canh cai (soup made with vegetables), chao ga (soup with rice and chicken), and pho xao (meat and rice).
Summary
Although the majority of respondents had resided in the United States for less than four years, a change in their food habits was apparent. Foods eaten frequently in Vietnam (fish, rice, fresh vegetables, and tea) were also eatenb frequently in the United States. However, the refugees more frequently ate foods characteristic of the American diet (i.e., milk, beef, butter or margarine, eggs, potatoes, candy, fruit, and soft drinks). No change in the frequency of consumption of pork, chiken, canned vegetables, bread, cooking oil, and coffee was apparent.
The respondents still strongly preferred the Vietnamese cuisine. It is possible that several factors in addition to preference influenced the change in food habits. Among these might be income level, length of time in the United States, media exposure, food availability, and the relative price of foods.
Recognition and identification of the dietary patterns of the Vietnamese refugees is the first step in preparing dietitians and nutritionists to work with this population in food assistance programs, such as the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and in counseling in hospitals.
Another study would be desirable to investigate food preferences of Vietnamese children. With the increased exposure of Vietnam,ese youth to American foods and customs in schools, the food habits of Vietnamese children and adolescents may differ significantly from those of their parents.
References
(1) Vietnamese in the U.S.: fleeing to California. U.S. News & World Report 82:46 (June 13), 1977.
(2) Report to congress by HEW Refugee Task Force, Sept. 20, 1976.
(3) Cosper, B.A. 1972. Personal and social factors related to food choices and eating behavior of selected young to middle-aged adults. Unpublished PH.D. thesis, Kansas State Univ.
(4) Compton, N.H., and O.A. Hall. 1972. Foundations of Home Economics research. Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Co.
(5) Lowenberg, M.E., E.N. Todhunter, E.D. Wilson, J.R. Savage, and J.L. Lubawski. 1974. Food and Man. 2nd ed. N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons.
Other references
Kaufman, M. 1979. Crisis in food, nutrition, and health. J. Am. Dietetic. Association 74: 310.
Know, W. 1974. All Asia Guide. 8th ed. Hong Kong: Far Eastern Economic Review Ltd.
May, J. 1961. The Ecology of Malnutrition in the Far and Near East (Food Resources, Habits, Deficiencies). N.Y.: Hafner Publishing Co.
Steinberg, R. 1972. Pacific and southeast Asian Cooking. N.Y.: Time Inc.