Page 80 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

culture, or become alienated from both cultures.
The relationship between acculturation and dietary habits is well known. Longer exposure to a culture will

result in higher acculturation. This can be observed with dietary recalls, food frequency questionnaires, and
general dietary patterns. For example, Latinos residing in the United States for longer periods of time
compared with new immigrants have been shown to increase sugar-sweetened beverage use while reducing
their fiber intake from beans and fresh fruits. In addition, the globalization of the Western diet has also had
an effect on the traditional diets consumed in many countries.12 Newer immigrants were also less likely to
shop with a written list of foods to purchase and tended to buy key familiar foods.13,14

As a nutrition practitioner, it is important to understand the concept of acculturation. One must
understand acculturation so that they gain a better comprehension of the factors that hamper or enhance
particular food choices. Practitioners must not assume that all dietary acculturation is healthy or unhealthy.8
For example, an Asian who acculturates to the dominant American culture by eating fast food would be
viewed as making unhealthy food choices, yet an Asian who maintains the minority group’s traditional diet
rich in whole grains and rice would be seen as healthy. Gender differences may also be seen. The nutrition
and dietetics professionals must identify whether acculturation to the American culture is influencing chronic
disease factors, and if so how.7

CASE ANALYSIS 3

What activities can Judy plan in the community to educate these diverse groups? What advice would you
share with Judy to make her efforts successful?

Diversity in the Workplace

There has always been diversity in the workplace, but government legislation mandating equal employment
opportunities, affirmative action, and access for people with disabilities spurred changes in the 1960s and
beyond.15 Figure 4-2 shows the changing patterns of immigration from 2005 to 2010 from the US Census
Bureau.4 The annual influx of new immigrants, most recently people of Asian and Hispanic descent, has
contributed to cultural diversity in the workplace. In earlier years, most immigrants came from Europe and
Canada. More recently, immigrants have come from Asia, Mexico, Latin America, and Central America. By
2060, it is estimated that no racial or ethnic group will be traditionally classified as “minorities” but individuals
under the age of 18 years will increase from 48% to 64%.4,16

Challenges of Diversity

Many immigrants who choose to make the United States their home face issues of assimilation. Generally, the
first generation of immigrants has the most difficulty adapting to American culture. Many of them experience
problems in speaking and interpreting the English language. Literacy can often be the biggest problem for
nonnative learners or clients who must now read or write in English rather than in their native language.
Thus, food and nutrition professionals may experience difficulty in communicating with their employees.

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