Acculturation and Dietary Acculturation among Arab Muslim Immigrants in Canada
Publication: Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
25 March 2019
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this work was to assess Arab Muslim immigrant mothers’ acculturation level, to explore apparent links between acculturation level and experiences of dietary changes, and to gather information on factors affecting dietary acculturation.
Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews focusing on food choices were conducted with 24 mothers who had been in Canada 5 years or more. An adapted version of an existing acculturation scale was used to assess participants’ perception of their own acculturation.
Results: Arab Muslim mothers retain traditional food preparation. However, several factors led to changes in their daily food consumption such as children’s preferences, time concerns, and availability of Arabic food. No significant relation was found between measured levels of acculturation and the adoption of Canadian food behaviour or the retention of preparation and consumption of traditional foods (dietary acculturation); however, a greater length of stay in Canada was somewhat associated with limitations on preparing traditional food. The findings indicated that many of the Arab Muslim mothers interviewed retain important aspects of their traditional cuisine.
Conclusions: Dietary acculturation for Arab Muslim immigrants to Canada involved a balance between carrying forward food-related traditions and adapting to Canadian culture, including Canada’s food culture.
Résumé
Objectif. L’objectif de ce travail était d’évaluer le niveau d’acculturation des mères immigrantes arabo-musulmanes, d’explorer les liens apparents entre le niveau d’acculturation et les expériences de changements de régime alimentaire, et de recueillir de l’information sur les facteurs qui influencent l’acculturation alimentaire.
Méthodes. Des entrevues individuelles semi-structurées axées sur les choix d’aliments ont été menées auprès de 24 mères vivant au Canada depuis au moins cinq ans. Une version adaptée d’une échelle d’acculturation actuelle a été utilisée pour évaluer la perception des participantes de leur propre acculturation.
Résultats. Les mères arabo-musulmanes continuent de préparer des aliments traditionnels. Cependant, plusieurs facteurs ont mené à des changements dans leur consommation quotidienne d’aliments, dont les préférences des enfants, le manque de temps et la disponibilité des aliments arabes. Aucune relation significative n’a été observée entre les niveaux d’acculturation mesurés et l’adoption de comportements alimentaires canadiens ou le maintien de la préparation et de la consommation d’aliments traditionnels (acculturation alimentaire); cependant, un séjour plus long au Canada a été associé dans une certaine mesure à des limitations quant à la préparation des aliments traditionnels. Les conclusions indiquent que plusieurs des mères arabo-musulmanes interrogées conservent des aspects importants de leur cuisine traditionnelle.
Conclusions. L’acculturation alimentaire des immigrants arabo-musulmans au Canada repose sur un équilibre entre la transmission des traditions alimentaires et l’adaptation à la culture canadienne, dont la culture alimentaire.
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Funding source: This research was funding by The Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia under the scholarship of King Salman bin Abdul Aziz. The funder had no role in study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, writing of the article or the decision to submit the article for publication.
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Published In
Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
Volume 80 • Number 4 • December 2019
Pages: 172 - 178
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Version of record online: 25 March 2019
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© 2019.
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RanaAljaroudiPhD, SusanHortonPhD, and Rhona M.HanningPhD, RD, FDC. 2019. Acculturation and Dietary Acculturation among Arab Muslim Immigrants in Canada. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research.
80(4): 172-178. https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2019-008
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