Does American Foods Affect Foreigners?
Impact of Dietary Acculturation on the Food Habits, Weight, Blood Pressure, and Fasting Blood Glucose Levels of International College Students by Amal Almohanna
Summary
In this article, Ms. Almohana, Dr. Conforti, Dr. Eigel, and Dr. Barbeau conducted a study of recently arrived international students who came to the United States to study at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. They had 35 participants from many countries go through a study to test the difference they had in their health when adjusting to the American traditional foods. Students were tested during 3 different types of periods during the 2010 Fall semester where their weight, height, blood pressure, and fasting glucose would be tested. They did not acquire any specific diet rules, they were just to follow their everyday and regular diet they had. During their 3 visits asked from the students, in conclusion to all the time being in school, their food habits changed as they adjusted to eating American foods. They gained weight as time went by because of the American foods, others who tried to stay with their native foods but American foods came more often causing them to gain weight. In terms of their health, it kept getting worse as they began eating more American foods. The quote that really stood out to me was, “They gained weight the longer they were in the United States.” I think it’s a great quote to use because it’s a wakeup call to me about what foods are provided to me in the United States. Not only that but how we can notice that that people from another country came and gained weight in the country I live in.
American Food Habits Have Negative Effects on Foreigners. Like in the research conducted in Virginia Tech. International students tend to be the most affected. College students tend to be very busy, when it comes to food, there is no time to cook so they need a quick meal to go through their day. Me being a college student, I tend to eat fast foods, like burgers and fries. International students may or may not have these choices back home, but here in the states, fast food is what you can get anywhere for sure, fast, cheap, and tasty. These foods can cause people to gain weight because they are not organic, they are processed and meant to last long in a cold freezer. In the research above, the international students gaining weight can be explained by Micheal Pollan's "Unhappy Meals." Pollan describes how food has evolved over time with companies making products that cause diseases and increase obesity, so the international students new adapted food habits are causing them to gain weight because of Americas food competitions.