Role Of Culture In Food And Eating Habits Media Essay

Role Of Culture In Food And Eating Habits Media Essay The importance of food can be attributed to the fact that it is one of the most necessary and significant aspect of human life for its survival and well-being (Asp, 1999). Though the main function of food is to serve as an answer to hunger or physiological reasons, it also facilitates the process of security, status, emotions and influencing behavior (Hart et al., 2002). Food also serves as a symbol of social acceptance, friendliness (Cope, Frewer, Houghton, Rowe, Fisher and de Jonge, 2010). In a study by Mckenzie in 1986, he demonstrated that certain food choices define the level of group acceptance, societal prestige and allegiance. Food has various symbolic meanings attached to it, especially amongst Indian societies like cultural identity, religious functions, economic wealth and status, as well as expression of power (Hill, 2002). Eating and food habits relates to the persons history from the time of birth (MacFarlane, A., Crawford, D., Ball, K., Savige, G., and Worsley, A., 2007). With the cultural symbolism attached to foods, eating habits are usually passed on to children from a very young age, so that they can know what is good for them and what is not (hart, Bishop and Truby, 2002). Also, certain eating habits are related to traditional and familial sentiments and hence become a centric part of a persons life ( Remick, Pliner and Mclean, 2009). The food habits define a persons personality based on that persons traditional and cultural pattern (Barclay, Gilbertson, Marsh and Smart, 2010). The role of acculturation in food choices amongst international students Acculturation can be defined as process in which there is cultural and psychological change as a result of interaction between two different cultures (Sam and Berry, 2010). Present day researchers view acculturation as an on-going process which does not end by the dominant culture absorbing the traits of the minority (dela Cruz, Padilla and Agustin, 2000). According to different theoretical framework of acculturation, it is believed that over time the behavior, attitudes and habits of the immigrant population will get molded to portray the population that they have entered (Berry, Phinney, Sam and Vedder, 2006). The migrants step foot into the new culture with certain pre-formed assumption and their process of adjustment is characterized by the presence of essential elements of their culture as well as some of the new culture (Landrine and Klonoff, 2004). The process of acculturation related to food and eating habits is rather complex, usually involving a transitory phase between traditional habits and symbols to the ones related to the new culture (Unger et al., 2004). The immigrants food and eating behavior is influenced due to the differences in the types of food available and the change is usually brought about by modifying or substituting the diet (dela Cruz, Padilla and Agustin, 2000). Factors ranging from eating patterns, food selection and preparation, traditional beliefs of the immigrants, which can be influenced due to ethnicity, length of stay, socio-economic status, knowledge and skills, bring to light the varying levels of acculturation (Barry, 2001). Also, the change in the eating habits of the immigrants can be traced as early as the post First World War era, when people started moving to and from different parts of the world (Escobar and Vega, 2000). These group of immigrants took with them their traditional eating hab its, even established their own shops and restaurants, in the new culture, but the pressure of change faced by them eventually resulted in them having to alter their traditional ways of diet (Gans, 1997). Renowned anthropologist, Sidney Mintz (1994) argues about the change in traditional habits which was due to a shift from core-fringe-legume-pattern to those which have excess sugars and fats. He says that due to the presence of certain food options easily accessible than other, the immigrant groups find themselves taking those options like that of Coca-Cola. There have been some studies done on the effect of immigration on the dietary changes of these groups. These studies found that in certain groups, food habits formed the last aspect to undergo change while in a few there was a large degree of change that happened fast (Schmidt, 2005). In a study by Lundkvist et al., (2010), they talk about immigrants in European countries trying new foods during the early years of their stay, however a complete change in eating habits is not seen until late. There was a gradual change in the eating habits of these groups over years. In another separate study by Jallinoja et al., (2010) showed the degrees of variation in which these immigrant groups take up dietary changes and that in turn affecting their health. Also, it said that the varying degrees of acculturation usually differ with age, with the younger people more susceptible to change quicker than older ones. Conevey and ODwyer (2009) reported in their study about the varied popularity of specific foods amongst different ethnic groups. They found that chicken was popular amongst people of Indian ethnic origin in the United Kingdom. The difference was not much in nutritional value but in the levels of spices and flavorings, methods of cooking and accompanying dishes. Also, they pointed out a gradual decrease over time in this groups consumption of raw fruits and vegetables because of food safety issues. These studies bring to light the fact that acculturation of the immigrant groups depends on their cultural values, which can result in a gradual or rapid change. Acculturation studies on Indian students There are about 428, 225 international students in the United Kingdom and 39,090 students out of which are of Indian origin (UKCISA, 2011). India is the second most number of students coming in this country, only behind China (UKCISA, 2011). These Indian students come here to study in the colleges and universities. The immigration of the Indian students have picked up over the past 10 years, with a steady growth of 1.5% seen every year (UKCISA, 2011). In a study done by Hill (2002) on the food and eating habits of Asian students, reported that a large proportion of them gradually changed from being vegetarians to non-vegetarians over a period of five years post immigration. He also found that those students who stay for longer were more likely to undergo acculturation than those who are exposed to the new culture for a shorter duration. Fjellstrom (2004) reported that the acculturation of dietary habits in Asian students in the United Kingdom was evident from modification of food patterns, changing over to non-vegetarians from vegetarians as well their preference traditional or new cuisines Harvey et al., studied the relation between the length of stay in the United Kingdom and the food habits amongst Indian students. They found that those students who had been here for less than 2 years preferred non-traditional foods and those who have been living longer reported eating their traditional food more often. It was also seen that Asian students in the United Kingdom prefer to have traditional diet in social gatherings with other Asian students, where as the non-traditional foods formed a part of their typical daily diet (Mestdag, 2005). These above mentioned studies offer and insight towards the significant impact of acculturation towards food habits amongst Asian students. However, there have been very little research thus far on the food habits of Indian students in the United Kingdom. Role of culture in Food and Eating habits Nutrition, appetite, cultural and social context are seen as important factors affecting food and health choices (Locher, Yeols,Maurer and can Ellis, 2005).cultural representations is one of the main factors that is associated with food habits, which gets expressed in the type of food preferred by the groups(Seigworth, 2000). These cultural representations have been shown to determine the food, their handling and processing into acceptable and those that are not (Delind, 2006). McGinnis (1999) in his study talked about impact the culture-specific perceptions of food and eating habits on acculturation. Murcott (1982) had examined the British perception towards food, which suggested the way in which this affected dietary changes. She reported the difference in the symbolic nature of meals, i.e. cooked or proper meal, wherein a proper meal was characterized by consisting of meat and two kinds of vegetables, without any accompanying sides. She said that to the British women it signified the most important meal of the day, essential to be healthy and that it is be taken at home, thereby to light the meanings and ideas related to food and healthy habits. Hill (2012) reported in his study that people attached different cultural reasons to their food habits. He said that food habits can relate to a number of reasons ranging from nutrition, maintain social status, dealing with stress and tension, influencing behaviors and religious expressions. There is also separate belief that even though peoples food habits is largely individualistic, there is a degree of association to the cultural beliefs of what is acceptable and which are not (Barreiro-Hurlà ©, J., Gracia, A., and de  Magistris, T., 2010). In a separate story, Rozin (2005) mentions different determinants for food behavior and that culture and beliefs was one of them. He also said that cultural patterns was related to certain environmental conditions like geographical conditions, food availability and that social patterns were related to the support structure around in the form of friends and family. The food and eating habits of immigrations student showed an attachment towards transitional diet patterns, which served as psychological support during acculturations (Durant, 2011). Qualitative and Quantitative research have been used to understand food and eating habits, with quantitative research including linear measures to assess change and qualitative research used to understand peoples perceptions and attitudes (Bonnekessen, 2010). It was seen in qualitative study that female students tend to categorize foods into healthy and un-healthy ones, with the unhealthy option signifying the cause of increase in weight, depression, independence and the healthy options to indicate well-being, familial connections (Michels and Wolk, 2002). It has been seen that the food habits of Indian students are affected by various factors like culture, economic status, attitudes and knowledge and that are different based on the region, caste and socio-economic status (Guthman, 2008). Also in the context of Indian cultural beliefs, food is often considered as a source of pleasure and happiness and cooking as an important aspect of daily life (Brunner, Horst and Seigrist, 2010). F ood always has played an important part in the Indian culture, with eating and food habits dominating a major part of the life (Murcott, 2000). The Indian cuisine involves a complex process of preparation with consideration towards flavor, taste, color and spice contents, which epitomizes the Indian way of eating; and its way of preparation and enjoyment makes it a unique food culture (Edwards, Meiselman, Ragunathan and Lesher, 2003). One of the most important part of an Indian diet is rice, which is essential and important in their daily diet (Mckevith, 2004). A meal in the Indian culture symbolizes the occasion of family togetherness, where the whole family including the relatives and friends come together, making it an important sociable event (Christakis, 2010). The traditional daily meal usually would consist of the breakfast, lunch and dinner, wherein, the dinner forms the most important meal of the day (Meiselman, 2008). These presents a picture in which one can assume that acculturation and changing food habits for Indian students in the United Kingdom would be a difficult process, considering the cultural values and the knowledge and attitudes. Research has also shown that dietary changes can also be resultant of certain food availability, prices, peer pressure and new types of food (Benson et al., 2008). In order to study the acculturation amongst Indian students in Leeds Metropolitan University, the Food Patterning model (Mishra et al., 2006) and Trends theory (Berghofer, 2005). The Food Patterning model states that changes in diet is a two way process, one which persuades an individual to continue with the traditional form of diet and other opposing that state (Mishra et al., 2006). This model illustrates the association of foods to different cultural context, wherein the change in food habits runs parallel to an expanse between identity and taste as its end markers. According to Mishra et al. (2006), the process of meal composition by an immigrant involves a mix of traits of traditional foods along with those from the new culture, thereby indicating an effort to strike a balance between traditional identity and new taste. Also, they believed that even though the immigrants primarily donot change their traditional diet pattern, however it is not the same as before they came here. Berghofer (2005) in his study pertaining to acculturation process in immigration students, talks about two specific trends that are used by the students to understand dietary changes. One of which, termed as the secular trend involves understanding the change process as beneficial towards better western diet however, the other trend, termed as victims of progress trend, says that the change to westernized diet is not beneficial. However, as mentioned by Berghofer, the distinction between the advantages and disadvantages are more complicated and the study of acculturation rarely points out specifically to the benefits or shortcomings. These theories and models bring about certain interesting perspective about the acculturation process of the Indian students. In a study, it was seen that the immigrant students adopted new British foods like sweets, cakes while avoiding meats, beef (De Castro, 2009). In a separate study, it was reported that the male students lack of cooking skills due to the fact of not having cooked in India was one of the factors leading to change in food and eating habits (Shetty, 2010). Also, it showed that the increased Westernization of the diet amongst Indian students is seen as one of the factors for higher risk from chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart disease (Shetty, 2010). So, based on these studies, one can argue that if these students fall on the Berghofers (2005) Victims of progress trend, as the change in dietary habits has been seen to lead to deterioration of their health status. These provided an useful insight in the acculturation process of the Indian students in Leeds Metropolitan University, considering the involvement of a wide variety of factors.