Amira Elmalawny

Writing and Inquiry in Academic Contexts

Stephanie Otis
2 October 2014
Source Response 1
Food practices, changes, preferences and acculturation of Arab students in
US universities is an Article that informs the reader about a survey taken to
understand the food consumption of someone who was born in an Arab country and
is a student at a United States university.
The population of Arabs in the United States has grown rapidly in the past
few decades, as well as many other minority groups. This article says that obesity
has increased more for some minority groups than for non-Hispanic whites. As the
population of minorities increases so does obesity. This can cause a public health
issue, The rapidly increasing immigrant population also makes the health status of
minorities an increasingly important public health issue. The article says speaks of
how this can affect the immigrants, immigrants may adopt dietary changes that
increase chronic disease risk, such as US dietary patterns high in fat and low in fruits
and vegetables (Satia-About a et al., 2002)
Even though this article focuses on Arab students and their diet it also
mentions my other minorities as well. For example the it mentions how Korean food
has decreased in the United States so therefore many college students that are from
Asia and Thailand have decreased their consumption of their traditional food and

increased their consumption of American foods. These immigrants are dealing with
acculturation because they are adapting to the culture.
Most of the Arabs that were surveyed were Muslim Arabs. Therefore they
have religious beliefs for certain consumptions. Muslims cannot eat pork or
consume alcohol. Muslims also have to fast all day during the month of Ramadan.
The questionnaire asked questions about the students characteristics as well
as questions like their weight change since they moved, religious dietary practices,
special diets, and a general idea of what they eat. It categorized the foods by the
Food Guide Pyramid, drinks, and Arabic dishes. The students had to rate their food,
Participants rated each food three times, indicating consumption frequency (mean
number of times consumed each day, week, month or year) in the country of origin
and in the US, and rating liking on a 9-point hedonic scale (Meilgaard et al ., 1999;
Weaver and Brittin, 2001; Sukalakamala and Brittin, 2006).
After viewing the results the students were compared to each other and
there was also comparison of what they ate in the United States and what they ate at
their country of origin. Arabs seem to be acculturating just to the United States is
what was found by this study. Although some seemed to be headed for obesity,
They seem to be adapting fairly well nutritionally, although weight gain and mean
body mass indexes above or near the top of the desirable range indicate a need for
programmes targeting obesity prevention. This study can help future immgrants
adapt to living in the US and help them stay health, Results from this study can be
used in the nutrition education and care of Arabs in the US and in multicultural
education.