Journal of Health and Social Behavior
Volume 59, Issue 4, 2018, Pages 601-624

Dietary Assimilation among Mexican Children in Immigrant Households: Code-switching and Healthy Eating across Social Institutions (Article)

Dondero M.* , Van Hook J. , Frisco M.L. , Martin M.A.
  • a American University, Washington, DC, United States
  • b The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
  • c The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
  • d The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States

Abstract

Immigrant health assimilation is often framed as a linear, individualistic process. Yet new assimilation theory and structural theories of health behavior imply variation in health assimilation as immigrants and their families interact with different US social institutions throughout the day. We test this idea by analyzing how two indicators of dietary assimilation—food acculturation and healthy eating—vary throughout the day as Mexican children in immigrant households consume food in different institutional settings. Using individual fixed-effects models and data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we find that Mexican children in immigrant households (N = 2,337) engage in “dietary code-switching,” eating more acculturated but not necessarily less healthy food in schools and more acculturated but less healthy food in restaurants compared to homes. Findings advance theory and knowledge about how social institutions condition dietary assimilation in particular and health assimilation more broadly. © American Sociological Association 2018.

Author Keywords

health assimilation social institutions dietary assimilation Healthy eating diet Children of immigrants Mexican immigrants

Index Keywords

immigrant household human Health Behavior Schools diet feeding behavior restaurant Humans migrant male Emigrants and Immigrants Acculturation female Mexican cultural factor school Article nutrition major clinical study Nutrition Surveys Mexican Americans public health Mexican American Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85057266795&doi=10.1177%2f0022146518809995&partnerID=40&md5=ece15a8247cf3095de86eaf613cc7f1a
DOI: 10.1177/0022146518809995
ISSN: 00221465
Cited by: 1
Original Language: English