The objective of this review was to describe the existing evidence regarding the dietary behavior and diet of immigrants, their characteristics and the dimensions considered for their study due to the progressive increase in the migration of Latin Americans to Chile during the last decades and the scarce evidence about the possible impact generated by this new cultural context in eating habits, nutritional status and health in general. It has been reported that the migration process tends to have a negative impact on the health of immigrants associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, malnutrition due to excess and a lower quality of life related to a greater degree of assimilation and unhealthy behaviors such as the consumption of highly processed foods rich in fat and sugars, greater frequency of eating out and increased sweet snacks. However, there are differences by sex, age, country of origin, socioeconomic level, neighborhood composition and residence time so it is necessary to produce evidence from the Chilean context that allows for the characterization of food behavior and diet of immigrants to design culturally competent measures that favor health and quality of life. © 2019, Sociedad Chilena de Nutricion Bromatologia y Toxilogica. All rights reserved.

Food acculturation immigrants Eating behavior Malnutrition Acculturation

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