Segmented assimilation as a mechanism to explain the dietary acculturation paradox.

ABSTRACT: Latinos have disproportionately high rates of diet-related diseases which are associated with acculturation to the U.S. This negative shift in dietary quality is paradoxical in light of gains in income and education that would be expected to lead to better diet. We examined the extent to which the dietary acculturation paradox among Mexican Americans can be explained by segmented assimilation, a theory that considers how immigrants' and their descendants' trajectories of integration are influenced by a complex interplay of individual, social, and structural factors. First, we performed confirmatory cluster analysis to identify three assimilation segments (classic, underclass, and selective) based on education, income, and an acculturation proxy derived from language, nativity, and time in

SUBMITTER: Ramirez AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8944242 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature