DIETARY ACCULTURATION AND FACTORS AFFECTING THE DIETARY ACCULTURATION IN WEST AFRICAN
IMMIGRANTS RESIDING IN SOUTHERN FINLAND – A QUALITATIVE STUDY
Emma Hindsberg Master’s Thesis Department of Clinical Nutrition Institute of Medicine Faculty of Health Sciences University of Eastern Finland April 2020
University of Eastern Finland, Faculty of Health Sciences Department of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition Clinical Nutrition
HINDSBERG EMMA L: Dietary acculturation and factors affecting the dietary acculturation in West African immigrants residing in Southern Finland – a qualitative study
Master’s thesis, 71 pages, 1 appendix (2 pages)
Supervisors: Docent, PhD Arja Erkkilä, MBBS, MPH, PhD Sohaib Khan April 2020
Key words: Diet acculturation, immigration, diet changes, food cultures
Migration has been a growing trend globally the past decades. According to WHO, there are about 258 million international immigrants in the world. Immigration rates in Finland started growing in the 1980’s. The biggest West African immigrant groups in Finland are from Nigeria, Ghana and Gambia. The number of West African immigrants in Finland has been increasing over the past few years. When migrating from one culture to another, the migrant undergoes a vast psychological process, in order to adapt to the new culture. This process is complex and dynamic, and is affected by many factors.
The aim of the thesis was to gain knowledge on the perception and practices of Finnish food culture as well as dietary acculturation and factors affecting it, in West African immigrants residing in Finland. Specific aims included gaining knowledge on the transition between food cultures, food culture knowledge, dietary changes and factors affecting the dietary changes, food availability, food’s perceived health impact and perceived level of acculturation.
This thesis was conducted as a qualitative study using semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The subjects have an origin in a West African country and they have all been living in Finland for
≤10 years. The interview focused on the transition between the two food cultures, changes in diet following the transition and the reason for the changes. Food culture knowledge and perception of food cultures, as well as physical and economic access to food and food culture, family and health impact were also covered.
Main themes arose in the interviews were that migration took place to get better opportunities for studies and work. Dietary changes were to some extent unavoidable, and included changes in meal and food amounts consumed and a change for less variability in the diet. Most participants consumed a traditional diet of their country of origin, however some participants had developed a bicultural diet. Food culture knowledge pre-migration was poor, however it did increase over time due to exposure of the host county’s food culture. Few participants found themselves adapted to the Finnish food culture. Factors affecting low levels of dietary acculturation were low exposure of food culture and big differences between the food cultures.
Cultural differences in social norms were also found to affect the level of acculturation. Finnish food was perceived as healthy and light, whereas the food cultures of West African countries were found positive because of good taste and the social settings strongly related to the food culture.
In conclusion, this thesis is in line with previous research confirming suggestions that dietary acculturation is a very complex process with various affecting factors.
Itä-Suomen yliopisto, Terveystieteiden tiedekunta
Kansanterveystieteen ja kliinisen ravitsemustieteen yksikkö Ravitsemustiede
HINDSBERG EMMA L: Ruokavalioakkulturaatio ja siihen vaikuttavat tekijät Etelä- Suomessa asuvilla länsiafrikkalaisilla maahanmuuttajilla – laadullinen tutkimus Pro gradu-tutkielma, 71 sivua, 1 liite (2 sivua)
Ohjaajat: Dosentti, FT Arja Erkkilä, LL, TtM, FT Sohaib Khan Huhtikuu 2020
Avansanat: Ruokavalion akkulturaatio, maahanmuutto, ruokavaliot, ruokakulttuuri
Muuttoliike on maailmanlaajuisesti ollut kasvussa viime vuosikymmeninä. Maailman terveysjärjestön WHO:n mukaan maailmassa on noin 258 miljoonaa kansainvälistä maahanmuuttajaa. Kun ihminen muuttaa uuteen kulttuuriympäristöön, hän käy läpi ison psykologisen prosessin sopeutuakseen uuteen kulttuuriin. Tämä prosessi on luonteeltaan hyvin kompleksi ja dynaaminen, ja siihen vaikuttaa moni tekijä.
Tutkielman tavoitteena on ollut syventää ymmärrystä siitä, miten kohderyhmän maahanmuuttajat tiedostavat suomalaisen ruokakulttuurin ja miten he harjoittavat sitä.
Tarkempana tavoitteena oli syventää tietoa ruokakulttuurien välisestä siirtymisestä, ruokakulttuurien tuntemuksesta, ruokavaliomuutoksista sekä niihin vaikuttavista tekijöistä.
Lisäksi pyrittiin saamaan tietoa ruoka-aineiden saatavuudesta, ruokien koetuista terveysvaikutuksista sekä koetusta sopeutumisesta uuteen ruokakulttuuriin.
Tämä tutkielma toteutettiin laadullisena tutkimuksena, käyttäen puoli-strukturoitua syvähaastattelua. Tutkimukseen osallistujat olivat kotoisin Länsi-Afrikan eri maista, ja ovat asuneet Suomessa ≤10 vuotta. Haastattelut keskittyivät muuton siirtymävaiheeseen kahden kulttuurin välillä, sekä ruokavaliomuutoksiin muuttovaiheen seurauksena ja näiden syihin.
Myös ruokakulttuurin tuntemus, käsitys ruokakulttuureista sekä fyysinen että taloudellinen ruoan saatavuus, sekä perheen ja terveyden vaikutus ruokavalioon olivat haastattelujen osa- alueita.
Haastattelujen tuloksena nousi esille useampi pääteema. Muuttamisen syynä oli usko parempiin mahdollisuuksiin sekä opiskelun että työn osalta. Muutokset ruokailutottumuksissa olivat jossain määrin väistämättömiä, ja käsittivät ateria- ja ruokamäärien vähentymisen, sekä ruokavalion yksipuolistumisen. Suurin osa tutkittavista söi pääosin Länsi-Afrikan maiden ruokakulttuurin mukaan, joskin joillain oli havaittavissa kaksikulttuurista ruokavaliota.
Muuttoa edeltävä ruokavaliotietämys oli vähäistä, mutta laajeni ajan myötä. Tähän vaikutti myönteisesti ruokakulttuuriin altistuminen. Harva tutkittava koki itsensä sopeutuneeksi Suomen ruokakulttuurin, vaikuttavina syinä oli muun muassa vähäinen altistuminen Suomen ruokakulttuurille sekä ruokakulttuurien laaja ero. Myös kulttuurilliset erot sosiaalisissa normeissa koettiin vaikuttavan tähän. Suomalainen ruoka koettiin terveelliseksi ja kevyeksi, ja Länsi-Afrikan maiden ruokakulttuurit positiivisiksi maun sekä niihin liittyvien sosiaalisten tilanteiden vuoksi.
Tämä tutkielma on linjassa aiemman aiheeseen liittyvän tutkimuksen kanssa todeten, että ruokavalioakkulturaatio on monimuotoinen ja dynaaminen prosessi, johon vaikuttaa moni eri tekijä.
Östra Finlands universitet, Hälsovetenskapliga fakulteten Avdelning för folkhälsa och klinisk näring
Klinisk näring
HINDSBERG EMMA L: Kostackulturation och faktorer som påverkar kostckulturationen för invandrare med västafrikansk bakgrund bosatta i södra Finland – en kvalitativ studie
Pro Gradu avhandling, 71 sidor, 1 bilaga (2 sidor)
Övervakare: Docent, FD Arja Erkkilä, MBBS, MPH, PhD Sohaib Khan April 2020
Nyckelord: Kostackulturation, immigration, förändringar i matvanor, matkultur
Migration har varit en globalt växande trend över de senaste årtiondena. Enligt WHO finns det cirka 258 miljoner internationella invandrare runtom i världen. Mängden invandrare i Finland började växa på 1980-talet. De största västafrikanska invandrargrupperna i Finland har ursprung i Nigeria, Ghana och Gambia. Mängden invandrare i Finland med västafrikanskt ursprung har ökat märkbart under de senaste åren. Då en person migrerar till en ny kultur, genomgår individenen en omfattande psykologisk process för att anpassa sig. Denna process är väldigt dynamisk och komplex till sin natur, och påverkas av en mängd olika faktorer.
Målet med denna avhandling var att öka kunskapen om uppfattning samt utövande av finsk matkultur. Till målen hörde även kostackulturation samt faktorer som påverkande
kostackulturationen för invandrare av västafrikanskt ursprung i Finland. De specifika målen med avhandlingen var att fördjupa kunskapen i övergången mellan matkulturer, kunskap om matkulturer, förändringar i matvanor samt vilka faktorer som påverkar dessa förändringar.
Tillgänglighet av matvaror, uppfattning av matens inverkan på hälsa samt uppfattad nivå av kostackulturation hörde även till de specifika målen.
Denna avhandling genomfördes som en kvalitativ studie, med användning av semi- strukturerade djupintervjuer. Deltagarna hade västafrikanskt ursprung och hade bott i Finland
≤10 år. Intervjuerna fokuserade på övergången mellan de två matkulturerna, förändringar i matvanorna sedan flytten samt orsaken till dessa förändringar. Kunskap och uppfattning om matkulturerna, fysisk och ekonomisk tillgänglighet av matvaror, samt familjen och hälsans inverkan på matvanorna och kosten behandlades även i intervjuerna.
Bättre möjligheter för studier och jobb var ett av huvudtemana som uppkom som orsak för flytt.
Förändringar i matvanor efter flytten var i viss mån oundvikliga, och innebar ofta förändringar i måltider samt mängden mat. Spektret av olika matvaror i daglig konsumtion blev ofta mindre, vilket resulterade i att dieten ofta ansågs innehålla mindre variation. De flesta deltagarna konsumerade en förhållandevis traditionell diet i synvinkel av ursprungslandet. Några deltagare hade dock utvecklat en form av bi kulturella matvanor. Kunskaper om den finska matkulturen innan emigrering var förhållandevis svag, men förstärktes över tid efter exponering. Få deltagare ansåg att de helt och hållet anpassat sig till finsk matkultur. Faktorer som påverkade svag ackulturation var låg exponering av finsk matkultur samt stora skillnader mellan de två matkulturerna i fråga. Finsk mat uppfattades vara hälsosam och lätt, medan matkulturen i ursprungslandet uppfattades generellt sett positiv pga. god smak samt den sociala omgivningen i stark relation till matkulturen.
Sammanfattningsvis är denna avhandling i linje med tidigare forskning, och bekräftar å sina vägar teorier om att ackulturation är i sin helhet en väldigt komplex process som påverkas av en mängd olika faktorer.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my sincere gratitude and gratefulness towards Docent, PhD Arja Erkkilä and MBS, MPH, PhD Sohaib Khan for guiding me through this process. Your support and endless patience has been of great value. You have enduringly provided your help from the absolute beginning until this day. The world of qualitative research was fairly new to me at the start, and thanks to your guidance I feel comfortable saying that completing this thesis has brought me valuable knowledge. Meanwhile, the process has been extremely interesting and eye-opening.
I would like to pay my special regards to the Department of Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, for allowing me to take on this topic.
From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank each participant of this study. Without the interviews, this thesis would not have been possible. All the interviews were interesting and fun to complete, and equally provided insightful information to the research. It was obvious that every participant took part in the study open-mindedly and gladly answered all questions, which made the process a lot easier. The analyzing stage genuinely brought many smiles on my face when recalling the interviews.
Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family. I am forever grateful for your endless support and words of encouragement throughout the whole process. I would never have been able to reach this far without you.
Helsinki, April 2020.
Emma Hindsberg
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION ... 8
2 LITERATURE ... 10
2.1 Immigration ... 10
2.1.1 Statistics on West African immigrants in Finland ... 10
2.2 Immigration process ... 11
1.2.1 Psychological factors... 12
1.2.2 Social factors ... 12
2.3 Acculturation ... 13
2.3.1 Factors affecting acculturation ... 14
2.3.2 Cultural identity... 15
2.3.3 Dietary acculturation ... 16
2.4 Finnish food culture ... 20
2.5 West-African food cultures ... 21
2.5.1 Ghana ... 21
2.5.2 Nigeria ... 22
2.5.3 Other West African countries ... 23
2.6 Dietary acculturation for African immigrants ... 23
3 STUDY AIMS ... 26
4 RESEARCH METHODS ... 27
4.1 Study design ... 27
4.2 Settings and participants ... 27
4.3 Data collection tool ... 28
4.4 Data collection process ... 29
4.5 Analysis ... 29
4.6. Ethical consideration ... 30
5 RESULTS ... 31
5.1 Transition ... 35
5.1.1 Reasons for migrating and current living setup ... 35
5.1.2 Post-migration phase food consumption ... 36
5.2 Food culture knowledge ... 36
5.2.1 Food culture knowledge pre-migration ... 36
5.2.2 Current food culture knowledge ... 37
5.2.3 Perception on gaining food culture knowledge ... 39
5.2.4 Differences between food cultures ... 39
5.3 Diet changes ... 44
5.3.1 Nature of dietary changes ... 44
5.3.2 Accessibility of familiar foods affecting dietary changes ... 46
5.3.3 Cultural aspects of eating ... 49
5.4 Food availability ... 51
5.4.1 Physical accessibility of foods ... 51
5.4.2 Economical accessibility of foods ... 52
5.4.3 Food purchasing ... 53
5.5 Health issues ... 54
5.5.1 Perceived positive and negative sides of the two food cultures ... 54
5.5.2 Food’s impact on health ... 57
5.5.3 Health impact on food intake on a personal level ... 58
5.6 Acculturation ... 59
5.6.1 Perceived level of acculturation ... 59
5.6.2 Factors affecting acculturation ... 59
5.6.3 Desired dietary changes ... 61
5.6.4 Second generation immigrant’s food preferences ... 63
6 DISCUSSION ... 64
6.1 Discussion of the findings ... 64
6.2 Strengths and limitations ... 66
6.3 Implications on future research, practice and policy ... 67
7 CONCLUSION ... 68
8 SAMMANFATTNING AV PRO GRADU AVHANDLING ... 69
9 REFERENCES ... 79
1 INTRODUCTION
Immigration is a fast-growing trend all across the globe. Migrating to another country often results in exposure of a new culture, which is followed by the process of adapting, referred to as acculturation. The acculturation process is a very dynamic and complex process, affected by many factors both on individual and group level.
Eating is one of the essential human needs. Food and eating often play a remarkable role within a culture. As a part of the acculturation process as a whole, dietary acculturation occurs. Dietary acculturation refers to the process of adapting to the dietary habits of the new host culture. The process of adapting to a new food culture can have various outcomes, and it is affected by several factors such as duration of stay, differences between food cultures and exposure to the new food culture.
The food cultures that are looked into within this study are widely different from several perspectives. The Finnish food culture often highlight nutritional quality, and for example, the meal buildup if often following the so-called plate model, used to guide the population
towards healthy eating habits. The Finnish culture in general is rather reserved, and food is commonly not often shared, but eaten from the own plate. In the West-African cultures food play a central role within the culture. The meal buildup is often consisting of a put together meal, and for example, vegetables are often used in cooking, rather than as a side dish. Food is often consumed in social settings, and sharing meals is common. The food cultures between countries in West Africa vary, and each country have their own food culture. The food culture within a country might also differ between tribes. However, in this study the food cultures will be referred to as West African food cultures since some main traits between the food cultures remain rather similar. Despite this, it is important to recognize that the food cultures and for example use of ingredients and dishes vary and is by no means the same in all parts of all the West African countries.
The diet is an important factor affecting health. Since immigration is a growing trend, it is important to acquire more information on the dietary changes for immigrants. It is important to recognize, that dietary changes can be both positive and negative from a health perspective.
Very little research has been conducted on the dietary acculturation in West African immigrants. Especially research on the factors affecting the dietary acculturation per se is scarce.
It is to be mentioned that this study focuses on migrants, not refugees or asylum seekers. The psychological stress and possible faced problems related to the immigration and acculturation process for these groups are different from for the people migrating due to e.g. educational or social reasons (Bhugra 2004).
2 LITERATURE
2.1 Immigration
Immigration is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as the process of moving to a foreign country to live there permanently (Cambridge dictionary 2020). Immigration is a globally growing trend (Castañeda et al. 2015), and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2019), there is an estimated 258 million international immigrants worldwide.
Reasons for migrating can be many; sometimes it is forced due to war, political or religion persecution, or poverty (Castañeda et al. 2015). Sometimes the migration is voluntary with for example occupational or educational reasons. Immigration as a term is often seen as referring to a voluntary form of migrating, whereas forced migration often is described by using the terms refugee or asylum-seeker (Berry et al. 2011). For immigrants, the pull-factors are often stronger than the push factors, meaning that the reasons to migrate to a new country often outweighs the reasons of staying, for example the education or the work possibilities offered might be considered better in another country. For refugees it is most often the other way around, the push-factors being stronger than the pull factors; meaning the reasons or possibilities to stay are limited and pushes the person to migrate.
2.1.1 Statistics on West African immigrants in Finland
Immigration is a globally growing trend that is also noticeable in Finland (Tilastokeskus 2017).
A number of 31 797 new immigrants moved to Finland in 2017, compared to year of 2005 when the number was 21 355 – a difference of more than 10 000 and a percentage growth of 49% in ten years. The biggest immigrant groups in Finland are citizens of Russia, Somalia, Iraq and Estonia (Maahanmuutovirasto 2018). However, the West African immigrant groups are growing drastically (Tilastokeskus 2017). In 2017 compared to 2005, there were more than four times more West African immigrants residing in Finland. Immigrants from Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria constitute the three largest groups, and do display rapid growth as well. Ghanaians also constitute one of the largest West African migrant groups in Europe (Osei-Kwasi et al 2019). Statistics of West African immigrants in Finland through the years of 2005 to 2017 are displayed in Table 1. At the point of this thesis, no newer statistics were available.
It is to be mentioned that immigration as a phenomena is fairly new in Finland compared to eg.
other parts of Europe (Väestöliitto 2019). Immigration rates started growing in the 1980’s, and according to Väestöliitto, in 2019 4,5% of Finland’s population were immigrants.
Table 1. Number of West African immigrant living in Finland through the years of 2005 to 2017.
Country 2005 2010 2015 2017
Gambia 160 345 517 583
Ghana 361 856 1409 1459
Nigeria 421 1318 2203 2349
West
Africa 1173 2962 4709 4966
Source: Tilastokeskus 2017
2.2 Immigration process
Migrating to a new country can be challenging - the person is faced with new situations and conditions, both socially, economically and politically (Castañeda. et al 2015). The extent of culturally new conditions depends on both the origin and destination country, and the difference between the countries’ cultures. However, research regarding the immigration process and its effect on immigrants has been focusing more on health issues related with immigration, whereas the role of acculturation and e.g. changes in dietary behavior has not received the same amount of attention (Castañeda et al 2015).
When moving to Finland from outside of the EU, in most cases the migrant has to apply for residence permit (Maahanmuuttovirasto 2020). On a general level, if the intended stay is longer than 90 days, or if the person coming to Finland intend to stay less than 90 days but the stay include working, it is needed to apply for residence permit. It is possible to apply for residence permit on the grounds of for example studying or working. Permanent residence permit can be obtained after four years of continuous residence in Finland, and citizenship can be applied for when the residence period in Finland exceeds five years. To be granted citizenship, the person applying has to fulfil some requirements, such as language skills and basic income. Citizenship can be granted without fulfilling all the requirements, especially duration of residence, if there are strong and established ties to Finland, or marriage.
1.2.1 Psychological factors
Substantial amount of research has been done on immigrants and mental health (Bas-Sarmiento et al 2017). A lot of previous research has indicated that immigration might affect the mental health (Ahmed et al. 2020, Bas-Sarmiento et al 2017), and suggests that the prevalence of mental health issues would be higher amongst immigrants compared to the native population (Bas-Sarmiento et al 2017). However, newer research indicate that this is not the case.
Migration is a major challenge also from a mental health perspective, but according to a systematic literature review article including 21 articles, the prevalence of psychopathology is not higher amongst immigrants compared to the native population. However, immigrants may experience more depression, anxiety and somatic symptoms due to the migration process.
Migration is a challenging process and there are several factors affecting the mental health (Bas- Sarmiento et al 2017). Changes in the social status post-migration is one factor that has been linked with mental health (Ahmed et al. 2020). Changes in social status can happen in both positive and negative directions, and for different areas. Factors linked with the social status are eg. occupation, marital status, residence permit. Negative changes in social status refers to lower variables in the indicators for social status post-migration, and has been linked with an increased risk of depression. Positive changes refer to an increase in the variables post- compared to pre-migration. Positive changes have been linked with better mental wellbeing, compared to those for which these factors changed negatively.
A study conducted on the changes in social status for West African immigrants in New York found that a positive change in the social status post- compared to pre-migration, was found for work and occupation. A permanent residence permit was also linked to an increased social status, whereas a temporary residence permit indicated a decrease in the social status.
1.2.2 Social factors
Leaving social networks behind might cause a sense of loss, which leads to the process of acculturation – adapting to the new culture (Bhugra 2004). There are many factors affecting the acculturation process and the level of acculturation, which will be looked upon further in chapter 2 regarding acculturation as a process.
Research indicates that social contacts is a factor affecting the social status (Ahmed et al 2020).
Social contacts might also be a key to job opportunities. A study on West African immigrants in New York showed that the majority experienced a small loss in amount of social contact due
to the immigration. However, this study only focused on the social contact amount in the new country, and did not compare it to social contact amount prior to migration.
Literature has described that underemployment is more stressful than unemployment for immigrants due to unmet expectations (Ahmed et al. 2020). Several studies have also indicated that working conditions for immigrants needs to be addressed (Ahonen et al. 2009, de Castro et al. 2006). However, these studies were not conducted in a Finnish setting, so these results and therefor their effect on immigrants in Finland remains unclear.
2.3 Acculturation
Culture is a strong shaper of behavior (Berry et al 2011). A culture is often, but not necessarily, geographically bound. A culture forms the norms of the behavior for a group of people, and shapes the person’s behavior from birth. During the first years of life, the child learns a lot of behavioral patterns, some of these being culturally bound. Cultural differences for example are reflected in the fact that ways of raising children differ variously across the globe. As an example; when a child is upset, in the Western world it is more common to sooth the child using a tool, like a toy, to calm down the child. In many African countries, the mother often uses skin- to-skin contact to sooth the child, as in lifting the child up in her arms.
Acculturation has been described as the process of adapting to a new culture (Schumann et al.
2020) Adapting to a new culture is a dynamic and complex process that includes changes in the behavior. The behavioral changes are influenced by, and may have traits of the new culture.
It has been stated, that culture can be measured linguistically and behaviorally (Johnson 2011).
From that point of view, acculturation would take place when an immigrant starts learning the language of the new culture, and adapts his or her behavior to fit the culture of the new home country.
Acculturation as a term is not to be mixed with integration or assimilation (Berry et al 2011).
Integration is defined as the learning of the new host culture while keeping the home culture – in other words the process of becoming bi- or multicultural. Assimilation defines as acquiring the new culture while becoming deculturized from the home culture. Separation and marginalization are two terms also related to this subject (Osei-Kwasi et al 2019). Separation refers to the phenomena of maintaining the home culture and avoiding exposure of the new host culture, and marginalization refers to not having the will to uphold the home culture nor
adapting to the new host culture. Viewing the acculturation process through these four terms, is called the Berry’s model (Padilla and Perez 2003).
The word acculturation often refers to a group of people, rather than individuals (Satia-Aboua 2003). Researchers have developed several models to describe the acculturation process, for example Park’s model and Gordon’s model. According to Park’s model, the immigrant has to go through certain irreversible phases during the acculturation process, such as getting in contact with the new culture, in order to adapt to the new culture. One phase has to be completed before moving onto the next phase. This model has been argued to be accurate on European immigrants, but when migration between two more different cultures takes place, this model is no longer as accurate. Gordon’s model sees the acculturation process more as a dynamic process, which does not contain clear phases or stages. Acculturation can be measured on an individual level, and is then referred to as psychological acculturation, as per Berry (Berry et al, 2011, Satia-About 2003). Berry (1997) has presented a model for acculturation, including phases of individual adaption. This adaption process describes the acculturation process as life events leading to coping mechanisms, leading to acculturative stress and eventually to adaption.
The process of acculturation can happen for different reasons. It might be voluntary, such as for immigrants, or non-voluntary, such as for refugees (Berry 1997). It might be permanent or non-permanent, eg. immigrants who intend to settle down in the new culture, or exchange students who intend to go back home. Acculturation happens when entering a new culture but can also happen if a new culture is brought to you. It is also to be noted that the factors affecting the acculturation process in different ways, differs between voluntary immigrants and refugees (Berry et al 2011).
2.3.1 Factors affecting acculturation
The acculturation process is affected by many factors (Berry 1997). A framework for research regarding the process of acculturation presented by Berry (1997), suggests factors affecting the acculturation process both pre-acculturation and during the acculturation process, as well as on a group and individual level. The framework displays the complex nature of the acculturation process. According the framework, some factors pre-acculturation phase such as age, gender, expectations and cultural distance will affect the acculturation process on an individual level and affect the outcome. A modified version of the framework is presented in Figure 1. Berry (1997) has pointed out, that acculturation is a process that happens over a duration of time.
Figure 1. A modified version of the Berry (1997) framework for acculturation research
Scales for measuring the level of acculturation exist (Satia-Abouta 2003). However, since acculturation is a very complex and dynamic process, the scales are likely to misinterpret the level of acculturation. The scales as well rarely contain the viewpoint of dietary acculturation.
Measuring of dietary acculturation requires measuring the level of acculturation per se, and adding measuring of dietary patterns and specifically the level of change occurring within the dietary patterns. Little research, however, has been conducted on the factors affecting the possible dietary changes as a result of acculturating into a new culture.
2.3.2 Cultural identity
Cultural identity as a term is frequently used, despite lacking a universal definition (Groen et al 2018). Several takes on the meaning of cultural identity has been used in literature. Berry et al.
have defined cultural identity as “How individuals think and feel about themselves in relation to the cultural or ethnocultural groups with which they are associated” (Berry J. et al. 2011, p.
467). Similar terms used are eg. bicultural identity (Younis et al. 2018).
The cultural identity is affected by many factors, such as social network, community and national context (Sabatier 2008). When a person migrates to a different country, it will likely affect the migrant’s cultural identity (Bhugra 2005). There are, as previously mentioned,
various ways of settling into the new culture, through eg. integration (learning and adapting to the new culture while keeping the own) or assimilation (striving to fully adapt to the new culture while forgetting the own) (Berry et al. 2011, p.321). These different types of adapting to the new culture also shapes the changes in the cultural identity (Bhugra 2005).
2.3.3 Dietary acculturation
““Dietary acculturation” specifically refers to the process that occurs when members of a migrating group adopt the eating patterns/food choices of their new environment.”
- Satia-Abouta
Dietary acculturation, as the acculturation process as a whole, is a very complex phenomenon, which has gotten quite limited amount of attention within research (Satia-Abouta 2003).
Additionally, there is little research data on the factors per se affecting the dietary acculturation (Blanchet et al. 2018). The research done has mainly focused on adults, and especially children has received very little attention in the research area of dietary acculturation (Blanchet et al.
2018). One qualitative study on dietary acculturation for African refugee children suggests that children do eat food from the food culture of the country of origin, but do also consume foods considered part of the food culture in the country of settlement (Patil et al. 2009). Another study found that children preferred foods from the country of settlement over the traditional foods, convenience being one major factor (Wilson, Renzaho 2013). However, both of the studies on dietary acculturation in children focused on refugees and is therefore not fully applicable to this study, since the psychological factors affecting dietary acculturation may vary.
The research so far has shown that the diet may on some levels remain very traditional as part of the acculturation process as a whole (Satia-Abouta 2003). Some very typical staple foods might not change, while some staple foods are replaced. It is also common that immigrants adopt using foods from the new culture to prepare similar dishes as to their traditional food culture. Since the dietary acculturation is affected by several factors, the outcome of dietary acculturation may vary widely. Besides the possible changes in the use of food items, other diet related changes such as changes in taste preferences and cooking methods may occur (Venkatesh, Weatherspoon 2018). Research has also suggested that amount of time for cooking staple dishes as well culinary skills and a high availability of fast food affect the level of dietary acculturation (Blanchet et al. 2018).
Satia-Abouta (2003) lists several factors affecting the diet acculturation, such as educational level, exposure to the new culture (eg. employment outside home), and residence period, exposure to media and advertisement and availability of foods. Satia-Abouta (2003) has developed a model for diet acculturation, the model is displayed in Figure 2. In this model, Satia-Abouta (2003) proposes socioeconomic, demographic and cultural factors leading to exposure of the new host culture. These factors often result in changes in psychological factors, such as beliefs and values related to dietary cultures, and taste preferences. This together with changes in the surrounding environment, food availability and preparation will eventually lead to different levels of dietary acculturation. The three outcomes of dietary acculturation listed in Satia-Abouta’s (2003) model are remaining of traditional eating patterns, fully acculturation to the new dietary culture and adapting bicultural dietary habits.
Figure 2. An adapted model of Satia-Abouta’s (2003) model of dietary acculturation.
sociopsychological factors, taste preferences, such as social network and health, environmental factors such as food availability and preparation, and cultural factors such as religion and cultural beliefs all affect dietary acculturation. The study relied on Satia-Abouta’s (2003) model for dietary acculturation, and the outcome is in line with the model.
Dietary acculturation can also be looked at using the Kockturk-Runefors model (Osei-Kwasi et al. 2019). The Kockturk-Runefors model divides consumed food items into three groups; staple foods, complementary foods and accessory foods. In this study, staple foods for Ghanaians included plantain, roots, rice and other grains, pasta, potatoes, bread and cereal. Complementary foods included eggs, meat, poultry and fish, whereas accessory foods included food items such as sweet beverages, fruit, alcohol and sweets. According to the model, the dietary habits changed in various levels but staple foods often remained part of the dietary habits, since the staple foods were seen as a part of the cultural identity. In the group of staple foods, plantains and roots were more commonly used for Ghanaians living in Ghana, whereas rice, bread and cereal more commonly used by Ghanaians in Europe. For the compulsory foods, the fish intake was twice as high for Ghanaians in Ghana compared to Europe. Regarding accessory foods, clear differences were also distinguished for the fruit consumption, which was lower for Ghanaians in Europe, and consumption of cakes and other sweets, which was higher in for Ghanaians in Europe compared to Ghana.
Especially the staple foods the individual links with their cultural identity tend to stay a part of the diet (Raza et al. 2017). Replacement of accessory foods tend to happen rather quickly, whereas complementary foods are replaced over time (Osei-Kwasi et al 2019). What foods are grouped into which group differs between individuals. Using this model Raza et al (2017) found that South-Asian Surinamese people in the Netherlands had a high intake of staple foods such as rice, and some complementary foods such as chicken. The use of some complementary and accessory foods, however, such as red meat, vegetables and sweets, were less frequent. The study was conducted as a quantitative study, and also found that the use of staple foods often was lower for men and second-generation immigrants. The diet included more Dutch staple foods, if the consumption of staple foods from the food culture of the country of origin was lower. The result of this study was in line with the Kockturk-Runefors model (Osei-Kwasi et al. 2019, Raza et al 2017).
The term acculturation paradox appears in literature regarding dietary acculturation (Blanchet et al. 2018). It refers to the phenomenon that an immigrant often is healthier overall at the point of migration, and over time the health status tends to decrease towards matching the current
population for the settlement country. Dietary acculturation and changes in diet has been argued to be one affecting factor on the acculturation paradox.
2.4 Finnish food culture
Finland became independent in 1917 (City of Helsinki 2019). Prior to that, Finland was a part of both Russia and Sweden. This is still reflected in the Finnish culture today through a Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. The Finnish culture is still relatively young, compared to the West African cultures (City of Helsinki 2019, Swartz. et al 1980).
In the Finnish food culture, health plays an important role (Ruokavirasto 2020). The population monitoring survey Finravinto is conducted every five years, to have an overview of how the Finnish people eat (Finravinto2017). This research has been conducted since the year of 1982.
There are nutritional recommendations for all age groups in Finland (Ruokavirasto 2020). They are updated on a regular basis to match the newest research. The guidelines are created to support food services in their planning and serving of foods in Finland, to ensure sufficient nutritional quality. Free food is served in schools and public health care in Finland (Finlex 1998).
The importance of improved health through diet can be seen, besides the broad nutritional guidelines and continuous research, also on an individual level for example by that, more than half of the adult Finnish population is consuming some form of dietary supplementation on a daily basis (Finravinto 2017).
According to the FinRavinto 2017-research, Finnish adult eat on average seven times per day.
About 60% of the daily energy intake comes from the main meals, whereas the rest comes from snacks. (FinRavinto 2017). The national nutritional guidelines recommend eating regularly throughout the day, including breakfast, lunch and dinner, and if needed 1-2 snacks between the meals (Ruokavirasto 2020). Common foods used amongst the adult Finnish population today are vegetables, fruits and berries, dairy products (both fermented and normal), cereal products and meat (Finravinto 2017). Sweet snacks and soft drinks are common as well, especially amongst younger adults. Coffee is an important part of the Finnish food culture, being the second most consumed beverage after water amongst the adult Finnish population.
2.5 West-African food cultures
West African food cultures have similarities throughout the whole of West Africa, even though regional differences are existing (Adegboye et al 2016). Regional differences are due to different kind of soil, vegetability and agriculture, availability of foods and cultural differences between eg. tribes and religious groups. Research on dietary patterns in the Sub-Saharan Africa is however scarce (Frank et al 2014).
Common staple foods across the western parts of Sub-Saharan Africa are starchy, fermented products of root vegetables such as maize and cassava. Examples of these products are fufu, banku, yam and garri. Rice is also a common staple food. The carbohydrate sources are often consumed together with eg. fish (fried, grilled), stew or soup. A stew or soup in West Africa is not similar to the kinds of foods the Western world would recognize as stew or soup (Adegboye et al. 2016). A soup can be palm oil- and tomato based and sometimes contains meat. Examples of stews are egusi stew, or okra stew. Stews are commonly consumed for example in Nigeria (Adegboye et al 2016). Green leafy vegetables are also common across West Africa, and are often used in stews.
Malnutrition is a common problem in many African countries, even though obesity and diseases as an outcome of unhealthy lifestyle habits are becoming more prevalent (Alles et al. 2013).
The socioeconomic gaps, however, in the West African society are large, and it is an important factor that affects food intake (Adegboye et al. 2016).
2.5.1 Ghana
In Ghana the traditional diet contains fermented maize products, plantain, fish, fruits and palm oil (Frank et al 2014). Palm oil is used for cooking by every other household, and especially in rural areas using of palm oil is more common than the use of other cooking fats (Ghana Statistical Service 2008). Other fats used for cooking are frytol and other vegetable oils, butter and shea butter. Vegetables like cassava and leafy green vegetables are also part of the Ghanaian food culture (Adu-Afarawuah et al. 2015). The diet in urban areas is slightly different compared to rural areas and can for example contain more rice, sweets and meat compared to the traditional diet often consumed in more rural areas (Frank et al 2014). Another example is the use of meat, sea food, poultry and eggs, which is higher for women living in the Greater Accra Region compared to other parts of the country (Ghana Statistical Service 2008). Women living
in urban areas also have a higher consumption of dairy products then women living in rural areas.
The Ghana demographic and health survey (2008), covers food habits for infants and mothers of children aged 3 or less, as well as women aged 15 to 49, as well as fruit and vegetable consumption for both men and women. The food groups listed commonly used amongst women and mothers include foods prepared from roots and tubers, fruits and vegetables, foods cooked using oil, fat or butter, grains and legumes. 28% of women and 21% of men reported consuming fruit on a daily basis, with the consumption being higher amongst women compared to men, as well as higher for people living in urban areas compared to rural areas. Specific fruits mentioned in the question asked for gathering statistics are mangoes, paw paw, banana, orange, avocado and passion fruit. Daily consumption of vegetables is practiced by 24% of women and 30% of men. Specific vegetables mentioned are carrots, cabbage, dark green leafy vegetables (such as kontomire), pumpkin and squash.
2.5.2 Nigeria
Nigeria is a large and culturally rich country, and the foods consumed across the country vary (Adegboye et al. 2016). In some parts of Nigeria, some specific foods are often more commonly used. Despite that the food items may vary across the country, the common meal buildup is often a grain staple food, such as fufu, consumed together with a soup or stew.
Staple foods in Nigerian food culture are cereal and grains (eg. wheat and rice), roots and tubers (eg.cassava and yam), as well as legumes such as beans and groundnuts (Vries-ten Have et al.
2020). For the grains, for example yam and cassava are common in the Southwest and southeast parts of the country. In these parts of the country the Yoruba and Igbo ethnic groups are dominant (Adegboye et al. 2016). In these areas, eg. vegetable stews are often consumed.
Maize, rice and millet, on the other hand are more common in the northern parts of the country, where the Hausa and Fulani are the main ethnic groups. In the northern parts, palm oil, and tomato based soups are more common.
Fruit, vegetables and oils are also part of the Nigerian food culture (Vries-ten Have et al. 2020).
Common fruits consumed in Nigeria are eg. mango, papaya, avocado, pineapple, oranges, grapes, guava and tomato (Adegboye et al. 2016). Nigeria is a large country, and the fruits used varies slightly throughout the country depending on the agriculture. Vegetables are often preserved in order to prolongue storage.
Additionally, meat and fish are common food items, however, the use of these vary across the country (Vries-ten Have et al. 2020).
2.5.3 Other West African countries
In Benin, the diet has been commonly been described to contain grains, fish, oils, bread, pasta, sweets as well as roots, vegetables and legumes (Sodjinou et al 2009). A common dish in the Beninese food culture is a dish with a maize paste called owo, eaten with a tomato- or vegetable based sauce. The sauce often contains groundnuts, palm oil and fish, and is spicy. Sodjinou et al. (2009) distinguished two dietary patterns amongst Beninese adults; a traditional and transitional diet. The traditional diet was found to contain higher amounts of grains and fruit, compared to the transitional diet. The transitional diet was described to include traditional food items, as well as food items such as dairy products, white meat, eggs and sweets are more common. The transitional diet was commonly observed in the upper socioeconomic class.
It is common that similar foods are used across West Africa, but the names of the dishes differ depending on area and tribe (Adegboye et al. 2016). One example is a type of bean cake, which by Hausa people in Ghana/Nigeria is called koose, but Yorubas in Nigeria call it akara.
In most parts of West Africa, the common is to eat one-course meals (Adegboye et al. 2016).
The main meal of the day is usually consumed later in the day, in the afternoon. In Nigeria, the morning meal is mostly slightly lighter, except for some tribes, which might consume a heavier morning meal. According to Frank et al (2014), the most common meal rhythm in Ghana is three meals per day, followed by a meal rhythm of consuming two meals per day.
In West Africa, food is commonly eaten by hand (Adegboye et al 2016). Cutlery is becoming more common due to western influences, but the hand is still dominantly used.
2.6 Dietary acculturation for African immigrants
Research on dietary acculturation in specifically West-African immigrants is very scarce; hence will this chapter include research on immigrants from other African countries outside of West Africa in order to give a deeper understanding to the phenomena discussed.
Previous research performed in the subject of diet acculturation for immigrants states that the diet usually changes after moving to the new country (Osei-Kwasi et al. 2017). For example, bread, cereal, pasta and potatoes are more commonly used amongst Ghanaian migrants in
Europe, compared to Ghanaians living in Ghana (Osei-Kwesi et al 2019). Respectively, root vegetables and tubers are more commonly used amongst Ghanaians living in Ghana compared to Ghanaian migrants in Europe. How much the diet changes post-migrating varies, and research has been able to differ through certain patterns for diet adaption, such as abandoning the traditional diet or maintaining the traditional diet whilst taking influence from the host country’s food culture or as a third option - taking very limited influence from the new food culture (Osei-Kwasi et al. 2017). A lower level of acculturating to the new culture is also associated with a higher intake of traditional staple foods (Osei-Kwasi et al 2019).
Very little research has been performed on the dietary acculturation for West African immigrants in Europe (Oser-Kwasi et al 2019) as well as the factors per se affecting the changes in diet acculturation for immigrants (Osei-Kwasi et al. 2017). Research performed on Ghanaian immigrants residing in the UK, found three levels of dietary of and four main factors affecting the dietary acculturation. The levels of acculturation were varying from limited acculturation and diet staying very traditional, flexible behavior (both food cultures are practiced) and the third option being mostly changed to the new country’s food culture. The four found factors affecting the diet changes were; social and cultural environment, accessibility of foods, migration context and food beliefs. The social and cultural environment included the cultural identity and the cultural environment. Having Ghanaian social networks in the UK was linked with a continuous practice of consumption of Ghanaian foods, whereas a non-Ghanaian social network increased the probability of adapting British dietary patterns. Accessibility of foods was found to be an important factor affecting the dietary patterns. However, the cost of the traditional foods was not found to affect the foods consumed. The context for migration affected the dietary acculturation in terms of age when migration took place, as well as rural or urban residency in Ghana pre-migration impacted the dietary adaption. A younger age or second- generation immigrants were more likely to have adapted further to the British dietary patterns.
Food beliefs, such as perception of the host country’s dietary practices and perception of healthy foods, was found to affect the dietary acculturation.
One systematic review regarding dietary acculturation for immigrant women found following factors affecting the dietary acculturation: price levels of foods, unavailability of traditional foods, unfamiliarity with new foods, busier life and an increased level of stress factors, loneliness and good taste of sweet foods and fast foods (Popovic-Lipovac et al. 2015). Also, readymade meals felt easier, more convenient and affordable. Other factors affecting dietary acculturation listed in literature are limited knowledge about shopping and cooking and change in working conditions (Terragani et al. 2014). Some people might experience the adaption to
the new dietary culture and facing cultural differences as difficult. The dietary habits usually change towards unhealthier dietary choices (Popovic-Lipovac et al. 2015). In the early post- migration phase, it is common that the number of different food items decreases, due to for example unfamiliar food items and physical availability of familiar foodstuffs (Terragani et al 2014). The form in which the food is available (frozen vs. fresh), as well as food packages, can cause uncertainty in food selection.
Most research in this area focuses on the health changes for the immigrants (Osei-Kwasi et al.
2019). The RODAM-study conducted in the Netherlands have shown that Ghanaian immigrants living in the Amsterdam have higher blood pressure and are more obese than fellow Ghanaians living in Ghana (Nyaaba et al 2017). This kind of research does not focus on the dietary changes per se, however, high blood pressure and obesity are health related outcomes that are closely linked with dietary practices. The same pattern has also been found in Chinese persons residing in the US – they have a higher incidence of lifestyle related health problems such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease, than Chinese people living in China (Satia et al. 2001).
Obesity rates among different immigrant populations in the US increase 10-15 years from migrating (Delavari et al. 2013). However, several factors affecting health-relates factors, such as obesity, have been listed, including residence time, age, gender and host country. One study focusing on the Nigerian population in the US, found a link between alcohol consumption and obesity (Obisesan et al. 2017).
3 STUDY AIMS
The aim of the thesis was to gain knowledge on the perception and practices of Finnish food culture as well as dietary acculturation and factors affecting it, in West African immigrants residing in the Southern Finland. Specific aims of the study were to gain knowledge on the transition between the food culture of origin and food culture in Finland, food culture
knowledge, dietary changes (food items, meal rhythm) and what affected the dietary changes, food availability, food’s perceived health impact and perceived level of acculturation.
The previous research in this specific area is scarce, and West African immigrants is a growing population group in Finland. This research wants to highlight the dietary cultural differences, and the study participants’ view upon these.
4 RESEARCH METHODS
4.1 Study design
The study was completed as a qualitative study in a descriptive phenamenographic approach.
Qualitative research gives the researcher an opportunity to look into a phenomena with more depth (Elo, Kyngäs 2008), gaining more qualitative knowledge on specifically the study participants’ viewpoint and experiences of a phenomena (Vaismoradi et al 2013). A
qualitative approach was selected for this research, since previous research is scare and is an appropriate study design to give a more in-depth understanding of the phenomena dietary acculturation between two long distance food cultures.
4.2 Settings and participants
The study included subjects from West African countries, living as migrants in the Southern parts of Finland. For this study, the inclusion criteria was set to be:
Age ≥18 years
Country of origin situated within the area of West Africa
Duration of stay in Finland ≤10 years
Area of current residence in Southern Finland
Fluent in the English language
All together 10 persons were interviewed. The persons interviewed were all males, with an average age of 28,4 years, ranging from 24 years to 34 years.
The average residence period in Finland was 4,73 years, ranging from 1 year and 9 months to 10 years at the time of the interview. The subjects’ country of origin, age and duration of stay are listed in table 2.
Table 2. Age, origin country and duration of stay of study participants.
Subject Age Origin country Duration of stay
1 28 Nigeria 4,5 years
2 27 Nigeria 3,5 years
3 30 Senegal 6 years
4 34 Ghana 3 years
5 28 Nigeria 1,75 years
6 24 Cameroon 2,5 years
7 26 Ghana 4 years
8 32 Ghana 3 years
9 26 Ghana 8-9 years
10 29 Ghana 10 years
Average 28,4 4,7 years
4.3 Data collection tool
In-depth interviews were implied as data collection tool. These in-depth interviews were in semi-structured format. The interview guide was designed to cover following specific aims:
Transition between food cultures
Food culture knowledge
Dietary changes
Food availability
Health impact
Perceived level of acculturation
The questions were mostly open-ended questions, and descriptive in nature. However, technique of probing was used wherever needed, in order to explore further in-depth.
4.4 Data collection process
The interviews took place between February – July 2019. The subjects were reached through purposive sampling, using the snowball method. The snowball method refers to a sampling method were contact information for possible study participants is received through other participants (Noy 2008). The snowball method is commonly used in qualitative research, and because of its dynamic approach, it is applicable to for example small populations with a strong social network. Social media was used for starting the snowball method. The subjects did not receive any payment or price for participating. The timing and place for the interview was always for the interview subject to decide, in order to make the situation as comfortable for them as possible. Most of the interviews took place in the subjects’ home or at a public place such as a café or the library. All the interviews were conducted in English language (see inclusion criteria). One interview on average took about 35 minutes to complete. Before the interview started, there was always some small talk in order to make the situation more comfortable and natural. Some few words on a general level regarding the thesis purpose was often discussed at this point.
The interviewer, which in this case was the writer of this thesis, always had a printed out version of the questions found in Appendix 1, to make sure all areas were covered during the interview.
The recording device was always introduced to the interview subject before starting the interview, and consent for recording the interview was obtained. The recording was put on during small talk just before the start of the interview. The recording devices were always laying on the table, in between the interviewer and interviewee, but the interviewee was asked to try to not pay any extra attention to the recording devices.
4.5 Analysis
Data was analyzed by using thematic content analysis technique. Content analysis is a method for analyzing collected data in qualitative research (Elo, Kyngäs 2008). It is an appropriate method for analyzing a phenomenon, and applied to textual data. In content analysis the textual data is broken down into words and specific answers, in order to find patterns and groups or categories within the data collected, to be able to describe the phenomenon (Vaismoradi et al.
2013). Thematic content analysis is an often used analysis method, where the found patterns and categories are put into reoccurring themes (Green, Thorogood 2004). In order to apply thematic content analysis, the voice data was first transcribed into written data. The written data was then organized into codes, categories and clusters.
Codes: themes
Categories: all codes with similar element
Clusters: categories, which answer a specific aim after study
This analysis was conducted from an inductive angle. Inductive analysis is used if previous research within the area is scarce (Elo, Kyngäs 2008). When using inductive analysis, the theoretical outcome of the study is derived from the study analysis itself, as opposite of deductive analysis, where the outcome is analyzed through previous knowledge.
4.6. Ethical consideration
Informed consent was obtained from all the interview subjects before the starting each interview. The subjects were told about the purpose of the interview and that confidentiality would be applied throughout all phases of the thesis. No names or other identifying information such as addresses has been written down. The interview subjects were allowed to leave questions unanswered, or discontinue the interview at any point if they did not want to continue.
All interviews were however completed.
5 RESULTS
Several themes and sub-themes were distinguished for the different topics discussed in the interviews. Topics for the discussion were transition, food culture knowledge, diet changes, food availability, health and acculturation. Each topic gave three to four main themes and each main theme a various amount of sub-themes. The specific themes and subthemes are listed in Table 3.
Areas of
discussion Themes Sub-themes
Transition
Reason for moving
- Moved to Finland for better opportunities regarding work - Moved to Finland for better opportunities regarding studies - Moved to Finland because of family reasons
Living setup - Currently living alone
- Currently living with friends and/or family
Post-migration phase food consumption - Mainly familiar foods in forms of traditional foods - Mainly familiar foods in forms of fast food
Food culture knowledge
Knowledge pre-migration - Pre-migration Finnish food culture knowledge close to nonexistent
Current knowledge
- Current knowledge limited
- Gaining knowledge is difficult – norms in social interaction being the main reason
Comparison between food cultures
- Food culture differences are huge
- Specific differences between food cultures; spiciness, food richness, meal buildup, use of ingredients, cultural vastness
Perception on food culture differences - Differences between food cultures perceived as difficult
Diet changes Diet changes
- Changes in diet varied from changing slightly to a lot
- The changes in diet happened mainly for amount, frequency, timing and variety
Nature of changes
- Replacements - Substitutions
- Some additions from Finnish food culture Accessibility of familiar foods - Staple foods back home
- Staple foods accessibility
Cultural aspects of eating - Social settings for eating changed - Desired social settings for eating
Food availability
Physical accessibility of foods
- Perceived accessibility of food varied from good to poor - Specific food groups was hard to find
- Food shops one limiting factor for availability Economical accessibility of foods
- Price levels for food are high - Finnish food items are expensive - Traditional food items are expensive Food purchasing
- Food purchased in both local and ethnic shops
- Specific factors affecting the food purchases; availability, price levels, food packages, freshness, advertisement
Health
Perceived positive and negative sides of the two food cultures
- Finnish food in general considered healthy and the food is easy to prepare
- The Finnish food culture is changing - The Finnish food culture suits the Finns
- Few negative things about Finnish food culture – mostly unfamiliar - Many positive things about the West-African food culture – familiar
culture
- Some negative things mostly related to caused health issues Food health impact
- Few health issues affecting diet intake - Diet affect the health overall
- Specific foods/nutrients affect health
Health impact on food intake on a personal level
- Food intake affect health, but also other factors such as stress - Allergies rare
Acculturation
Perceived level of acculturation - Common to not feel fully acculturated into Finnish food culture
Factors affecting acculturation - Reasons for not adapting often related to food culture exposure, and cultural differences
Desired dietary changes - Desired dietary changes often related to dietary diversity, or specific food items, dishes or regarding nutritional content
Second generation immigrant’s food preferences
- Food preferences for second level immigrants varied - Second level immigrants exposed to both food cultures - Parents found starting with Finnish food was easier
5.1 Transition
5.1.1 Reasons for migrating and current living setup
The reason for migrating to Finland was often based on a desire to explore better
opportunities, in general or in forms of work or studies. Finland was seen as good country with good opportunities for both education and work career. Sometimes the family was the reason for moving.
One participant commented:
“…for me I think so much ahead of anything so I saw that Finland could be like a good option around me that I could relocate to.. to study and also because I felt uhm..I could achieve more in this environment…”
And another one similarly:
“... I came purposely to study… so my friend was here and did internship on so this university and was like, hey can we apply to this university? and I was like why not? and I applied…luckily I got admitted, after a long process and I just decided to come
*laughter*and here I am!...”
Family was sometimes the reason for migration:
“yea because we were living like in Germany..and then my son came.. in Germany so..first my son and the mom moved here… and then I was… I been visiting and was going around and we decided that is too much for me so I have to move here…so then I move…”
All study participants were male, and the current living set up varied between living alone or with family and/or possibly friends.
One participant commented:
“…I live alone…haha friends are there but not with them, I live alone... “ Another one stated:
“…we live together with my family…and.. a friend also is subrenting one of our room…”
5.1.2 Post-migration phase food consumption
The food consumed in the direct post-migration phase, straight after migrating proved to be familiar foods. The familiar foods often were foods from their own food culture prepared by friends or family or fast food. A few participants had a very strong resemblance of the first meals consumed in Finland, whereas some participants only remembered what type of food was consumed. Interestingly, it was often highlighted that the food specifically was not Finnish food, or that Finnish food was not a part of the diet for some time after moving.
One participant said:
“…when I came…I got picked up by, from Helsinki I got picked up by.. my..family friend.. we stopped to get burger, cuz I was really really hungry but when I got home, I think I ate something homely, like…I don’t know if it was rice, but I know it was something homely…it didn’t feel like…it wasn’t something Finnish, definitely..it wasn’t a Finnish way…”
Another one commented:
“…I got aah airport pickup from my friend, he is also Nigerian.. so the first meal I had was rice..and stew..normal Nigerian food… Then I moved to my apartment the next day and uh…
the first meal I actually got was pizza…”
5.2 Food culture knowledge
5.2.1 Food culture knowledge pre-migration
The knowledge about Finnish food culture pre-migration was in most cases close to
nonexistent. Slight knowledge about Finnish food culture was common for participants who had either direct or indirect exposure of the food culture prior to moving. However, it was generally not common to have put a lot of effort into learning about the culture before moving, and the new food culture was seemingly not seen as a problem.
One participant commented on moving as:
“…oh no no no, I knew jack..not.. nothing, nada…. I didn’t even really…I didn’t even do my research on Finland, like per se…it was more of a recommendation from my sis… she knows like Finland…I was just probably too busy doing school stuff so I didn’t’ umm.. I was like let’s get on with it, it’s in Europe so can’t be that bad…”
Some commented on not learning about the food culture prior to moving:
“…no..no..and I’ve never bother to find out…”
Slight knowledge was common for the participants who had previous exposure of the food cultures. The knowledge was obtained through direct exposure or indirect exposure through friends tellings. The knowledge gained through friends, however, seemed to be affected by the friends’ own perception of the food culture rather than objective statements. The food culture knowledge owned was related to specific food items or dishes used in Finnish food culture, no comments were in this context given on meal buildup, timing or social context for Finnish food culture.
One participant commented:
“…My friends told me that they only eat potatoes… and my friend also told me that..there is a lot of rice…something like that..but I like rice so I was like I’m gonna be okay…”
5.2.2 Current food culture knowledge
The current knowledge was mostly perceived to be limited. The view of the knowledge level, however, was subjective, and despite the perception of limited knowledge, the participants were often able to for example name differences between food culture at a later stage of the interview. Interestingly, the conversation regarding food culture was often limited by participants to regard specific food items and dishes.
Comments on limited knowledge:
“... to be honest I don’t really know Finnish foods that well...”
and:
“…but still..I don’t really know the in depth…this is what the Finns eat at this time.. I don’t really know the structure but.. I just know there is a lot of sweet stuff….”
The current knowledge mostly regarded recognizing of food, either through namesof dishes or looks of food.
