Acculturation and dietary practices among Korean Americans

Objective Examine variation in dietary practices and nutritional intakes of Korean Americans at different acculturation levels. Design Cross-sectional mail survey. Subjects/setting US national sample of 348 Korean Americans (46% of the Kor ean American sample to whom questionnaires were delivered). Statistical analysis performed Analysis of variance, Pearson correlation, S pearman rank correlation, chi(2) test, and multiple regression analysis. Results Korean Americans who were more acculturated consumed more American food and less Korean food. American foods such as oranges, low-fat milk, ba gels, tomatoes, and bread were consumed regularly by Korean Americans; Kore an foods such as rice, kimchi, garlic, green onions, and Korean soup were a lso consumed regularly. American foods were adopted the most at breakfast a nd the least at dinner. Bicultural people regularly incorporated more diffe rent types of foods into their diet. Despite significant differences in die tary practices, dietary quality did not vary by acculturation status. Application/conclusions Acculturation was influential in the dietary patter ns of Korean Americans. Specific information about Korean diet related to a cculturation status can be used by dietitians who work with Korean American s. Dietitians can benefit from gathering and applying specific information about Korean diets and diets of other ethnic groups; they also need to reco gnize the changing nature of dietary patterns as acculturation occurs.