Comparison of dietary self-efficacy and behavior among American-born and foreign-born Chinese adolescents residing in New York City and Chinese adolescents in Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the differences of dietary self-efficacy and behavior among US-born, foreign-born Chinese-American, and native Chinese students.The total number of subjects participated in the study was 239 from New York and Guangzhou, China. The research instrument was composed of demographic information, dietary behavior, and self-efficacy of dietary behavior.Results indicated that native Chinese students had the lowest scores in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol intake followed by foreign-born and US-born Chinese-American students in that order. Native Chinese students also had the highest scores in complex carbohydrate and fiber intake as well as dietary self-efficacy followed by foreign-born and US-born Chinese-American students. In addition, self-efficacy was positively correlated with dietary behavior, and the age of immigration of foreign-born Chinese-American students was positively correlated with the scores of dietary behavior and self-efficacy of dietary behavior.The results of this study indicated that environmental and cultural influences are important factors affecting dietary behavior and self-efficacy of dietary behavior among these students.