Determinants of eating behaviour in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) university students when living at and away from home: With a focus on the influence of food enculturation and food acculturation

Abstract

For some students, university, can be a period of increased autonomy in food choice and for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and international students, the addition of culture may be a governing factor. This study aimed to examine the extent of dietary acculturation and dietary enculturation on the influence of student's food choices using a phenomenological approach. Sixty participants (forty-one home students and nineteen international students) recruited by purposive sampling, were included in the study. Data collection involved self-administered multiple choice and short answer questionnaires and semi structured interviews. The results were analysed using thematic analysis. When living away from home, six major themes influenced the eating behaviour of the studied population: social environment, individual factors, physical environment, university life, enculturation and acculturation. When at home, five major themes were influential: social environment, individual factors, physical environment, enculturation and acculturation. The main findings suggest dietary enculturation is a factor which influences the dietary behaviour of both international students and BAME home students.