Dietary Habits and Health Beliefs of Korean-Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area

Abstract

Thirty-three percent of nearly 800,000 Korean-Americans live in California ( (1) US Dept of Commerce. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC1993 Google Scholar ), the fifth largest Asian subgroup in the United States ( (2) Asian or Pacific Islander mortality, selected states, 1992. Monthly Vital Statistics Rep. 1997;46:(Suppl 1):1-63. Google Scholar ) that may increase to 1.3 million by 2000 ( (3) Kittler P.G. Sucher K. Food and Culture in America. 2nd ed. West/Wadsworth Publishing, Belmont, Calif1998 Google Scholar ). To be effective counselors and policy makers, health practitioners need to understand cultural food habits, health-related values, and illnesses in this population ( (4) Axelson M.L. The impact of culture on food related behavior. Ann Rev Nutr. 1986; 6: 345-363 Google Scholar , (5) Grivetti L.E. Paquette M.B. Nontraditional ethnic food choices among first generation Chinese in California. J Nutr Educ. 1978; 10: 109-112 Google Scholar , (6) Ludmann E.K. Kang K.G. Lynn L.L. Food beliefs and diets of pregnant Korean-American women. J Am Diet Assoc. 1992; 92: 1519-1520 Google Scholar , (7) Newman J.M. Ludman E.K. Chinese elderly food habits and beliefs. J Nutr Educ. 1984; 4: 3-13 Google Scholar , (8) Sucher K. Kittler P.G. Nutrition isn’t color blind. J Am Diet Assoc. 1991; 91: 297-298 Google Scholar ).