Effect of acculturation on food label use among immigrants from the former Soviet Union

Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess the effect of acculturation on use of food labels and food label reading skills among former Soviet Union (FSU) immigrants living in New York city.MethodsA cross‐sectional survey using self‐administered questionnaire assessed acculturation, food label use, label reading skills, nutrition knowledge and socio‐economic characteristics of a convenience sample of 200 FSU immigrants.ResultsThe study sample consisted of 63% females. Mean age was 43± 5.5 y, and mean length of US residency was 11.7±6.5 y. Annual household income was >$50,000 for 50%. The mean degree of acculturation was 2.3 ± 0.7 on a scale of 1 ‐ 5. Only 35% of the participants were acculturated scoring > 2.5 on the acculturation scale. 55% of the participants reported using food labels often/always, and only 32% had good label reading skills. Nutrition knowledge was low (<2 on 0‐7 scale) for 30% of the sample. Acculturation was not associated with food label use, but was significantly associated with label reading skills (p<0.001). In multivariate logistic regression analysis of label reading skills, acculturation lost its significance while age, length of US residency and nutrition knowledge were strong predictors of label reading skills.ConclusionFood label use and reading skills may be improved by education programs that target new and younger FSU immigrants.