FOOD/HEALTH/ MIGRATION
BACKGROUND.
This research project aims to explore these particular themes within the Bronx: background (identity and occupation), migration (commute [it's no question that New York City residents depend on some form of transportation in their daily lives!]), food, food insecurity, health, and body image (which has a relationship to eating patterns). It also examines the impact of these themes on these groups: natives, immigrants, and children of immigrants. For my research, I decide to interview and survey Lehman College campus students due to the fact that many students can be categorized in the formerly mentioned groups. Lehman College students also come from different backgrounds and age groups. Many of these students are also commuters, and it is my personal belief that commuting may alter a personal individual’s eating schedule, especially in a very activity-oriented and stressful environment such as New York City. Body image is influenced by one’s eating patterns as well as by the media and the host culture since “acculturation and ethnic identity may be important constructs in the understanding of cross-cultural psychology and also the well-being of people moving into a different culture (e.g., immigration)” (Phinney, Horenczyk, Liebkind & Vedder, 2001).
My personal interest in this type of research has its roots in the fact that I am a first-generation American child of Ukrainian immigrants, and I commute to Lehman College on a weekly basis, totaling up to 3.5-4 hours of commuting. For me, personally, commuting has altered my personal eating schedule, and issues such as train delays have made the commute more stressful than it should be. The mind does affect the body, and vice versa, so I wanted to discover what other people have to say about these particular topics. Additionally, children of immigrants or immigrants themselves may feel more negative consequences of adjusting to NYC's hectic culture since it is not their native environment. The Bronx, in particular, has less accessibility and support when it comes to developing a better transportation system, a better food accessibility situation, and an overall residency situation. This is a very crucial region to investigate and understand better.
According to Ginsburg (2019), “Over 15.6 million U.S. households experienced food insecurity at times during 2016 [1]. In other words, one or more members of the household had limited access to adequate food due to a lack of money and other resources [2]. Food insecurity is tied to poverty and to poorer health among children, adults, and the elderly. Among children, food insecurity is associated with several adverse health conditions: birth defects [3], asthma [4, 5], impaired cognition [6, 7], behavioral and mental-health problems [5, 7], and poorer general health [4, 8, 9]. Among adults, there are associations with higher rates of smoking [10], hypertension [11], and hyperlipidemia [11]. There are also associations with diabetes [12, 13] and poor glycemic control [14]. In older adults, food insecurity is associated with depression and poor overall health [15].” The borough with the highest rates of food insecurity in New York City is the Bronx, and the southern part of the Bronx is “the poorest congressional district in the country” (Ginsburg, 2019). The Bronx is also home to a booming presence of immigrants who make up about 37 percent of the population, and has been the fastest-growing county in New York State since 2010 (Office of the State Deputy Comptroller for the City of New York, 2018). Newly arrived immigrants are stated to be at the highest risk of household food insecurity, and compared to households with US-born mothers, immigrant households were at a higher risk of food insecurity (Mariana Chilton et. al, 2009). The subject of body image and Western body ideals must also be addressed as “immigrants arriving from cultures that appreciate a larger female ideal often have higher BMIs and thus find themselves more at odds with Western body ideals—a situation that can give rise to increased body dissatisfaction and prompt dieting, both of which are known risk factors for EDs [eating disorders]” (Pike, K.M., Dunne, P.E. & Addai, E. Curr, 2013).
My personal interest in this type of research has its roots in the fact that I am a first-generation American child of Ukrainian immigrants, and I commute to Lehman College on a weekly basis, totaling up to 3.5-4 hours of commuting. For me, personally, commuting has altered my personal eating schedule, and issues such as train delays have made the commute more stressful than it should be. The mind does affect the body, and vice versa, so I wanted to discover what other people have to say about these particular topics. Additionally, children of immigrants or immigrants themselves may feel more negative consequences of adjusting to NYC's hectic culture since it is not their native environment. The Bronx, in particular, has less accessibility and support when it comes to developing a better transportation system, a better food accessibility situation, and an overall residency situation. This is a very crucial region to investigate and understand better.
According to Ginsburg (2019), “Over 15.6 million U.S. households experienced food insecurity at times during 2016 [1]. In other words, one or more members of the household had limited access to adequate food due to a lack of money and other resources [2]. Food insecurity is tied to poverty and to poorer health among children, adults, and the elderly. Among children, food insecurity is associated with several adverse health conditions: birth defects [3], asthma [4, 5], impaired cognition [6, 7], behavioral and mental-health problems [5, 7], and poorer general health [4, 8, 9]. Among adults, there are associations with higher rates of smoking [10], hypertension [11], and hyperlipidemia [11]. There are also associations with diabetes [12, 13] and poor glycemic control [14]. In older adults, food insecurity is associated with depression and poor overall health [15].” The borough with the highest rates of food insecurity in New York City is the Bronx, and the southern part of the Bronx is “the poorest congressional district in the country” (Ginsburg, 2019). The Bronx is also home to a booming presence of immigrants who make up about 37 percent of the population, and has been the fastest-growing county in New York State since 2010 (Office of the State Deputy Comptroller for the City of New York, 2018). Newly arrived immigrants are stated to be at the highest risk of household food insecurity, and compared to households with US-born mothers, immigrant households were at a higher risk of food insecurity (Mariana Chilton et. al, 2009). The subject of body image and Western body ideals must also be addressed as “immigrants arriving from cultures that appreciate a larger female ideal often have higher BMIs and thus find themselves more at odds with Western body ideals—a situation that can give rise to increased body dissatisfaction and prompt dieting, both of which are known risk factors for EDs [eating disorders]” (Pike, K.M., Dunne, P.E. & Addai, E. Curr, 2013).