Dietary risks of Portuguese émigré consumers in a Northeast US Portuguese neighborhood: a qualitative investigation

Purpose The purpose of this research was to investigate the dietary changes experienced by Portuguese-American immigrants post-migration making them potentially susceptible to chronic diseases. Design/methodology/approach An in-depth interview guide was developed based on an adaptation of validated acculturation instruments exploring dietary behaviors before and after migration. Ten Portuguese émigrés were purposefully recruited and comprehensively interviewed at 4 retail sites, reflecting a generally balanced perspective of purposefully selected consumers in a culturally significant and commercial Portuguese hub in Northern New Jersey, US: a traditional Portuguese restaurant, a Portuguese grocery store, a fish market and a neighborhood gym. Transcribed interviews were thematically analyzed based on recognized protocols to provide transparency and rigor, whereby inferences were developed and themes were conceptually generated and triangulated among 3 investigating researchers. Findings Four themes were inductively culled from the proceedings: Perceptions of Nutritional Knowledge; Environmental Isolation; Contemporary Stress in the Modern Environment; and Developing Unhealthy Eating Patterns: Temptations, Habituation, Acknowledgement and Struggles. The participants were aware of their nutritional environment, but nutritional knowledge alone was not sufficient to promote proper nutrition. Rather, isolation, time-constraints and stress were cited as confounders to their healthy eating practices. Research limitations/implications Understanding the complexities of how traditional food practices transform in new environs gives insight into why dietary changes occur to émigrés. Lack of nutritional knowledge was not cited as an obstacle to healthy eating by the Portuguese émigrés of this investigation. Practical implications Addressing underlying dietary confounders such as isolation, time-constraints and overall stress would likely promote better nutritional outcomes. Dietary interventions should be conducted by qualified health practitioners, such as nutritionists and dieticians to address more than knowledge-based solutions to improper eating practices. Originality/value Dietary studies on émigrés to the US and other western countries have demonstrated associative relationships of acculturation with increased risk of chronic diseases. However, despite extensive research conducted on several ethnicities for susceptibility to dietary diseases, there has been limited focus on Portuguese-American émigrés’ food consumption practices. The present investigation assessed the uniqueness of the contemporary Portuguese-American dietary situation: the socio-cultural eating practices, influences and the contemporary environs. In addition, the findings novelly suggest that lack of nutrition knowledge was not the primary factor attributable to immoderate eating. Rather, a number of other psychosocial confounders contributed to irregular eating patterns.