Rice and Peas in the Diaspora: Food, Health, and the Body among Barbadian Migrants in Atlanta Público
Tookes, Jennifer Sweeney (2013)
Published
Abstract
Diet-related health concerns have become epidemic in the United
States; over half of the
adult population is overweight or obese, and rates of chronic
diseases are increasing.
Research on diet, nutrition and body weight abounds. However, much
of it is
quantitatively based, providing little insight into the reasons,
motivations and causes of
food-related behavior, or the related factors of physical activity
and perceptions of the
body.
This dissertation addresses these three interrelated issues in a
migrant population, with
the guiding question: How do diet, body and activity change when
people migrate? This
project links the lived experiences of consumption and body
composition with cultural
meanings of food choice and exercise, mediated by rates of physical
activity and ideals
about attractiveness and the body. This combination provides a
synthesis of meaning and
physicality as well as cultural significance and nutrition. People
make choices based on a
variety of input--especially as they relate to food and health.
Therefore, in addition to
examining individuals and their particular experiences and belief
sets, it is crucial to look
at the entire food, body, and activity equation as people live it.
This interrelated whole of
all three offers deeper insight into people's beliefs,
self-perceptions and practices. A
dual-sited project, this research compares Barbadian born women
living in the Atlanta
area and a counterpart cohort living in Barbados.
This analysis of dietary habits and levels of activity indicates
that the significant
difference in health between Barbadians in the US and Barbados is
quantity and type of
physical activity. Incidental exercise integrated into regular
daily habits in Barbados
increases activity levels to a point that seems to protect health,
with less influence from
dietary choices. Barbadian migrant women are adhering to a diet
considered healthy by
American dietary guidelines. However, they are less healthy than
their counterparts on
the island. This research indicates that physical activity may be a
more important factor
in long-term health in this group. More broadly, these findings
indicate that nutritional
anthropological research may be missing salient variables in
focusing disproportionately
on diet in evaluating nutrition crises.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
List of Figures and Tables
Chapter One:
Introduction............................................................................1
Chapter Two: We Are Where We Eat: Place, Migration and
Acculturation............22
Chapter Three: Feeding the Body: Food and
Identity......................................67
Chapter Four: The Female Barbadian
Body..................................................106
Chapter Five: Moving the Body: Physical Activity and
Health..........................146
Chapter Six:
Conclusions..........................................................................190
Bibliography............................................................................................201
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