Nutritional habits of female asylum seekers – from tradition to adaptation

Peer-reviewed / Manuscript (original contribution) received: April 04, 2018 / Revision accepted: September 16, 2019

Introduction

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), migrants are at an increased risk of certain diseases and malnutrition [4]. Associations that assist asylum seekers have highlighted the need to ensure adequate nutrition and to take account of the individual needs of women who are pregnant or breastfeeding [5]. The results of the explorative cross-sectional study carried out in spring 2016 in asylum-seekers living in communal accommodations at Caritas Stuttgart also highlighted a great need for support in the area of nutrition [1]. One finding of this quantitative study was that in Germany, asylum seekers exhibited changes in their consumption of certain foods and women in particular exhibited signs of poor nutrition. Furthermore, some practices in terms of the diet in early childhood did not line up with current recommendations.

Due to the key role that women play in ensuring proper nutrition for the family and their particular vulnerability during pregnancy and breastfeeding, the present qualitative study focused on the nutritional habits of female asylum seekers. The aim was to identify the causes of changes in nutritional behavior and early childhood nutrition in order to derive possible approaches to improving care systems.

Abstract

One year after an explorative cross-sectional study carried out at Caritas Stuttgart communal accommodations for asylum seekers [1], a qualitative study on the nutritional habits of 25 female asylum seekers was conducted. The participants’ nutritional habits were influenced to a large extent by cultural conceptions and culture-specific behaviors, which had to do with their feel- ings of connectedness to their countries of origin. The study also made it clear how much the participants missed eating together with others as a social experience when living in the host country. The changes to the structure and rhythm of the participant's days, for instance as a result of participation in language courses, led to them adapting their nutritional habits and to some inadequate practices in terms of proper nutrition in early childhood. Thus, when providing support in the area of nutrition, particular attention should be paid to health-, psychosocial-, and cultural aspects.

Keywords: asylum seekers, nutritional habits, food culture, socioeconomic conditions, acculturation

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