What are the connections between food, health and migration? How does migration harm or help the health of migrants and also the native-born? Can migrants and their families protect themselves from the health risks in the places they relocate to? How can we find out more about the ways that food is used as medicine and also serves to protect people from health problems?
According to New York State Vital Statistics data for 2015, 37% of deaths in the Bronx result from noncommunicable chronic disease, many of which are diet-related.[1] In addition, the Bronx has a high rate of newly-arrived New Yorkers, with 35% of borough residents foreign born.[2] Researchers have identified dietary assimilation, allostatic load, and trauma as playing roles in the onset and prognosis of diabetes, among other chronic diseases. Health is not only a product of diet, exercise, and genetics (as often popularly conceived), but is impacted by social factors such as social inequality, stress (including immigration stress, the stress of integrating into a new community) and schedules that inhibit rest and family life. What are factors that contribute to dietary health in the Bronx, such as the availability of fresh food, income, cooking facilities, knowledge and ability to cook including time, knowledge, and tools? Do other social factors such as community of origin, age of immigration, prior knowledge of cooking techniques and recipes contribute to or inhibit dietary assimilation of new Bronxites?
Students participating in this research seminar will develop original research questions and interdisciplinary research methods to explore themes such as whether immigrant Bronxites are relatively advantaged or disadvantaged compared to native-born residents in terms of diet-related chronic diseases.
[1] New York State. Vital Statistics Data as of January 2018,
https://apps.health.ny.gov/public/tabvis/PHIG_Public/lcd/reports/#county.
[2]United States Census. 2018. Bronx, Foreign Born. Place of Birth by Nativity and Citizenship Status: Total population, 2012-2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
According to New York State Vital Statistics data for 2015, 37% of deaths in the Bronx result from noncommunicable chronic disease, many of which are diet-related.[1] In addition, the Bronx has a high rate of newly-arrived New Yorkers, with 35% of borough residents foreign born.[2] Researchers have identified dietary assimilation, allostatic load, and trauma as playing roles in the onset and prognosis of diabetes, among other chronic diseases. Health is not only a product of diet, exercise, and genetics (as often popularly conceived), but is impacted by social factors such as social inequality, stress (including immigration stress, the stress of integrating into a new community) and schedules that inhibit rest and family life. What are factors that contribute to dietary health in the Bronx, such as the availability of fresh food, income, cooking facilities, knowledge and ability to cook including time, knowledge, and tools? Do other social factors such as community of origin, age of immigration, prior knowledge of cooking techniques and recipes contribute to or inhibit dietary assimilation of new Bronxites?
Students participating in this research seminar will develop original research questions and interdisciplinary research methods to explore themes such as whether immigrant Bronxites are relatively advantaged or disadvantaged compared to native-born residents in terms of diet-related chronic diseases.
[1] New York State. Vital Statistics Data as of January 2018,
https://apps.health.ny.gov/public/tabvis/PHIG_Public/lcd/reports/#county.
[2]United States Census. 2018. Bronx, Foreign Born. Place of Birth by Nativity and Citizenship Status: Total population, 2012-2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.