Draw and Tell: Dietary Acculturation as Lived by Black Immigrant Children of African and Caribbean Descent Residing in Canada

Abstract

Objective: Explore immigrant children's lived experience of dietary acculturation.

Design: Draw and tell qualitative research.

Participants: A total of 167 school-aged children living in Ottawa, Canada, who had a mother born in sub-Saharan Africa or the Caribbean.

Methods: Children made 2 drawings about foods, 1 related to Canada and the other to their home country, and explained their drawings and what they meant to them. These discussions were recorded and transcribed.

Analysis: Foods were counted for each region (Canada/Africa/Caribbean). Thematic analysis was performed.

Results: Most children drew different foods for Canada and their home country. Apples were the most frequently mentioned food for Canada. Pizza, juice and sugar-sweetened beverages, fries/poutine, and hamburgers were among the 10 most frequently mentioned foods for Canada, whereas none of the top 10 foods for African and Caribbean countries were highly processed. Rice, chicken, meat, and leafy vegetables were in the top 10 foods mentioned for the 3 regions. Emerging themes were food availability and variety, mothers' lack of time and fatigue, and the school eating environment.

Conclusion and implications: It seems that these black immigrant children experienced dietary acculturation and that changes in dietary habits have had mostly a negative impact on their diet.

Keywords: acculturation; arts-based research; draw and tell; nutrition; qualitative research methods.