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A taste of the unfamiliar. Understanding the meanings attached to food by international postgraduate students in England.
- Source :
-
Appetite [Appetite] 2010 Feb; Vol. 54 (1), pp. 202-7. Date of Electronic Publication: 2009 Nov 05. - Publication Year :
- 2010
-
Abstract
- Using findings from semi-structured interviews with international postgraduate students in England, this paper explores the meanings attached to the food they eat in a new culture. Our study, using interviews, aimed to uncover student responses to both the food they eat whilst abroad and to the food they have left behind. Many students criticised local English food as bland, fattening, and unhealthy; nevertheless, most showed an openness to new foods, trying not only local food but also dishes prepared by their international friends, but this sat alongside a strong attachment to their home country dishes. Eating together was a popular leisure activity, and food of the origin country or region was the most popular cuisine. Eating home country food offered emotional and physical sustenance; students felt comforted by familiar taste, and that their physical health was stabilised by the consumption of healthier food than was available locally. Despite acknowledgement of the importance of food to cultural identity and overall quality of life in the anthropology and nutrition literatures, there is a dearth of research into this aspect of the international student experience; this study, therefore, marks an important beginning.<br /> (2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Subjects :
- Adult
Africa ethnology
Asia, Southeastern ethnology
Attitude to Health
Emotions physiology
England ethnology
Europe ethnology
Feeding Behavior physiology
Feeding Behavior psychology
Female
Food Preferences psychology
Health Status
Humans
Interviews as Topic
Leisure Activities psychology
Male
Memory physiology
Middle East ethnology
Social Behavior
Students psychology
Young Adult
Comprehension physiology
Culture
Food
Food Preferences physiology
Recognition, Psychology physiology
Taste physiology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1095-8304
- Volume :
- 54
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Appetite
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 19896514
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2009.11.001