Dietary Practices of Burmese Refugee Children aged 2-12 years living in the Auckland Region, New Zealand

Abstract

Refugees from Burma make up the largest quota refugees in New Zealand and a high proportion of these refugees are children. Although evidence indicates these children are vulnerable to diseases related to under nutrition in their country of origin and over nutrition post settlement in western countries, very little information exists on their dietary habits post migration. This research aimed to describe the post-migration dietary habits of 2-12 year old Burmese refugee children and food security and other household nutrition issues. This was an observational cross-sectional study carried out among 48 caregivers and 76 children recruited using a non-random sampling method. Data was collected using two sets of structured questionnaires administered via a face-to-face survey. Nearly four out of five child participants consumed breakfast regularly and the majority ate breakfast cereals and toast for breakfast. The consumption of fruits and vegetables and milk and other dairy was significantly lower than that reported for New Zealand children. None of the school-going children in the study met the recommendation for consumption of vegetables; however nearly 70% met the guideline for fruits. This proportion among preschoolers was also low. Only half of the 5-12 year olds met the recommendation for dairy and meat and protein food groups. Among preschoolers, 13% met the guidelines for vegetables, 57% for fruits, 74% for dairy and 55% for red meat. More than half of the caregivers never chose to buy low-fat food. A high proportion of caregivers correctly perceived foods that were healthy except for 50% who said that salted dry fish a traditional food was healthy. Food security was an issue for 15- 25% of the families. However, this issue may require further investigation as the questions used may not have been appropriate for this study population. The majority ate western takeaways and chips more frequently in comparison to Asian takeaways. Preliminary findings of this study indicate dietary habits of refugee children may become more westernized (i.e. low in vegetables and fruits) post-settlement in western countries. Food security issues were prevalent; however this issue needs further investigation.