Food Consumption Patterns of First Generation Korean-Americans in Hawaii

To evaluate food consumption patterns of first generation Korean-American in Hawaii, questionnaires were developed using sociodemographic questions and food frequency questionnaire, which included 139 food items most often consumed among Korean foods and American foods. The questionnaires surveyed 157 first generation Korean-Americans in Hawaii. Mean daily servings for the first generation Korean-Americans were calculated for 139 food items combined into 41 food groups based on similarity in nutrient composition and serving size. The food groups which were consumed in amounts over one serving per day for all subjects were rice, Kimchi , non-citrus fruit , vegetables, organge/green vegetables. oil. margarine and coffee/tea. All subjects consumed less than one serving of hotdogs, hamburgers, pizza and pancakes per week(0.14 serving per day). The most notable characteristic of food consumption for first generation Korean-Americans was that they consumed more Korean food such as rice, Kimchi, soybean paste(Deenjang), soybean curd and seaweed than American foods. Compared with other groups based on age and gender, younger men showed significantly(p<0.05) more frequent consumption of beef/pork, sausages /hams /bacons and hambergers. Older men were significantly(p<0.05) more likely to consume Doenjang and less likely to consume pizza and hamburgers. Daily servings were below the recommended level for thegrains /bread/cereals group and fats/oils/sweets group for all subjects . Fruits/vegetables group servings exceeded the recommeded 5 daily servings for younger men. In correlations of daily servings of selected foods among Korean foods and American food with sociodemographic characteristics, this study showed that the older the subjects and the shorter the stay in Hawaii, subjects were more likely to consume Kroean foods.