Intrahousehold discrepancy regarding food insecurity within intermarried couples of Vietnamese wives and Korean husbands in South Korea.
- Author:
Ha Ney CHOI
1
;
Hye Won CHUNG
;
Ji Yun HWANG
;
Namsoo CHANG
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Vietnamese female immigrant; discrepancy; food insecurity; intermarried couple; multicultural family
- MeSH: Appetite; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Emigrants and Immigrants; Family Characteristics; Female; Food Supply; Humans; Korea; Marriage; Nutritional Status; Prevalence; Republic of Korea; Rural Population; Spouses
- From:Nutrition Research and Practice 2011;5(5):471-480
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: Our previous studies have demonstrated the inadequate nutritional status of Vietnamese female marriage immigrants in Korea. Major possible reasons include food insecurity due to economic problems as well as a lack of adjustment to unfamiliar Korean foods and limited access to Vietnamese foods; however, no study has investigated food insecurity among such intermarried couples. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of food insecurity in Korean-husband-Vietnamese-wife couples and to determine whether they exhibit an intrahousehold discrepancy regarding food insecurity. A cross-sectional analysis of the Cohort of Intermarried Women in Korea study was performed with 84 intermarried couples. Among the 84 Vietnamese immigrants, 48.8% and 41.7% had food insecurity due to economic problems and a lack of foods appealing to their appetite, respectively. There was a marked discrepancy in reporting food insecurity between Vietnamese wives (22.6-38.1%) and their Korean husbands (6.0-15.5%). Vietnamese wives were five and two times more food-insecure due to economic problems and no foods appealing to their appetite, respectively, than their Korean spouses. A follow-up study is needed to investigate the causes of this discrepancy and ways of reducing food insecurity among female marriage immigrants living in low-income, rural communities.
