article · BMC Public Health
Communities with diverse ethnicities in high-income nations experience disproportionately poor diet-related health outcomes, yet official healthy eating resources in England remain underused by these groups. A qualitative study examined dietary perceptions, beliefs, knowledge, and practices among eighteen African and South Asian adults living in Medway, England. Through semi-structured telephone interviews, researchers identified six key themes: eating patterns, social and cultural influences, food preferences and daily routines, food accessibility and availability, concepts of health and healthy eating, and attitudes towards United Kingdom government dietary guidance. The findings demonstrate that interventions must tackle both structural and individual barriers by improving access to nutritious options. Furthermore, creating culturally responsive eating guides could substantially increase the acceptability and practical uptake of dietary guidance among ethnically diverse populations in England.
Disproportionate rates of poor diet-related health outcomes affect ethnically diverse communities in high-income countries. Understanding how cultural backgrounds, availability, and perceptions of state guidance shape eating habits allows policymakers and public health practitioners to design culturally adapted guidance and targeted interventions that resonate with communities, ultimately helping to reduce widespread dietary health disparities.
The findings represent early-stage qualitative research that could inform the development of culturally responsive dietary guidelines, educational tools, or community nutrition services. Potential users include public health authorities, healthcare organisations, and dietetics programme developers. Because the findings are drawn from eighteen qualitative interviews, practical applications remain at an early concept stage and would require further design, testing, and validation before widespread deployment.
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BACKGROUND: Communities with diverse ethnicity in high-income countries are disproportionately affected by poor diet-related health outcomes. In England, the United Kingdom's government's healthy eating dietary resources are not well accepted and are underutilised among this population. Thus, this study explored perceptions, beliefs, knowledge, and practices around dietary intake among communities with African and South Asian ethnicity residing in Medway, England. METHODS: This qualitative study generated data from 18 adults aged 18 and above using a semi-structured interview guide. These participants were sampled using purposive and convenience sampling strategies. All the interviews were conducted in English over the telephone, and responses were thematically analysed. RESULTS: Six overarching themes were generated from the interview transcripts: eating patterns, social and cultural factors, food preferences and routines, accessibility and availability, health and healthy eating, and perceptions about the United Kingdom government's healthy eating resources. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that strategies to improve access to healthy foods are required to improve healthy dietary practices among the study population. Such strategies could help address this group's structural and individual barriers to healthy dietary practices. In addition, developing a culturally responsive eating guide could also enhance the acceptability and utilisation of such resources among communities with ethnic diversity in England.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15689-6
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