Charles Perkins Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Charles Perkins Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Nutrition. 2021 May;85:111100. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2020.111100. Epub 2020 Dec 5.
The number of international students within tertiary education facilities continues to increase globally, but the challenges for this population in achieving a healthy diet in an unfamiliar environment receives insufficient attention. This scoping review aimed to synthesize current literature that investigated dietary changes and food security status of this student population. We followed a five-stage methodological framework developed by Arksey and O'Malley. Six electronic databases were searched. All types of research methods, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, were considered for inclusion. This review included 30 articles reporting dietary changes and 12 articles reporting food insecurity in international students. The students were able to explore novel foods in their host country without totally abandoning their original diet, thus developing a hybrid diet. Dietary habits oscillated between the new and traditional dietary cultures with many students consuming foods from their new food environment but less so in the long term. Changes in diet may contribute to weight change and some negative health impacts, but none of the included studies investigated the effects on academic performance. Additionally, international students appeared to be more vulnerable to food insecurity, but the contributing factors and impacts of this issue were insufficiently researched. International students often experienced dietary acculturation and faced more challenges in food security than their domestic peers. More specific support should be provided by tertiary institutions and governments to international students including regular culturally appropriate nutrition education programs.
全球范围内，接受高等教育的国际留学生数量不断增加，但这一人群在陌生环境中实现健康饮食所面临的挑战，尚未得到足够重视。本研究旨在对调查该学生群体饮食变化和食品安全状况的现有文献进行综合分析。我们遵循由 Arksey 和 O'Malley 制定的五阶段方法框架。共检索了六个电子数据库。所有类型的研究方法，包括定性、定量和混合方法，都被认为可以纳入。本综述共纳入 30 篇报告国际留学生饮食变化的文章和 12 篇报告其食品安全状况的文章。这些学生能够在不放弃原有饮食的情况下，探索所在国的新食物，从而形成一种混合饮食。饮食习惯在新的和传统的饮食文化之间波动，许多学生长期食用来自新饮食环境的食物，但食用量较少。饮食变化可能导致体重变化和一些负面健康影响，但纳入的研究均未调查其对学习成绩的影响。此外，国际学生似乎更容易出现食品安全问题，但这一问题的影响因素和影响尚未得到充分研究。国际学生在饮食文化适应方面往往面临更多挑战，并且比其国内同龄人更容易出现食品安全问题。高等院校和政府应为国际学生提供更具体的支持，包括定期开展文化适宜性营养教育计划。
