https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/massey/oai:mro.massey.ac.nz:10179/6061
type: CreativeWork
name: Eating habits and nutrition attitudes among pregnant Chinese women in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nutritional Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
description: Immigration to a Western country can lead to dietary changes among Chinese immigrants, which can cause poor diets and health problems. Chinese immigrants' eating habits might be influenced by both Western and traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) nutrition recommendations. These two nutrition recommendations point out eating and nutrition during pregnancy is crucial for both maternal and fetal health, and they provide suggestions on eating habits during pregnancy. The population of Chinese women of reproductive age in New Zealand has increased dramatically. Since there is a lack of evidence about the eating habits and nutrition attitudes of pregnant Chinese women in New Zealand, the current study investigates pregnant Chinese women's eating habits, attitudes towards both Western and TCM nutrition, and possible relations to acculturation. Pregnant Chinese women in New Zealand were recruited mainly via a Chinese website, communities, churches, and the “snow-ball” model. The immigrants' eating habits, attitudes towards Western and TCM nutrition recommendations, and acculturation were measured by an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by 84 pregnant Chinese women, with a median age of 30.0 (95% CI 29.0 - 30.6). The participants' acculturation score was comparatively low (1.98 ± 0.592) compared with the theoretical score range (1.0 to 5.0). Regarding New Zealand nutrition recommendations, some of the findings cause concerns: (1) most of the participants did not meet the recommended intake of vegetables, cereals, and dairy food during pregnancy; (2) although a large proportion of the participants had positive attitudes towards recommended supplements and food for pregnancy, they did not follow the recommendations in practice, especially for the iodine supplements and food rich in iodine (e.g., bread and breakfast cereals). However, it is positive to find that: (1) most of the participants always consumed folic acid supplements during the first trimester of …
abstract: Immigration to a Western country can lead to dietary changes among Chinese immigrants, which can cause poor diets and health problems. Chinese immigrants' eating habits might be influenced by both Western and traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) nutrition recommendations. These two nutrition recommendations point out eating and nutrition during pregnancy is crucial for both maternal and fetal health, and they provide suggestions on eating habits during pregnancy. The population of Chinese women of reproductive age in New Zealand has increased dramatically. Since there is a lack of evidence about the eating habits and nutrition attitudes of pregnant Chinese women in New Zealand, the current study investigates pregnant Chinese women's eating habits, attitudes towards both Western and TCM nutrition, and possible relations to acculturation. Pregnant Chinese women in New Zealand were recruited mainly via a Chinese website, communities, churches, and the “snow-ball” model. The immigrants' eating habits, attitudes towards Western and TCM nutrition recommendations, and acculturation were measured by an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by 84 pregnant Chinese women, with a median age of 30.0 (95% CI 29.0 - 30.6). The participants' acculturation score was comparatively low (1.98 ± 0.592) compared with the theoretical score range (1.0 to 5.0). Regarding New Zealand nutrition recommendations, some of the findings cause concerns: (1) most of the participants did not meet the recommended intake of vegetables, cereals, and dairy food during pregnancy; (2) although a large proportion of the participants had positive attitudes towards recommended supplements and food for pregnancy, they did not follow the recommendations in practice, especially for the iodine supplements and food rich in iodine (e.g., bread and breakfast cereals). However, it is positive to find that: (1) most of the participants always consumed folic acid supplements during the first trimester of …
author: Ma, Jingjing
keywords: Pregnant women, Diet, Chinese, Food, Food habits, New Zealand
date published: 2014
date modified: 2026-07-27T20:18:23Z
provider: Massey University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Massey University