Dietary Assimilation and its effect on health: A Study of International Students

This paper seeks to understand the effect of environment on obesity by studying the effect of acculturation on the health of a foreign population – who experience a relatively low prevalence of obesity – after they have been introduced to different environments, some are characterized by relatively low prevalence and others are characterized by relatively high rates of obesity. Acculturation for the purpose of this study is defined as a voluntary or involuntary adaptation of food habits and culture of the new country. The foreign population is defined to be the group of foreign students who come from various countries to the United States for short term or long-term habitation.