Barriers to healthy eating among Norwegian-Pakistani women participating in a culturally adapted intervention

Abstract

Aims: To explore barriers to healthy dietary changes experienced by Pakistani immigrant women participating in a culturally adapted intervention, and whether these barriers were associated with intentions to change dietary behaviours. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to control and intervention group. The 7-month intervention consisted of six educational group sessions on diet and physical activity, based on knowledge about Pakistani lifestyle and focusing on blood glucose control. Data on barriers for and intentions to healthy dietary changes were collected through an interview with help of a questionnaire. The article is based on data from follow-up assessments in the intervention group, comprising 82 women, aged 28—62 years, without a history of type 2 diabetes. Results: The most important barriers to healthy dietary changes were preferences of children and other family members and perceived expectations during social gatherings. The perceived pressure from other family members was especially strong when the women were trying to change to more vegetables, lentils, and fish and to use less oil in food preparation. The barriers were inversely related to intentions to change. Conclusions: The women encountered various types of barriers when trying to change to healthier food habits, the most prominent being those related to the social dimensions of food consumption, as well as to awareness of the amount of oil used for cooking.