Nutr Res Pract.  2011 Oct;5(5):471-480.

Intrahousehold discrepancy regarding food insecurity within intermarried couples of Vietnamese wives and Korean husbands in South Korea

• Choi HN
• Chung HW
• Hwang JY
• Chang N

Abstract

Our previous studies have demonstrated the inadequate nutritional status of Vietnamese female marriage immigrants in Korea. Major possible reasons include food insecurity due to economic problems as well as a lack of adjustment to unfamiliar Korean foods and limited access to Vietnamese foods; however, no study has investigated food insecurity among such intermarried couples. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of food insecurity in Korean-husband-Vietnamese-wife couples and to determine whether they exhibit an intrahousehold discrepancy regarding food insecurity. A cross-sectional analysis of the Cohort of Intermarried Women in Korea study was performed with 84 intermarried couples. Among the 84 Vietnamese immigrants, 48.8% and 41.7% had food insecurity due to economic problems and a lack of foods appealing to their appetite, respectively. There was a marked discrepancy in reporting food insecurity between Vietnamese wives (22.6-38.1%) and their Korean husbands (6.0-15.5%). Vietnamese wives were five and two times more food-insecure due to economic problems and no foods appealing to their appetite, respectively, than their Korean spouses. A follow-up study is needed to investigate the causes of this discrepancy and ways of reducing food insecurity among female marriage immigrants living in low-income, rural communities.

Keyword

Vietnamese female immigrant; discrepancy; food insecurity; intermarried couple; multicultural family

MeSH Terms

Appetite
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Emigrants and Immigrants
Family Characteristics
Female
Food Supply
Humans
Korea
Marriage
Nutritional Status
Prevalence
Republic of Korea
Rural Population
Spouses

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