I am doing research on diet related health problems in Hawaii.

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I am a Dietetics major at the University of Delaware. Currently, I am doing research on diet-related health problems in Hawaii over time. Most of the information I have found on this topic is vague, but generally describes that with the modern American influence, the people of Hawaii have stopped consuming much of their traditional diet and instead are now eating many high-fat, processed foods. This is why many of the health problems in Hawaii are diet related. In the past, their illnesses were not diet related and I am looking for the time period and how this change took place.

You are correct in stating that the Asians who moved to Hawaii have a higher risk of heart disease and cancer because of Americanizing their traditional Asian diet. I would suggest you contact Jean Hankin at the Cancer Research Center, the University of Hawaii, who presented a paper on the influence of Asian – Pacific diets on food choices in the US which is the reverse of what you are doing research on, but will have answers and references to your questions. Jean has also written an article on the intake of specific carotenoids and lung cancer risk in 1993. Her slides indicated that Chinese started migrating to Hawaii in 1850, Japanese 1860, Filipinos and Koreans in 1900. Vietnamese, Laotians, Thais from 1950 to the present.

Also, try looking in the American Dietetic Association Journal. The December issues contain an index to all the articles printed during that year.

The health problems of Asians who migrated to Hawaii are similar to those of Native Americans who through living on reservations had to adopt a white European diet. Many Native Americans were foragers and ate wild rice, grains, fruits, vegetables and wild game.