Sapna Cheryan’s research on members of U.S. immigrant groups choosing typical American dishes as a way to show that they belong and to prove their American-ness has received considerable media coverage.
Immigrants to the United States and their U.S.-born children gain more than a new life and new citizenship. They gain weight. The wide availability of cheap, convenient, fatty American foods and large meal portions have been blamed for immigrants packing on pounds, approaching U.S. levels of obesity within 15 years of their move. The results of the study are published in the June issue of Psychological Science. It has been picked up by a New York Times food blog, US News & World Report, Time magazine’s health blog, Seattle Weekly, Vancouver Sun, and KIRO, among others. See “‘Fatting in’: Immigrant groups eat high-calorie American meals to fit in,” http://www.washington.edu/news/articles/2018fatting-in2019-immigrant-groups-eat-high-calorie-american-meals-to-fit-in