P
Pacific Islander American diet
OriginsThe Pacific Islands contain 789 habitable islands
and are divided into the three geographic areas: Poly-
nesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. According to the
2000 U.S. Census, there are over a million Pacific
Islanders in the United States, most of whom live in
California, Hawaii, Washington, Utah, and Texas.
Pacific Islander ethnicities in the United States include
Carolinian, Fijian, Guamanian, Hawaiian, Kosraean,
Melanesian, Micronesian, Northern Mariana Islander,
Palauan, Papua New Guinean, Ponapean, Polynesian,
Samoan, Solomon Islander, Tahitian, Tarawa Islander,
Tongan, Trukese (Chuukese), and Yapese. Prior to
1980, Pacific Islander Americans (except Hawaiians)
were classified with Asian Americans under the classi-
fication of ‘‘Asian and Pacific Islander American.’’
Today, the U.S. Census Bureau includes Pacific Islander
Americans under the classification of ‘‘Native Hawai-
ian and Other Pacific Islander.’’ Pacific Islanders are a
racially and culturally diverse population group, and
they follow a wide variety of religions and have an
array of languages.
DescriptionEating Habits and Meal Patterns
The cuisine of Pacific Islander Americans varies
slightly from culture to culture and is a blend of
native foods and European, Japanese, American,
and Asian influences. As with many cultures, food
plays a central role in the culture. Pacific Islander
Americans typically eat three meals a day. Breakfast
is usually cereal and coffee; traditional meals are
eaten for lunch or dinner; and fruits, fruit juices,
vegetables, and nuts (e.g., peanuts and macadamia)
are eaten in abundance. Milk and other dairy prod-
ucts are uncommon and there is a high prevalence
of lactose intolerance among Pacific Islander Ameri-
cans. Thus,calciumdeficiency is prevalent.
Starchy foods are the foundation of the tradi-
tional diet. For example, the traditional Hawaiian
diet is 75 to 80% starch, 7 to 12% fat, and 12 to 15%
protein. Starch in the traditional diet comes primarily
from root vegetables (e.g., taro, cassava, yam, green
bananas, and breadfruit). In addition, the traditional
diet is plentiful in fresh fruits, juices, nuts, and greens.
Traditional meals includepoi(boiled taro), breadfruit,
green bananas, fish, or pork. Many dishes are cooked
in coconut milk, and seaweed is often used as a vege-
table or a condiment.Nutritional Transition
Many Pacific Islander Americans now eat an
Americanized diet consisting of fast foods and highly
processed foodstuffs such as white flour, white sugar,
canned meat and fish, butter, margarine, mayonnaise,
carbonated beverages, candies, cookies, and sweet-
ened breakfast cereals. Rice is now a staple food, hav-
ing taken over yam and taro in popularity in the 1980s
and 1990s. This nutritional transition has resulted in
an increase in cardiovascular disease (i.e.,coronary
heart disease, stroke, hypertension), obesity, and type
2 diabetes.
Nutrition education is needed to stimulate nutri-
tion-related indigenous knowledge and the consump-
tion of traditional nutrient-rich local foods as a more
healthful alternative to fast foods and processed foods.
There is also an urgent need for increased awareness
of the health perils of obesity, especially among indi-
viduals with low socioeconomic status. Many health
professionals are now emphasizing eating traditional
‘‘native’’ foods and encouraging residents to get back to
a healthy lifestyle and to their cultural roots. Language
is a major barrier to health education and medical