Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 41:255-270, 2002 Copyright © 2002 Taylor & Francis 0367-0244/02 $12.00 + .00 THE EFFECT OF MIGRATION ON DIETARY INTAKE, TYPE 2 DIABETES AND OBESITY: THE GHANAIAN HEALTH AND NUTRITION ANALYSIS IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (GHANAISA) ASHRAF SALEH, SOUMELA AMANATIDIS and SAMIR SAMMAN Human Nutrition Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Received September 12, 2001; accepted October 10, 2001) This study aimed to investigate the dietary changes that occur upon migration and their relationship to Type II diabetes and obesity in Ghanaian migrants res- iding in Sydney, Australia. Eighty subjects (45 male, 35 female) were recruited from a local association. Anthropometric and duplicate fasting blood glucose measurements were obtained from each subject and dietary information col- lected by food frequency questionnaires. According to the WHO criteria, 20% of men and 11% of women were diabetic, with 22% and 20% sustaining impaired fasting glucose. Self-reported mean BMI prior to migration to Aus- tralia was significantly lower than their current measured BMI. Fruits were consumed 14.2 and 12.6 servings less and fish 3.8 and 5.3 servings less per week in men and women, respectively, compared to when resident in Ghana. Upon migration, tropical root crops were almost exclusively replaced by potato starch. These dietary changes are consistent with an increased risk of Type II diabetes and overweight in this migrant population. KEY WORDS: Metabolic risk factors, overweight and obesity, Type II diabetes mellitus, diet, Ghanaian Address correspondence to Dr. S. Samman, Human Nutrition Unit, Dept. of Biochemistry G08, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. 255 Downloaded By: [University of Sydney] At: 06:04 30 May 2011