Abstract
Food habits continue to play an important part in maintaining ethnic identity and religious beliefs, and are fundamental to the health and well-being of people who move from one country to another. 16000 refugees from Vietnam have been resettled in the United Kingdom, and this study was undertaken tolearn about the food habits and nutrition of the Vietnamese. Information was collected by interviewing refugees in reception centres before their food habits could be modified by the host culture. Feeding the refugees and the degree to which they were involved in meal planning and preparation varied from centre to centre. A survey of the catering systems used indicated that self-catering allowed the Vietnamese to select those items from the British food supply which could be adapted to their meal structure and cooking methods, and was preferable to communal catering with a paid staff. In addition to granting refugees some control over their own lives, an opportunity to iteract with the host community was a valuable teaching experience. The nutritional content of diets was based on meals prepared by the Vietnamese at Moyle Tower, and the diet was found to be nutritionally sound. It was low in fat and sodium and high in carbohydrates from staple foods. Since their diet closely approximates what nutritionists are advocating for the Western world, it would be a mistake to encourage the Vietnamese to adopt our food habits. The Vietnamese diet was found to be no more expensive than a British diet. The cost of individual foods is only germane when looking at total food habits.