Family hospitality and ethnic tradition among South Asian, Italian and general population women in the West of Scotland

South Asians have a high risk of heart disease in Britain and
Italians low, and there are corresponding differences in total
energy and total fat intake. The present paper explores how far
obligatory patterns of food intake exist in either group and are
reflected in conventions of hospitality. Both groups are from
peasant-based economies, where, despite the common pattern of
low fat intake, food occupies a high proportion of family
income, and is correspondingly important as a part of gift
exchange in marriage, and as a bearer of collective meanings.
Open-ended questions on meals suitable for family hospitality
were asked of South Asian women (63 born abroad, 56 in
Britain), and Italian women (39 abroad, 51 in Britain) together
with 50 women from the general population, all aged 20–40 and
resident in the West of Scotland urban area. The traditional
family meal of the Glasgow general population corresponds to
the cooked dinner described in South Wales, and suggests a pan-
British cultural symbol. However traditional family hospitality
meals play a more important part in the life of migrant South
Asians and Italians than they do in the majority culture, and
British-born South Asians maintain this pattern more than
British-born Italians. This pattern of hospitality, in an economy
where energy-dense foods are readily available, may result in high
energy intake and increased coronary risk. However realisation
of these implications, and increased weight consciousness, can
lead to restoration of the traditional cardioprotective diet.