Immigrants and their US born children eat high-calorie food to prove their American-ness and to fit in, researchers say.
美国研究人员称，海外移民及其子女为融入美国社会，会吃热量很高的食物，以便让自己看起来更“美国”。
Corresponding author Sapna Cheryan of the University of Washington in Seattle and study co-author Maya Guendelman, a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley, whose parents immigrated from Chile, suspected immigrants might use food as a way to appear more American.
华盛顿大学通讯作者萨普纳 切尔扬以及毕业于加州大学伯克利分校的玛雅 古恩德尔曼认为海外移民有可能会利用食物让自己看起来更像美国人，他们为此专门展开了一项调查。玛雅 古恩德尔曼的父母也是从智利移民到美国的。
The researchers surveyed Asian-American and white college students and found 68 percent of the Asian-American respondents recalled food-related insecurities around white peers while growing up, like awkwardness about using chopsticks. However, only 27 percent of white students remembered embarrassing food practices from childhood.
他们对亚裔学生和白人学生进行了调查。在走访过程中，有68%的亚裔受访者表示在他们的成长过程中，就餐并不是一件让人感觉愉快的经历，比如吃饭时他们用筷子，周围的白人同伴就会觉得很奇怪。而仅有27%的白人学生称自己小时候有过尴尬的就餐经历。
In another study, 55 Asian-Americans were asked to select a dish to eat from local Asian and American restaurants, but before making the selection, researchers told some participants: "You have to be an American to be in this study," as a way of threatening the participants' American identity.
在另一项调查中，他们让55名亚裔美国人选择在亚洲餐馆或美国餐馆就餐，但在选择之前，他们会假装怀疑部分参与者的美国身份，并对他们说：“只有美国人才能参与这项调查。”
The study, scheduled to be published in the June issue of Psychological Science, finds those whose American identity was threatened chose more American dishes, such as hamburgers, than Asian-American participants not asked if they were American.
调查结果显示，那些受到质疑的受访者更倾向于选择典型的美国食品，例如汉堡包，而没有受到质疑的受访者则不会。
The root of the problem is social pressures, not a lack self-control, Cheryan says.
切尔扬表示，产生这种现象的原因来自社会压力，而不是这些受访者缺乏自控能力。
"Being American is associated with being white," Cheryan said in a statement. "Americans who don't fit this image -- even if they were born here and speak English -- feel that pressure to prove that they're American."
他在一份声明中说：“人们觉得美国人就该是白人，而那些移民后代虽然出生在美国，也讲着英语，但由于外貌特征不符合人们对美国人的传统印象，就会感到压力很大。”
（责任编辑:allen）
