A Comparison of Mental Health, Food Insecurity, and Diet Quality Indicators between Foreign-Born Immigrants of Canada and Native-Born Canadians

Because successful integration post-immigration is critical to Canada’s population health, national data were analyzed to examine mental health, food insecurity (Household Food Security Survey Module), and diet quality (e.g., nutrient intakes) between foreign-born immigrants and native-born Canadians. After controlling for sociodemographic and health covariates, immigrants were more likely to report poor mental health, food insecurity, and poor diet quality (ORs 1.038–1.080); consume less carbohydrates, vitamin B1, and iron (ORs 0.814–0.996); and have higher intakes of fat, fiber, and vitamins B6 and B9 (ORs 1.003–1.420; all p’s<0.05). These results can help to advance policy developments to help mitigate the ‘healthy immigrant effect’.