Promoting Healthy Eating or Unhealthy Stereotypes?
The researcher facing this dilemma is a New Yorker born and raised. Having attended university overseas, she decides to return to the City to work on an important piece of research the will add to the growing interest among public health officials, educators and even politicians in nutrition. 
Over the course of her research, the ethnographer becomes aware that her research questions are contextualized through her position as an individual and as someone interested in nutrition. She is also aware of the environment that the ongoing “pouring on the pounds” campaign and other education programs focusing on individual choice as a reason for rising obesity rates, has contributed to creating in the City. As an anthropologist, she knows that there is far more to food and drink choices than simply personal decision making and she attempts to make sure that her research participants know that she is not judging them for their choices, and that she is not a nutritionist or some kind of “health nut.” She is aware that her petite body type conforms to a stereotype of an upper/middle class white New Yorker while the heavier body type of many of her participants is something more commonly found in Mexican communities of lower socio-economic status. While she is strict in her adherence to the ethical standards of respect for persons, justice and certainly believes her research will ultimately benefit the community, she cannot account for every situation.
One afternoon, she is conducting an informal interview with a research participant who she has met a few times before. The participant, a young Mexican woman, suggests they meet at a local restaurant and she agrees. At the restaurant, she looks at the menu to decide what to order. She wants to be honest with her actions and considers a salad, but feels that she will seem like she is obsessed with “healthy eating” since many of her research participants have reported that salad is a “healthy food.” She considers ordering something high in calories/fat to make her research participant feel at ease to order whatever she wants but feels like maybe she will be sending mixed messages. Whatever she chooses, she runs the risk of potentially causing harm.
She is having an ethical dilemma!
Compromise. The complexity of this dilemma surrounds the idea of not sending mix messages to the research participant or not making the participant feel uncomfortable during the meeting. Choose something that is going to be honest and feel good to you but, maybe take it as an opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and try and experience something new. This will allow you to connect with the participant as well as allow you the comfort to not feel as if you are contradicting yourself nor harming your research with the participant.
I agree with the whole stereotype diet concept because I have heard the term, “you eat like a white person” when someone eats a meal that is a bit unusual to their daily meal menu.
Being Mexican is hard because all of think of is eating tacos, quesadillas, posole, all of the foods that are unhealthy. There are a lot of Mexican taco trucks everywhere and you cant resist not buying them. Its not only Mexicans though its a lot of other Caribbean and hispanic cultures as well that cant eat healthy because their food is tempting than eating a salad and vegetables.
I don’t think it’s accurate to characterize all Mexican and Caribbean foods as unhealthy- pozole, for example, is rich in nutrients and is typically garnished with fresh vegetables and herbs. You can find “healthy” and “unhealthy” foods in every culture and there are all kinds of health benefits to eating “traditional” foods that are not related how many calories are in them. Also, in terms of available “fast food” options, you are likely better off with freshly prepared tacos from a truck than more typical American fast food.
There are other foods in different countries that have unhealthy foods and it is not just mexican food. Mexican food have healthy and unhealthy foods. The healthy foods are pozole, arroz con bistec, caldo de pollo, and ensalada de pollo. The unhealthy foods are tacos, tortas, cemitas and quesadillas. It’s not just mexican food that are unhealthy, different countries have unhealthy foods.