The number of people living with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is increasing worldwide[1, 2] and is qualified as an epidemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). An epidemic that in this 21st century affects about 371 million people, and could reach 552 million by 2030 [2, 3]. In developed countries such as Canada, this disease affects populations unequally [1, 2, 4, 5]. The literature shows that the prevalence rate is higher in the migrant population than in the general population [5–8]. In Canada, for example, migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), South America, and South Asia are more affected than those of European origin [5, 6, 9, 10]. For example, Creatore, Moineddin [5] found in their study on the prevalence of diabetes among migrants in Toronto that the prevalence rates of diabetes among migrants from Eastern Europe and Central Asia were 4.6 among men and 4.8 among women, while among migrants from SSA the prevalence rates of diabetes were 7.9 among women and 8.9 among men.
Factors associated with T2D are multiple [11, 12]. The scientific literature on T2D generally explains the emergence of this disease based on risk factors such as lack of physical activity, the acquisition of poor eating habits and, consequently, the development of obesity [1, 2, 6]. Promotion, prevention, control, and monitoring programs arise from these explanations[13–15]. The alimentation and corporality, two social dimensions anchored in a system of socio-cultural representations [16–19] play an essential role in the development of this disease [6, 20]. These are the social dimensions most targeted by health workers in their practices aimed at the prevention and control of T2D [6, 20, 21]. Individuals living with T2D or at risk of developing this disease are invited to carefully choose the dietary they include in their daily diet, while respecting dietary and body norms that are favourable to the prevention and control of this disease [6, 22].
In the case of migrants from SSA, the systems of dietary and body norms conveyed in health care settings generally run counter what is vital for most of these people [23–25], thus exposing them to conflicts of norms that are difficult to reconcile [24, 26]. For example, for some people in SSA, overweight is a valued social norm. It is associated with opulence, social success, wealth [27, 28], beauty and fertility [24, 25, 29]. It is also an indicator of health and happiness within the couple [24, 25, 29]. However, in the host society such as Canada, overweight generally has a negative connotation. As mentioned by Ntanda [24] and Pillarella [23], most migrants from SSA remain loyal to the systems of dietary and body norms of their country of origin. The refusal or acceptance of the host society's systems of dietary and body norms may express, for some people, a will, a desire not to die as Worms [30] would say. This is not death in biological terms, but rather in terms of identity, community, family, relationships, and politics among others [24]. For some of these people, the acceptance of dietary and body norms systems favorable to the prevention or control of T2D is part of the desire to be accepted, considered or valued in the host society (by colleagues and friends), so as not to suffer social exclusion [23, 24]. For others, the refusal of these systems of norms may appear as a means of resistance, of asserting themselves in the face of a certain historical and/or subjectively experienced domination [24].
Although there is considerable evidence on the deteriorating epidemiological profile of migrants [22, 31, 32], little is known about factors that may influence the acceptance or rejection of dietary and body norm systems among migrants from SSA living with or at risk of developing T2D. To our knowledge, studies on migrants living with T2D in Canada have mostly concerned migrants from Asia, Latin America or migrants in general [6] and have mainly focused on individual dimensions (attitudes, behaviors, values) [4, 6, 13, 33–41]. These studies are in most cases carried out according to naturalist approaches. These approaches are dominant in health circles [42]. They essentialize biological life and often obscure the social, identity, historical and political dimensions of the act of eating and of corporality. This is a reductive way of understanding this pathology in which the individual component is more important than the environmental, family, community, and identity components. By focusing their efforts on individuals, these approaches tend to make people living with T2D feel guilty or even blame them [21]. This position implies that individuals are somehow without social ties, without family, community, social or identity belonging. They are totally free to choose their health-related behaviours. Yet, this is not always the case, as individuals may be aware of what is beneficial for their health, but they do not have all the means to make the consequent choice [43–45] or they choose otherwise to be in harmony with the people who matter to them [24]. For example, behaviors deemed good such as healthy eating, regular physical activity, and maintaining a healthy weight are recommended to prevent T2D and associated complications [3, 46]. However, if in a neighborhood there is a lack of healthy dietary products (reduced or absent availability) or these products are expensive (affordability), people are unlikely to choose these products [43, 44]. Similarly, if in the neighborhood, higher fat products such as fast dietary are more available and accessible than "healthy" products, the likelihood of choosing these products is higher[43, 44]. Similarly, in neighborhoods without supportive structures or sidewalks that do not provide communities with opportunities for regular physical activity, or where people are less tolerant of diversity, the rate of frequent sport participation is likely to be very low. Environmental conditions strongly influence individual/community well-being [43, 44].
A scoping review on factors that influence the acceptance or rejection of dietary and body norm systems favorable to the prevention and control of T2D among migrants from SSA living with or at risk of developing T2D will allow us to synthesise them and update knowledge on this topic as suggested by Arksey and O'Malley [47] and Levac, Colquhoun [48]. It could provide a better understanding of these factors, further for the development effective public health interventions to help alleviate this health concern [22, 24]. It will contribute to fill gaps in the literature to guide future research.