The use of Pierre Bourdieu's distinction concepts in scientific articles studying food and eating: A narrative review

Socioeconomic mobility, metabolic health, and diet: mediation via subjective socioeconomic status

OBJECTIVE

Socioeconomic mobility, i.e., changing socioeconomic status (SES) between adolescence and adulthood, may impact health through changing resources, social status, and health-related behaviors. This analysis examined whether subjective SES contributes to associations of mobility with metabolic health (BMI and metabolic syndrome) and unhealthy diets (fast-food consumption and sugar-sweetened beverage [SSB] consumption).

METHODS

National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health data were used (n = 4132). Mobility was defined as the difference between adolescent (collected 1994-1995, ages 11-19 years) and adult (collected 2016-2018, ages 33-43 years) SES. Linear and logistic regressions examined associations of mobility with metabolic and dietary outcomes and mediation by subjective SES.

RESULTS

Substantial upward mobility was associated with lower risk of high SSB consumption compared with stable disadvantaged SES (risk difference: -0.10 [95% CI: -0.16 to -0.041]). Subjective SES mediated associations of upward, but not downward, mobility with risks of developing metabolic syndrome, high fast-food consumption, and high SSB consumption; upward mobility was associated with higher subjective SES and lower risks of poor metabolic and dietary outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The finding that subjective SES contributed to associations between upward mobility and better health may inform development of interventions designed to promote healthier diets and reduce socioeconomic disparities in metabolic health.

Coping strategies of food insecure households with children and adolescents in Uruguay, a high-income Latin American country: A qualitative study through the lens of Bourdieu's theories of capitals and practice

Food insecurity has been associated with negative short, medium, and long-term health consequences, which are more detrimental for children and adolescents. These effects may depend on the coping strategies developed to deal with food shortages. The present research aimed at exploring coping strategies in food insecure households with children and adolescents in Uruguay, incorporating sociological theoretical insights from Bourdieu. A qualitative approach based on individual semi-structured interviews was used. A total of 40 interviews were conducted with adults who had parental responsibilities of children and adolescents and who received different types of food assistance, between July and December 2022, in four cities. Results showed that adults tend to develop a wide range of coping strategies aimed at: reducing food expenditure, increasing the availability of money for purchasing food, increasing food availability and/or rationing the food available in the household. Some of the strategies were implemented regardless of the severity of food insecurity, whereas others were characteristic of the moderate and severe levels of the construct. Evidence to support the mediation effect of coping strategies on health outcomes was found. Discourses suggested that lower accumulation of economic and cultural capital may be aligned with the adoption of less socially accepted mechanisms to access to food. Expressions of a specific habitus aimed at securing food were identified among participants with more deprivations. Taken together, the findings suggest that coping strategies may not be a universal or invariant sequence according to the severity of food insecurity and stress the importance of considering households' resources and local context for the development of strategies to improve access to food.

Understanding family food purchasing behaviour of low-income urban UK families: An analysis of parent capability, opportunity and motivation

OBJECTIVE

Family food purchasing decisions have a direct influence on children's food environments and are powerful predictors of obesity and dietary quality. This study explored parents' capability, opportunities, and motivations regarding food purchasing for their families, as well as barriers and facilitators of healthy food purchasing behaviour, in an ethnically diverse, low-income area.

DESIGN

Semi-structured interviews with parents of under-11-year-old children were conducted to investigate family food purchases, both when eating inside and outside the home. Interviews were analysed using framework analysis mapped against the COM-B model (Michie et al., 2011).

SETTING

An ethnically diverse, low-income area in Birmingham, UK.

PARTICIPANTS

Sixteen parents (13F, 3M) of under-11-year-old children. 75% Pakistani, 12.5% White British, 6.3% White and Black Caribbean, and 6.3% "Other".

RESULTS

Four themes were identified: i) I know how to provide healthy meals for my family, ii) Family food purchase decisions are complex, iii) I want what they are eating and iv) Healthy eating is important but eating outside of the home is a treat. The barriers of healthy family food purchasing were predominantly at family and community levels, including time, cost, and both parents' and children's food enjoyment and preferences. Facilitators of healthy family food purchasing were primarily identified at an individual level, with high levels of capability and motivation for healthy food provision.

CONCLUSIONS

Attempts to enhance parental capability to improve healthy food purchasing through nutrition education is not likely to be a useful intervention target in this group. Emphasis on enjoyment, palatability and value for money could be key to increasing parental motivation to purchase healthy family foods.

How theory can help to understand the potential impact of food environment policies on socioeconomic inequalities in diet: an application of Bourdieu's capital theory and the scarcity theory

Government policies that promote healthy food environments are considered promising to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in diet. Empirical evidence of effects on these inequalities, however, is relatively scarce and, with a few exceptions, tends to be inconclusive. We use two contemporary theories that help to understand socioeconomic inequalities in health and health-related behaviours (Bourdieu's capital theory and Mullainathan and Shafir's scarcity theory) to reason how policies influencing food environments may differentially impact lower and higher socioeconomic groups. In essence, these theories enable us to understand how specific elements of broader daily living conditions (e.g. social practices that lead to habitus formation, material conditions that shape experiences of scarcity) may lead to a greater benefit of certain food environment policies for the healthfulness of diets of lower or higher socioeconomic groups. We conclude that the application of theories on the mechanisms underlying socioeconomic inequalities in health can help to guide future empirical studies in testing theory-based hypotheses on differential effects of policies, and thereby enhance the development of effective policies tackling socioeconomic inequalities in dietary intakes.

' … breaks down silos': allied health clinicians' perceptions of informal interprofessional interactions in the healthcare workplace

Informal interprofessional interactions have gained interest in recent interprofessional care, education, health services and social sciences research literature. Some of the established benefits associated with these interactions include enhanced communication, teamwork, research translation and the provision of safer care. Limited evidence about how informal interprofessional interactions are perceived by the allied health workforce, exists. The survey conducted at a large Australian health service explored allied health clinicians' perceptions of the benefits, challenges and enablers of informal interprofessional interactions and their recommendations to improve opportunities for these workplace interactions. Sixty-four responses were analysed descriptively (for close-ended questions) and using a framework analysis approach, informed by Bourdieu's social space theory (for open-ended questions). Perceived benefits were aligned with three themes: teams and organisations, individual clinicians and service-users. Challenges to, and enablers of, informal interprofessional interactions were identified according to five themes: socio-cultural practices, physical environment, timing-related factors, individual and organisational factors. Participant recommendations to increase opportunities for informal interprofessional workplace interactions for allied health reflected three of the aforementioned themes: socio-cultural practices, physical environment and organisational factors. This theoretically-informed analysis may aid in the development of strategies to support these types of workplace interactions and realise the benefits identified.

Recognising, Safeguarding, and Promoting Food Heritage: Challenges and Prospects for the Future of Sustainable Food Systems

The safeguarding and promotion of food heritage are often considered as a possible way for achieving social and cultural sustainability objectives. This literature review investigates some of the dynamics underlying the heritagisation of food and explores the risks of this process. It focuses mainly on anthropological, geographical, and sociological publications. Overall, it aims to shed light on the strengths and limitations of food heritagisation regarding the improvement of the socio-cultural sustainability of the food system. The analysis highlights cross-cutting risks, namely the omission of tangible and intangible elements of the local food system, and the exclusion of key stakeholders from the recognition and institutionalisation of food heritage. The review highlights the strict interdependence between intangible and tangible elements during food heritagisation, and assesses how local and global interactions can activate and shape this process. It sheds light on the need to pay more attention to the factors, actors, and relationships underpinning the emergence and recognition of food and food-related elements as part of the local heritage.

Dietary preferences in the context of intra-couple dynamics: Relationship types within the German NutriAct family cohort

To promote healthy diets in older age, a comprehensive understanding of factors influencing dietary behaviour and underlying preferences is essential. Romantic relationships are focal socialisation contexts, in which diet-related preferences and practices are dynamically negotiated. Our aim was to reconstruct intra-couple dynamics shaping dietary preferences and comparatively analyse relationship types among older couples. Data basis was the NutriAct Family Study - a German web-based cohort. Analyses were based on three a priori defined relationship types: 1) both partners' mutual adaptation of dietary preferences (symmetrical convergence), 2) unilateral adaptation (asymmetrical convergence) and 3) persistence of individual preferences. Relationship types were, among others, comparatively analysed using ANOVAs. Intra-couple dynamics within the asymmetrical convergence type were measured by multivariate logistic regression. The dyadic sample consisted of 398 couples resp. N = 796 individuals aged 63.99 years (SD = 6.15). All three relationship types were identified (symmetrical convergence: n = 62, 15.6 %; asymmetrical convergence: n = 199, 50.0 %; persistence: n = 137, 34.4 %). Within the asymmetrical convergence type, women were more likely to take a dominant role compared to their male partners (OR: 24.40; 95%CI: 14.37-41.41). This study demonstrates the fundamental influence of intra-couple dynamics on individual dietary preferences, whereby traditional gender roles have shown to play a central moderating role. Our study findings are relevant for the development and implementation of public health (nutrition) strategies, since they highlight the importance of understanding dietary preferences as jointly constructed and shaped in the intra-couple context, rather than as isolated, individually developed ones. In this context, future research directions and practical implications targeting not only individuals but involving couples are discussed.

How does cultural capital keep you thin? Exploring unique aspects of cultural class that link social advantage to lower body mass index

A widely used indicator for cultural class is strongly related to a lower body mass index (BMI): cultural capital measured as 'highbrow' taste. This study's objective was to theorise and measure aspects of cultural class that are more plausibly linked to low BMI, and subsequently explore their relevance. Building on Bourdieusian theory we derive four of those aspects: 'refinement' (valuing form and appearance over function and substance), 'asceticism' (self-imposed constraints), 'diversity' (appreciation of variety in and of itself) and 'reflexivity' (reflexive deliberation and internal dialogue). Using standardised interviews with 597 participants in the Dutch GLOBE study in 2016, we subsequently demonstrate: (i) newly developed survey items can reliably measure four aspects of cultural class: 'asceticism', 'general refinement', 'food refinement' and 'reflexivity' (Cronbach's alphas between 0.67-0.77); (ii) embodied/objectified cultural capital (i.e. 'highbrow' taste) was positively associated with general refinement, food refinement and reflexivity, whereas institutionalised cultural capital (i.e. education) was positively associated with asceticism and reflexivity; (iii) asceticism, general refinement, reflexivity, but not food refinement, were associated with a lower BMI; (iv) asceticism, general refinement and reflexivity together accounted for 52% of the association between embodied/objectified cultural capital and BMI, and 38% of the association between institutionalised cultural capital and BMI.

The biohabitus of scarcity: bio-social dispositions and the "obesity epidemic" in Mexico

In this article, we explore the potential of Warin et al.'s concept of biohabitus (a set of embodied biological and social dispositions) as a conceptual tool for the understanding of mechanisms behind the "obesity epidemic." Elaborating on this concept, we argue that a context of food scarcity gives rise to a biohabitus geared to energy-saving, expressed in both biological (the thrifty genotype/phenotype hypotheses) and symbolic dispositions (Bourdieu's "taste of necessity"), and the interaction between this type of biohabitus and changes in the food-related environment results in increased body mass index. We exemplify the use of this framework by applying it to the case of Mexico, a middle-income Latin American country with one of the highest prevalences of obesity worldwide. The example shows how the concept of biohabitus can help researchers move beyond disciplinary explanations, towards a more complex understanding of the conjunction of social and biological processes that result in differential patterns of health and disease.

Meat, Masculinity, and Health for the "Typical Aussie Bloke": A Social Constructivist Analysis of Class, Gender, and Consumption

Food choice is complex and influenced by a range of social, environmental, structural, and individual factors. Poor diet is one of the major contributors to the burden of disease, in particular for men who habitually have lower intakes of fruits and vegetables and higher intakes of meat. Food choice has been linked to the expression of masculine identities. This research used a Bourdieusian framework to explore the influential drivers of young Australian men's eating habits based on occupational groupings. Twenty men aged 19-30 years participated in in-depth semistructured interviews. Analysis used a grounded theory, social constructivist approach and identified five themes: performative masculinities and meat; meat cuts across social class; the influence of masculine autonomy on dietary choice; women protecting Australian men's health; and the role of environmental and structural barriers. These results indicated that habitus remains a useful conceptual framework to explain the results, and cultural capital is reinforced as a phenomenon. Occupation and gender appear to no longer be primary drivers of food choice in this group of men. Rather there is a shift toward an understanding of multiple masculinities and the development of microcultures with interactions between structure and agency. Meat still features in the food world of Australian men, but there are shifts to deprioritize its importance. There needs to be a more nuanced understanding of the importance of autonomy and control as well as the role of women in relation to men's dietary intakes and how this can be harnessed for positive dietary change.

The importance of the cultural dimension of food in understanding the lack of adherence to diet regimens among Mayan people with diabetes

OBJECTIVE

To understand non-adherence to medically recommended diets among Mayans with diabetes.

DESIGN

Using partially sequential mixed methods, questionnaires, semi-structured brief and in-depth interviews were applied. Questionnaire data were analysed with Pearson's χ2 and Student's t tests and qualitative interviews with grounded theory microanalysis.

SETTING

Rural, predominantly Mayan communities in Chiapas, Quintana Roo and Yucatan, Mexico, 2008-2012.

PARTICIPANTS

Purposive sample of Mayans with type 2 diabetes; using public health care; 168 women and twenty-seven men; age 21-50+ years.

RESULTS

Participants understood diabetes as caused by negative emotions, divine punishment, revenge via spells, chemicals in food and high sugar/fat consumption. Eliminating corn, pork, sugary beverages and inexpensive industrialized foods was perceived as difficult or impossible. More Mayans reporting not understanding physician instructions (30 v. 18 %) reported difficulty reducing red meat consumption (P = 0·051). Non-adherence was influenced by lack of patient-provider shared knowledge and medical recommendations misaligned with local culture. Men whose wives prepared their meals, women who liked vegetables and young adults whose mothers prepared their meals reported greater adherence to dietary recommendations. Partial adherents said it made life tolerable and those making no physician-recommended dietary changes considered them too restrictive (they meant 'starving to death'). Over half (57 %) of participants reported non-adherence; the two principal reasons were dislike of recommended foods (52·5 %) and high cost (26·2 %).

CONCLUSIONS

Adherence to dietary regimens in diabetes treatment is largely related to social and cultural issues. Taking cultural diversity, food preferences, local food availability and poverty into consideration is essential when developing health-promotion activities related to diabetes.

[Food habitus: practices among migrant farm workers in a community of Sonora, Mexico]

The objective is to analyze the food habitus and the changes in eating practices of pendulum and settled migrant agricultural workers in the city of Miguel Aleman in the state of Sonora. Based on an ethnographic approach, 21 in-depth interviews were conducted with both types of migrants from January 2016 to January 2018. We found that in these migrants, the consumption of industrialized products such as flours and sugars has increased, leading to malnutrition mainly in pendulum migrants and chronic diseases such as diabetes in settled migrants. We conclude that the food habitus is adjusted to the physical and economic availability of food and the logic of agricultural work, with eating structured as a practice of necessity. This reality materially and symbolically reproduces the subordinate position of agricultural workers in the face of the globalized economic and food production models, in which eating practices are debilitated by the difficulties of access to food.

Understanding consumers' perception and consumption motives towards amaranth in Mexico using the Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical concept of Habitus

The aim of this work was to study, from a sociological approach, the perception and consumption motives of amaranth in Mexico using Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical concept of Habitus. A survey was conducted in Mexico City with 610 consumers. Socioeconomic information of gender, age, cultural and economic capitals as internal dispositions that generate social differentiation processes were collected. Consumers' perception was identified using an open question through which participants mentioned why they consider the consumption of amaranth to be good. Words, phrases or comments mentioned were grouped into categories through the lemmatization process, and analysed with Global, Per-Cell Chi Square tests and Correspondence Analysis. A Food Choice Questionnaire was used to identify consumption motives of amaranth through Exploratory Factor Analysis and Cluster analysis to identify groups of consumers according to their consumption motives. Results indicated eight categories that reflect consumers' perception towards amaranth (Health and well-being, Functionality, Mitigate hunger, Nutritional components, Nutrition, Feeding, Traditional food and Energy), which converge upon traditionality and functionality. Consumption motives were differentiated into "food as form" and "food as function". Cluster analysis showed distinction in the perception and taste for amaranth. Gender, age, cultural capital and willingness to buy novel food products with added amaranth are markers that reflect internal dispositions of consumers according to their class adscription, and therefore represent their Habitus.

Nutrition transition profiles and obesity burden in Argentina

Objective

The present study aimed to identify nutrition transition (NT) profiles in Argentina (2005–2013) and assess their association with obesity in the adult population.

Design

A large cross-sectional study was performed considering data sets of nationally representative surveys. A multiple correspondence analysis coupled with hierarchical clustering was conducted to detect geographical clusters of association among sociodemographic and NT indicators. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to assess the effect of NT profile (proxy variable of contextual order) on obesity occurrence.

Setting

First, we used geographically aggregated data about the adult and child populations in Argentina. Second, we defined the population of adults who participated in the National Survey of Chronic Disease Risk Factors (2013) as the study population.

Participants

Twenty-four geographical units that make up the territory of Argentina and 32 365 individuals over 18 years old living in towns of at least 5000 people.

Results

Three NT profiles were identified: ‘Socionutritional lag’ (characterized by undernutrition and socio-economically disadvantaged conditions; profile 1); ‘Double burden of malnutrition’ (undernutrition and overweight in highly urbanized scenarios; profile 2); and ‘Incipient socionutritional improvement’ (low prevalence of malnutrition and more favourable poverty indicator values; profile 3). Profiles 1 and 2 were significantly associated (OR; 95 % CI) with a higher risk of obesity occurrence in adults (1·17; 1·02, 1·32 and 1·44; 1·26, 1·64, respectively) compared with profile 3.

Conclusions

Argentina is facing different NT processes, where sociodemographic factors play a major role in shaping diverse NT profiles. Most of the identified profiles were linked to obesity burden in adults.

Eating practices among low-income overweight /obese Brazilian mothers: a Bourdieusian approach

We investigated the eating practices of socially vulnerable overweight and obese Brazilian mothers, exploring the relationships between eating practices, capitals, fields and excess-weight. We conducted a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews of 21 women living in three vulnerable urban regions. Content analyses were performed and codes were used to locate actors in relation to each other in terms of 'capitals' and 'fields', forming a typology based on Bourdieu's theory with five groups. Socioeconomic conditions during childhood and liking to cook were the main characteristics related to each group's distinct eating practices. While socioeconomic conditions during childhood were related to region of origin and food tastes, liking to cook worked as a type of cultural capital, called culinary capital, which produced pleasure and status. For each pattern of eating practices, different factors seemed to contribute to participants' excess weight, including liked foods, enjoying cooking, and financial constraints. One group combined a highly vulnerable economic situation and health problems, shedding light onto a habitus that demands special attention from public health studies and interventions. This study illustrates the complexity of practices within a seemingly homogeneous group and reinforces that health studies should not assume homogeneity within a group of overweight/obese low-income women.

International migration and dietary change in Mexican women from a social practice framework

Migration from lower- and middle-income to high-income countries is associated with dietary change, and especially with the adoption of a modern, less healthy diet. In this article we analyze the dietary changes experienced by Mexican migrants, employing as a theoretical framework the concept of social practice. According to this framework, practices integrate material elements, meanings and competences that provide their conditions of possibility. Practices are shared by members of social groups, and interact with other competing or reinforcing practices. Between 2014 and 2015, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 27 women, international return migrants living in Tijuana, Mexico. The interview guide asked about history of migration and dietary change. We found three main areas of dietary change: from subsistence farming to ready meals, abundance vs. restriction, and adoption of new food items. The first one was associated with changes in food procurement and female work: when moving from rural to urban areas, participants substituted self-produced for purchased food; and as migrant women joined the labor force, consumption of ready meals increased. The second was the result of changes in income: participants of lower socioeconomic position modified the logic of food acquisition from restriction to abundance and back, depending on the available resources. The third change was relatively minor, with occasional consumption of new dishes or food items, and was associated with exposure to different cuisines and with learning how to cook them. Public health efforts to improve the migrants' diets should take into account the constitutive elements of dietary practices, instead of isolating individuals from their social contexts.

Embodiment of social roles and thinness as a form of capital: A qualitative approach towards understanding female obesity disparities in Chile

Obesity in Chile disproportionately affects women of low socioeconomic status (SES). Research has shown that ideals of body size and differences in perceived social pressure for being slim across socioeconomic strata contribute to the social stratification of body size among women in modern societies. Thinness is most valued by high SES women, following western standards of ideal body size. Aiming to understand the link between ideals of body size and SES, this qualitative study explored how 36 Chilean women construct their bodily ideals according to their social position. A purposive sample of women with different profiles with regard to educational attainment, nutritional status and body size (dis)satisfaction was defined, aiming to cover a diverse spectrum of bodily perceptions. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and approached through a thematic and narrative analysis. Drawing on Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, field, capital and embodiment of the social context, this study explains how ideals of body size and appearance are strongly linked to class-dependent gender roles and social roles. The existing gender and class inequalities in the Chilean social structure have been literally embodied by these women through a 'gendered class habitus'. Compliance with the thin ideal confers women different degrees of power according to their social position in different fields, such as in marriage and on the labour market, which turns thinness into an embodied form of capital. The societal dynamic behind obesity rates cannot be disregarded when approaching possible solutions. Promoting obesity-related lifestyle modification at an individual level might appear an over-simplistic and individualistic approach to a complex social issue. Context-oriented interventions that take cultural constructions of gender and social class into account might yield better results in the long term, while advocating for a more equitable society and social justice as a public health concern.

Social influences on adolescents' dietary behavior in Catalonia, Spain: A qualitative multiple-cases study from the perspective of social capital

Adolescence has been referred to as the last best chance to prevent adult non-communicable diseases. Gaining further evidence on the psychosocial determinants of health behaviors, particularly the impact of peers, social networks and media on diet, is necessary to develop appropriate preventive strategies. Based on a multiple-cases study, our aim was to discuss the social influences on adolescents' dietary behavior from a social capital perspective. Participants were reached through four high-schools in different Catalan rural-urban and socioeconomic contexts. Our results confirm the different layout of social capital in the community, school, peers and family. In our sample, family and peers are the most influent sources of social capital in relation to dietary behaviors, inducing both protective and damaging effects.

Comparison of food recommendations varying in sustainability: Impact on dietary intake and motivation to follow recommendations

Food recommendations increasingly focus on sustainability in addition to nutritional value. By providing participants with standard versus sustainable (plant-based) dietary recommendations for 3 weeks, the present research tested the impact of recommendations on dietary compliance. Furthermore, predictors of food intake were tested across food categories. Participants in the sustainable diet condition complied less with recommendations as compared to those in the standard diet condition and were less motivated to continue complying after the intervention. Taste was the main predictor of intake across food categories. Together, this stresses the importance of considering factors stimulating consumers' compliance when formulating food recommendations.

Barriers to and facilitators of ultra-processed food consumption: perceptions of Brazilian adults

OBJECTIVE

To explore how individuals perceive the availability of ultra-processed foods in their neighbourhoods and the barriers to and facilitators of consumption of such foods.

DESIGN

A qualitative design was chosen. In-depth, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted and a content analysis was performed.

SETTING

São Paulo, Brazil.

SUBJECTS

A purposeful sample of adults (n 48), stratified by sex and age group (20-39 years and 40-59 years).

RESULTS

All participants perceived their neighbourhoods as favourable regarding the availability of ultra-processed foods. Three barriers were identified: health concerns, not appreciating the taste of these foods and not being used to eating them. Five facilitators, however, were identified: appreciating the taste of these foods, their children's preference, convenience, addiction and cost.

CONCLUSIONS

Participants perceived their neighbourhoods as favourable to the consumption of ultra-processed foods and reported more facilitators than barriers to their consumption. Reported barriers point to the need to include measures promoting a healthy food system and traditional eating practices. The facilitators reinforce the idea that these foods are habit-forming and that regulatory measures to offset the exposure to ultra-processed foods are necessary.

Portion size tells who I am, food type tells who you are: Specific functions of amount and type of food in same- and opposite-sex dyadic eating contexts

Previous research has shown that women eating small portions of food (vs. eating big portions) are perceived as more feminine, whereas men eating large portions are perceived as more masculine. The specific type of food items have also been shown to carry connotations for gender stereotyping. In addition, matching the co-eater's food quantity is also a means to ingratiate him or her. Thus, a potential motivational conflict between gender identity expression and ingratiation arises when people eat in opposite-sex dyads. Scholars have, thus far, focused their attention on one of these two dimensions at a time, and rarely in relation to the co-eaters' sex. The present study investigated, through a restaurant scenario, the way in which women and men, when asked to imagine having lunch in dyads, combine food choice and quantity regulation as a function of the co-eater's sex. Results showed that participants use the quantity dimension to communicate gender identity, and the food type dimension to ingratiate the co-eater's preferences by matching her/his presumed choice, following gender-based stereotypes about food. In opposite-sex dyads, dishes that incorporate the two dimensions were chosen above the expected frequency.

Dietary changes needed to reach nutritional adequacy without increasing diet cost according to income: An analysis among French adults

OBJECTIVE

To explore the dietary changes needed to achieve nutritional adequacy across income levels at constant energy and diet cost.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Individual diet modelling was used to design iso-caloric, nutritionally adequate optimised diets for each observed diet in a sample of adult normo-reporters aged ≥20 years (n = 1,719) from the Individual and National Dietary Survey (INCA2), 2006-2007. Diet cost was estimated from mean national food prices (2006-2007). A first set of free-cost models explored the impact of optimisation on the variation of diet cost. A second set of iso-cost models explored the dietary changes induced by the optimisation with cost set equal to the observed one. Analyses of dietary changes were conducted by income quintiles, adjusting for energy intake, sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables, and smoking status.

RESULTS

The cost of observed diets increased with increasing income quintiles. In free-cost models, the optimisation increased diet cost on average (+0.22 ± 1.03 euros/d) and within each income quintile, with no significant difference between quintiles, but with systematic increases for observed costs lower than 3.85 euros/d. In iso-cost models, it was possible to design nutritionally adequate diets whatever the initial observed cost. On average, the optimisation at iso-cost increased fruits and vegetables (+171 g/day), starchy foods (+121 g/d), water and beverages (+91 g/d), and dairy products (+20 g/d), and decreased the other food groups (e.g. mixed dishes and salted snacks), leading to increased total diet weight (+300 g/d). Those changes were mostly similar across income quintiles, but lower-income individuals needed to introduce significantly more fruit and vegetables than higher-income ones.

CONCLUSIONS

In France, the dietary changes needed to reach nutritional adequacy without increasing cost are similar regardless of income, but may be more difficult to implement when the budget for food is lower than 3.85 euros/d.

O cuidado nutricional por estrangeiros no Projeto Mais Médicos para o Brasil

Investigamos a influência da distinta origem sociocultural de médicos cubanos inseridos no Projeto Mais Médicos para o Brasil e de pacientes brasileiros em questões relativas à abordagem alimentar e nutricional em serviços de Atenção Básica. Realizou-se estudo de caso com triangulação por meio de etnografia, grupos focais e entrevistas. Utilizou-se o referencial teórico elaborado por Pierre Bourdieu, em especial o conceito de habitus. Os resultados demonstraram que a orientação alimentar e nutricional realizada é influenciada predominantemente pelo paradigma biomédico, atenuando eventuais influências do habitus cultural de origem.

Determinants of dietary compliance among Italian children: disentangling the effect of social origins using Bourdieu's cultural capital theory

Making use of Bourdieu's threefold conceptualisation of cultural capital, this paper examines and disentangles the association between social origins and children's food consumption. The aim of the work is twofold. Using data from the Multipurpose survey on daily life conducted by Istat (2009-2012), we first show that children's compliance with dietary advice is indeed influenced by their social origins, but more so in terms of familial cultural resources than economic ones. All types of cultural capital enhance the quality of children's nutrition. Second, we concentrate on the role of the school canteen as a child-centred investment strategy intended to reduce health inequalities by providing a wholesome lunch for all children. Although the school meal effectively improves the degree of dietary compliance, the results indicate that this public service is less often used by children from lower social origins. Moreover, we do not find any equalising effect of the school meal on the diets of disadvantaged children. These findings are discussed in light of future research on sociology of health stratification and health promotion programmes.