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

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.

On care infrastructures and health practices: How people in health promotion programmes try to change their everyday life

This paper contributes to challenging common behavioural or cognitive explanations for health and wellbeing outcomes, focussing on social practices through which people, with the help of other subjects, try to improve their health conditions. To renew the debate about health promotion, my work is placed at the intersection between the sociology of health and illness and science and technology studies, adopting the concepts of care infrastructures and health practices that are introduced in the next section. With this goal, my paper draws on a qualitative study concerning a Workplace Health Promotion programme aimed at reducing the risks of Type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases among sedentary workers. The findings illustrate how a care infrastructure in the field of health promotion is designed, put to work, repaired and 'put aside' in relation to two health practices ('doing physical activity' and 'following the Mediterranean diet'). Drawing on the presented case, I show how the change in daily habits in the fields of nutrition and physical activity is a collective effort involving different spheres of life, connecting human and non-human elements and bringing out affective intensities among them.

How French children food representations and tastes vary according to their social backgrounds: a study of disparities in food habitus

The diet of individuals is influenced by social and cultural factors. Children's food tastes and representations, being principally transmitted by their parents, are likely to depend on their social backgrounds. As it is known that parents' feeding strategies and food education differ depending on their social positions, this study aimed at examining how food representations and tastes vary among children. A qualitative sociological study, using semi-structured interviews, was conducted with 40 children, aged from 9 to 11 years, from four French elementary schools. Results showed that children from disadvantaged social backgrounds mentioned less foods, seemed to have a less varied diet, to consume less vegetables, and to enjoy eating ultra-processed foods more than other children. Different food habitus were found, that can be put into perspective using Bourdieu's distinction theory, including different preoccupations regarding health and necessity among social groups. Disparities in children's food habitus could be theoretically linked with observed and growing social inequalities in health, when taking into consideration the potential practises that these habitus imply, and their probable effects on health. Participatory food education classes at school could aim to reduce such disparities, although some concerns and limits must be acknowledged.

Theoretical Approaches to Research on the Social Determinants of Obesity

This article reviews selected theoretical approaches explaining the social determinants of obesity. The significance of this topic for medicine, public health, and other areas of obesity-related research is the growing body of evidence showing that the social environment is often key to understanding the risk of obesity. A review of relevant literature and analysis of empirical evidence linking theory to data in studies of obesity was performed. Several studies show that differences in social behavior and living conditions associated with SES, lifestyles, inequality, and other social variables have important roles in weight gain. Because the social determinants of obesity often begin in childhood, life course theory and its concepts of cumulative advantage/disadvantage and cumulative inequality are initially reviewed, followed by a discussion of how fundamental cause theory, health lifestyle theory, and cultural capital theory can be applied to obesity research. The stress process model and the concepts of social networks and neighborhood disadvantage concerning obesity are also included.

Opportunities for and Limits to Cooperation between School and Families in Sustainable Public Food Procurement

This paper describes a research project, carried out in an Italian public school, to assess whether parents were willing to take part in food procurement decisions, as well as their ability to accurately predict what foods children would pick at school lunch and their propensity to support sustainable food choices made by the school. The methodology included a questionnaire, issued to 500 parents, and an in-depth study of 138 child/parent pairs. The study comprised: (i) presentation of an innovative recipe in the weekly menu of the school canteen; (ii) meal observations of children’s intake at school lunch during the week of the menu modification; (iii) collection of both parents’ and children’s reports on their choices of recipes from the modified weekly menu. The results are commented in light of two important changes that have recently affected Italian public school food procurement: the opening of school canteens to lunches brought from home and the measures adopted since 2020 to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Both events go in the direction of delegating to parents the multifaceted role of the school in the food arena. The article concludes that the results of the study should discourage this approach.

Linking socioeconomic disadvantage to healthiness of food practices: Can a practice-theoretical perspective sharpen everyday life analysis?

Food is one of the key themes in public health policy and debates over inequalities in health. In this article, we argue that more research is needed to understand how socioeconomic disadvantage is translated into low degrees of healthiness. We suggest that everyday life analysis may be sharpened by way of drawing upon a practice-theoretical perspective on the mundane processes involved in this translation. We base our suggestion on a small review of three strands in the literature on social inequality, food and health, namely public health research, lifestyle analysis and everyday life studies, and we take our analytical starting point in the latter. In the article, we argue that a practice-theoretical perspective may enable research in social disadvantage and healthiness of food that describes and interprets variants in the conditioned agency, which cuts cross the multiplicity of different practices that make-up people's daily lives. Finally, we suggest that a stronger focus on social interaction and social hierarchy would adapt a practice-theoretical perspective further to empirical analysis in the field of food, health and socioeconomic disadvantage.

Social and cultural influences on food choices: A review

Human food choices (FC) influence food production systems. Agriculture is responsible for feeding the entire population, and somehow generates different types of environmental degradation. Consumers play a decisive role in consumption trends because FC has shaped habits and behaviors. Food is an expression of people's identity, values, and lifestyle. The objective of this article is to analyze the factors that influence FC and to consider intervention strategies used to work on improving behaviors and FC. The influence of socio-cultural aspects, such as cultural capital, social stratifications, and the inequalities could possibly trigger consumers' FC. The effects of different factors such as foodscapes, social environments, tastes, and even nutritional information, have generated that, the consumer chooses a product under pressure or makes an uninformed choice that generally is unhealthy. Restricting food accessibility generates a reactive but non-aware action, so it is necessary to work creating a sustainable food culture, with the first step of consumers being self-aware of their current FC.

'A holistic approach': incorporating sustainability into biopedagogies of healthy eating in Sweden's dietary guidelines

Dietary guidelines can be considered a pedagogical tool, designed to promote healthy eating at the population level. In this study, we critically examine the biopedagogies implicated in Sweden's official dietary guidelines. Published in 2015, these guidelines take a potentially innovative 'holistic approach' to food and eating, addressing the challenge of formulating dietary advice that considers both human health and environmental concerns. Applying Bacchi´s 'What's the problem represented to be?' approach, we interrogate how the guidelines frame the interplay of public health concerns and environmental concerns in making food choices. We find that the biopedagogies of sustainable eating, as presented in these guidelines, implicate the subject position of the ideal eater. The ideal eater values sustainability, has high cultural capital, and draws on both taste and nutritional knowledge to make good food choices. However, while the ideal eater is expected to be aware of environmental issues, these are incorporated into the ideal eater's choices only in addition to the primary concern of health. Thus, although the guidelines frame a 'holistic approach' as the solution to both health and environmental concerns, in cases where health and environmental priorities conflict, the guidelines' biopedagogies of sustainable eating align with earlier biopedagogies of healthy eating.

Language Use and Children’s BMI Growth among Second-Generation Immigrants in the United Kingdom

This research note analyzes the relationship between language use and children’s Body Mass Index (BMI) growth in the United Kingdom. Making use of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), we assess whether the main language spoken in the household explains BMI divergences between immigrants’ and natives’ children. We provide evidence that the integration process hampers BMI growth and therefore exerts a small protective effect: male children living in English-speaking households gain weight slower than those with less integrated parents. However, the protective effect applies only to sons from higher social origins.

Participative Processes as a Chance for Developing Ideas to Bridge the Intention-Behavior Gap Concerning Sustainable Diets

Sustainable diets are drivers and results of sustainable food systems. Therefore, they are crucial for improving our global diet-related problems. When trying to adopt sustainable diets, people often struggle with the gap between their good intentions and their actual behavior. Here we see a need for support. To understand people’s needs and what could help them, it stands to reason that they can be directly involved in the development processes for appropriate ideas. On that account, we conducted six workshops in different German cities from September to December 2016 with 82 participants in total. We collected data by letting participants generate ideas to bridge the intention-behavior gap. The qualitative data was then coded in internal (168) and external factors (989). Analyzing data shows that the higher numbers of external factors offer a wider range of aspects that contribute to closing the intention-behavior gap from the participant’s point of view. We discuss whether the external factors such as availability, advertising, pricing, and education about food and nutrition may be a prerequisite for a broad mass of people to practice a more sustainable diet.

Hunger in Higher Education: Experiences and Correlates of Food Insecurity among Wisconsin Undergraduates from Low-Income Families

There is growing awareness that a substantial share of undergraduates are food insecure, potentially undermining investments in higher education and hindering upward social mobility. This mixed-methods paper uses survey and interview data from low-income students at 42 public colleges and universities in Wisconsin to illuminate the day-to-day experiences of food insecurity and examine how food security status varies across background characteristics. Results indicate that students who grew up in food insecure homes, self-identify as a racial/ethnic minority, live off-campus, and attend college in an urban area are significantly more likely to report the lowest level of food security, often associated with hunger. Students explain that challenges stemming from the interrelationship of lack of time and inadequate money are their biggest barriers to food security. Most rely on friends or family for support, but few students draw on the social safety net, in part due to eligibility restrictions. In recognition of the diversity of students’ experiences, we discuss the need for a multi-faceted response to promote food security and student success.

The relationship between cultural capital and lifestyle health behaviours in young people: a systematic review

OBJECTIVES

While the universal prevalence of unhealthy lifestyle behaviours is high, cultural capital as a non-material resource shaping individuals' tastes can provide a substantial insight into different lifestyle behaviour choices. The aim of the present systematic review was to examine the evidence on the association between the three forms of cultural capital and lifestyle health behaviours.

STUDY DESIGN

This is a systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Quality appraisal was carried out using the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies (QAT-OCCSS).

METHODS

The review included searches of 13 electronic databases with no restriction on the year of publication. Data were extracted using inclusion criteria and analysed using a narrative format. Eighteen studies were eligible for inclusion.

RESULTS

The relationship between cultural capital and lifestyle behaviours was confirmed in the studies measuring institutionalised cultural capital, and mostly supported in the studies that measured objectified and embodied cultural capital. While cultural capital had a significant relationship with some lifestyle behaviours, it was not significantly related to others. The important methodological weaknesses in the literature preclude the ability to state the associations as unequivocal.

CONCLUSION

While the association between cultural capital and lifestyle behaviours was supported in most of the included studies, more rigorous research methods are required to effectively assess the causality between cultural capital and lifestyle behaviours. More precise findings may lead to new entry points for the development of interventions to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours.

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.