Research report
☆
- Department of Planning and Development, Aalborg University, A.C. Meyers Vænge 15, 2450 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Received 6 September 2014, Revised 17 March 2015, Accepted 1 April 2015, Available online 9 April 2015
Highlights
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- Social mechanisms continue to influence nutritional behaviour across changing times.
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- Socio-economic instability mitigates appropriation of a (new) healthy diet.
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- Identity and tradition (often) takes precedence over nutritional considerations.
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- It is harder to delay gratification when you are poor.
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- The existence of social mechanisms challenges concepts of “rational” food behaviour.
Abstract
Despite
a general consensus and recognition of the importance of the “social
gradient” on nutritional standards and ultimately people's health, (0020, 0100, 0105 and 0155),
the body of literature identifying and describing the actual underlying
social mechanisms which could explain this association is small,
fragmented and not contained within one single discipline of thought –
the effects of this conundrum seem easier to describe than to explain.
The aim of this article is therefore to explore and identify social
mechanisms, which could help explain why people with low socio-economic
status consume a disproportionate amount of unhealthy foods and
therefore also observe poorer diets. It is therefore in many ways an
exploration into the nature of (relative) poverty. The point of
departure for this exploration and identification is historical
descriptions (in the form of excerpts) from George Orwell's (1937)
book “The Road to Wigan Pier” on the living conditions of the British
working classes. These descriptions will be aligned with results from
contemporary research into nutritional behaviour. Strong similarities
are identified between George Orwell's historical descriptions of the
working-class's unhealthy diet and the findings from contemporary
research into nutritional behaviour of people with a low socio-economic
status. Certain social mechanisms influencing nutritional choices are
readily identifiable across disciplines, and even partly reproduced in
different historical, social and spatial contexts, with stronger
negative (nutritional) consequences for people with low socio-economic
status. The disregard of social mechanisms, and therefore implicitly
issues of class, could indicate a general “de-socialization” of
nutritional advice also in its dispersal through various
health-promotion initiatives and campaigns, which raises serious
questions about the usefulness of much nutritional advice, already
tentatively questioned by some nutritionist (Burr et al., 2007) as well as “food” sociologist (Smith & Holm, 2010).
Keywords
- Nutritional behaviour;
- Nutritional advice;
- George Orwell;
- Low SES;
- Social mechanisms
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