“Things like tinned burgers and tinned macaroni, I ate as a kid - I would not look at it twice!” Understanding changing eating practices across the lifecourse

ABSTRACT

There is a common belief that eating patterns acquired during childhood shape them throughout adulthood. However, studies reveal that they can change. This paper explores this contradiction based on interviews with thirty-one people in Scotland. Viewing eating as a social practice, we adopt the lifecourse approach to demonstrate that there is evidence of both continuity and change in eating patterns over time. The concept of dys-appearance reveals why eating patterns are more likely to be revised and when these changes may be reflexively informed by dietary guidelines. This paper reveals that eating patterns acquired in childhood can shape them throughout the lifecourse and be resistant to attempts by others to change them. However, eating patterns may be more likely to change if the impetus for change originates within the individual and revisions are more likely to be informed by dietary guidelines when individuals view their eating patterns as problematic. Thus, this paper not only provides insight into the contradiction highlighted above, but also demonstrates the utility of viewing eating patterns as a social practice whilst illustrating the importance of individual agency in the reproduction of eating patterns, contributes to the sociology of the lifecourse and extends the application of dys-appearance.

KEYWORDS:

• Change
• dys-appearance
• eating patterns as social
• lifecourse
• transitions
• turning points

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Scottish Government for funding the work from which this paper was developed through its 2011-16 Strategic Research Programme.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Such sentiments were frequently reiterated at public engagement events in Scotland, where people argued that trying to get adults to change their food practices and eating habits was “a lost cause”, and that the focus for promoting healthy eating should be on the young.

2. Understandings of health and identity are subjective and influenced by a number of social factors. References to health and identity in this paper is from the perspective of the research participants.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Scottish Government [RESAS 2011-16].

Notes on contributors

John S. McKenzie

John S. McKenzie is a Research Fellow (Social Science) in the Rowett Institute at the University of Aberdeen. His background is in sociology and he currently focuses on social aspects of food including: understanding eating patterns, food insecurity and food enterprises.

David Watts

David Watts is a Research Fellow (Social Science) in the Rowett Institute at the University of Aberdeen. His research interests include: food consumption practices; food insecurity; “alternative” food networks; and cooperation. David previously worked at the Universities of Bristol and Coventry, and at Scotland’s Rural College.