Suchergebnisse

L'influence de la société sur les préférences alimentaires a fait l'objet de nombreuses études sans toutefois que ces dernières tiennent compte des rôles joués par les rapports sociaux. Bien que les célèbres travaux sociologiques de Pierre Bourdieu mettent en évidence le lien entre le capital économique, culturel et social, et les choix alimentaires, très peu d'études sur l'alimentation ont prêté une attention empirique explicite au réseau social en tant que forme de capital social. Pour remédier à cette lacune, la présente recherche utilise les données provenant d'une étude de cohorte prospective sur la santé examinant les choix alimentaires de plusieurs milliers de personnes et ceux de leur réseau social immédiat. Une comparaison entre les préférences alimentaires d'une personne et celles de son réseau social offre une nouvelle perspective sur la formation et le développement des goûts et fournit de nouvelles preuves de l'influence des relations interpersonnelles sur les choix en matière d'alimentation.

AbstractWhile network research often focuses on social integration as a predictor of health, a less-explored idea is that connections to dissimilar others may benefit well-being. As such, this study investigates whether network diversity is associated with changes in four health outcomes over a 3-year period of time in the U.S.A. Specifically, we focus on how an underexplored measure of network diversity—educational attainment assortativity—is associated with common self-reported outcomes: propensity to exercise, body-mass index, mental health, and physical health. We extend prior research by conducting multilevel analyses using this measure of diversity while adjusting for a range of socio-demographic and network confounders. Data are drawn from a longitudinal probability sample of U.S. adults (n=10.679) in which respondents reported information about themselves and eight possible alters during three yearly surveys (2013–2015). We find, first, that higher educational attainment is associated with more educationally insular networks, while less-educated adults have more educationally diverse networks. Results further suggest that having educationally similar networks is associated with higher body-mass index among the less educated. Further exploration of the relationship between ego network diversity, tie strength, and health is warranted.

There is little agreement among governments, institutions, scientists and food activists as to how to best tackle the challenging issues of health and sustainability in the food sector. This essay discusses the potential of school meals as a platform to promote healthy and sustainable food behavior. School meal programs are of particular interest for improving public diet because they reach children at a population scale across socio-economic classes and for over a decade of their lives, and because food habits of children are more malleable than those of adults. Current research on the history and health implications of school meal programs is reviewed in a cross-national comparative framework, and arguments explored that speak for the need of a new developmental phase of school meals as an integrative learning platform for healthy and sustainable food behavior. Nutritional, social, practical, educational, economical, political, and cultural perspectives and challenges linked to the implementation of healthy and sustainable school meals are discussed. Finally, the need for long-term interventions and evaluations is highlighted and new research directions are proposed.