Search

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sociological analysis of eating has for a long time tracked the fate of a popularly endorsed, idealized form of the “family” or “proper” meal. “Snacking” has often been constructed as its symbolic opposite, as irregular, anomic and unhealthy. This paper, based on data from a survey of eating patterns conducted in Great Britain in 2012 (n = 2,784), analyzes eating occasions which respondents stated were snacks rather than meals, focusing on their frequency, scheduling, contents, duration and social context. It finds that “snacks” are taken across all socio-demographic groups and take place in accordance with a common and predictable schedule. Snacks are smaller and less structured than most meals but mostly do not comprise what is generically described as “snack foods.” Snacks are shorter in duration, and less sociable than other eating events, reflecting their size, simplicity and informality. However, most are eaten in company, are planned for, and are wholesome. Common negative evaluations of eating between and outside meals have failed to appreciate the range and character of adjunct eating events, and the degree to which they form part of aggregate patterns and individual routines. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]