Asset Details
Do you wish to reserve the book?
Planting seeds of change: reconceptualizing what people eat as eating practices and patterns
Hey, we have placed the reservation for you!
By the way, why not check out events that you can attend while you pick your title.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place the reservation. Kindly try again later.
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
Planting seeds of change: reconceptualizing what people eat as eating practices and patterns
Do you wish to request the book?
Planting seeds of change: reconceptualizing what people eat as eating practices and patterns
Please be aware that the book you have requested cannot be checked out. If you would like to checkout this book, you can reserve another copy
We have requested the book for you!
Your request is successful and it will be processed during the Library working hours. Please check the status of your request in My Requests.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place your request. Kindly try again later.
Journal Article
Planting seeds of change: reconceptualizing what people eat as eating practices and patterns
2021
Overview
Language focused on individual dietary behaviors, or alternatively, lifestyle choices or decisions, suggests that what people eat and drink is primarily a choice that comes down to free will. Referring to and intervening upon food consumption as though it were a freely chosen behavior has an inherently logical appeal due to its simplicity and easily defined targets of intervention. However, despite decades of behavioral interventions, population-level patterns of food consumption remain suboptimal. This debate paper interrogates the manner in which language frames how problems related to poor diet quality are understood and addressed within society. We argue that referring to food consumption as a behavior conveys the idea that it is primarily a freely chosen act that can be ameliorated through imploring and educating individuals to make better selections. Leveraging practice theory, we subsequently propose that using the alternative language of eating practices and patterns better conveys the socially situated nature of food consumption. This language may therefore point to novel avenues for intervention beyond educating and motivating individuals to eat more healthfully, to instead focus on creating supportive contexts that enable sustained positive dietary change. Clearly, shifting discourse will not on its own transform the science and practice of nutrition. Nevertheless, the seeds of change may lie in aligning our terminology, and thus, our framing, with desired solutions.
