Why women of lower educational attainment struggle to make healthier food choices: the importance of psychological and social factors
Why women of lower educational attainment struggle to make healthier food choices: the importance of psychological and social factors
Women of lower educational attainment are more likely to eat unhealthy diets than women of higher educational attainment. To identify influences on the food choices of women with lower educational attainment, 11 focus groups (eight with women of lower, and three with women of higher educational attainment) were held. Using a semi-structured discussion guide, environmental, social, historical and psychological factors known to be associated with food choice were explored. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Compared to women of higher educational attainment, women of lower educational attainment had less control over their families' food choices, less support for attempts to eat healthily, fewer opportunities to observe and learn good food-related practices, more negative affect, more perceived environmental constraints and more ambiguous beliefs about the consequences of eating a nutritious diet. These findings provide a starting point for taking forward the design of an intervention to improve the diets of young women.
women
1003-1020
Lawrence, Wendy
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Skinner, Chas
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Haslam, Cheryl
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Robinson, Sian
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Inskip, Hazel
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Barker, David
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Cooper, Cyrus
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Jackson, Alan
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Barker, Mary
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2009
Lawrence, Wendy
e9babc0a-02c9-41df-a289-7b18f17bf7d8
Skinner, Chas
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Haslam, Cheryl
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Robinson, Sian
ba591c98-4380-456a-be8a-c452f992b69b
Inskip, Hazel
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Barker, David
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Cooper, Cyrus
e05f5612-b493-4273-9b71-9e0ce32bdad6
Jackson, Alan
c9a12d7c-b4d6-4c92-820e-890a688379ef
Barker, Mary
374310ad-d308-44af-b6da-515bf5d2d6d2
Lawrence, Wendy, Skinner, Chas, Haslam, Cheryl, Robinson, Sian, Inskip, Hazel, Barker, David, Cooper, Cyrus, Jackson, Alan and Barker, Mary
(2009)
Why women of lower educational attainment struggle to make healthier food choices: the importance of psychological and social factors.
Psychology and Health, 24 (9), .
(doi:10.1080/08870440802460426).
Abstract
Women of lower educational attainment are more likely to eat unhealthy diets than women of higher educational attainment. To identify influences on the food choices of women with lower educational attainment, 11 focus groups (eight with women of lower, and three with women of higher educational attainment) were held. Using a semi-structured discussion guide, environmental, social, historical and psychological factors known to be associated with food choice were explored. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Compared to women of higher educational attainment, women of lower educational attainment had less control over their families' food choices, less support for attempts to eat healthily, fewer opportunities to observe and learn good food-related practices, more negative affect, more perceived environmental constraints and more ambiguous beliefs about the consequences of eating a nutritious diet. These findings provide a starting point for taking forward the design of an intervention to improve the diets of young women.
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Published date: 2009
Keywords:
women
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Local EPrints ID: 70461
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/70461
PURE UUID: 8d15630d-d311-477a-ae56-a56e664adb9b
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Date deposited: 09 Feb 2010
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 02:54
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Author:
Chas Skinner
Author:
Cheryl Haslam
Author:
Sian Robinson
Author:
David Barker
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