HEALTHY EATING, HEALTH CARE AND GENDER: PERCEPTIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN FROM THE NORTHWEST REGION OF SANTOS-SP
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12957/demetra.2016.22334Keywords:
Health. Feeding. Gender. Culture. Food Habits.Abstract
This study examined the perception on health and healthy eating, as well as on food dynamics, of men and women from a economically vulnerable area. It is a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews with adults living in an area covered by a Family Health Unit. Reports of conceptions of health were heterogeneous, and respondents defined health as absence of disease and stress and as healthy habits and lifestyle. Most people associated the intake of fruits and vegetables with healthy eating while the intake of fat and sugar was considered inadequate. There are few differences between the discourses of men and women with regard to the perception of health and healthy eating. However, when it comes to food dynamics, men appear as protagonists only in celebrations with food, when they help their wives or when they wish to cook something different. In some cases, it is up to men to offer resources to food purchase, thus reinforcing the traditional role of males as providers and that of females as responsible for the family’s feeding. The vulnerability of the territory did not appear in the discourse as a factor that influences their perception of health and healthy eating. Given the predominance of health initiatives based on risk reduction and standardization of bodies and lifestyles, the differences between men and women as regards their perception of health and healthy food turn gender into a relevant category in the field of health care nowadays.
DOI: 10.12957/demetra.2016.22334
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