MEANINGS OF ‘EATING’ IN THE DAILY LIFE OF TEENAGERS: ACCOUNTS OF OVERWEIGHT STUDENTS AT A FEDERAL HIGH SCHOOL IN THE CITY OF SALVADOR, BAHIA

Abstract

This paper aims to clarify the meanings of eating in the daily routine of overweight teenagers from a federal high school located in Salvador, Bahia. It is an ethnographic study, developed in a public school among teenagers aged 10 to 19 years old, who self-reported as overweight/obese. The method of referrals was used to identify the participants, whereby one participant shares contact information about other possible interlocutors. First, observations were made of places inside the school and in the surroundings where students had meals. Individual interviews were performed, and the participants were stimulated do elaborate on the answer to the question “How do you feel about your body on a daily basis?” The interviews were fully transcribed and categorized. The findings unveiled that overweight, which was present since childhood, seemed to orientate different feeding behaviors. The teenagers shared information about a theoretical notion of eating, based on the intake of fruits and vegetables and on the principles of moderate food intake. However, in their everyday lives, they showed the behavior of “eating junk food”, which is full of symbolisms. In the home environment, there were signs of excess eating, followed by compensatory attempts of “trendy diets”, even when they were inefficient. The feelings and meanings attributed to eating and to food evidenced conflicts and dualities of this expressive sociocultural practice, which is capable of nourishing not only the body but also sensorial desires. It is a source of pleasure that is often controlled, mechanized and prescribed. DOI: 10.12957/demetra.2016.22482