Sproesser, G, Ruby, MB, Arbit, N et al. (13 more authors) (2022) Similar or different? Comparing food cultures with regard to traditional and modern eating across ten countries. Food Research International, 157. 111106. ISSN 0963-9969
Abstract
Food cultures can play a role in health and well-being. This raises the questions of whether nation boundaries unite the food cultures of different regions and ethnic groups, what characterises food cultures from very different parts of the world, and what similarities and differences exist. The present study aimed to investigate these questions with regard to eating traditions and modern eating practices. In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 3722 participants from ten countries – Brazil, China, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, and the USA. Participants represented 25 regional and ethnic groups. They were queried about 86 traditional and modern facets of their food cultures in interviews, paper–pencil and online questionnaires. First, hierarchical cluster analysis suggested nine distinct clusters of food cultures – the food cultures of the Brazilian, Chinese, Ghanaian, Indian, Japanese, Mexican, Turkish, African and Latin US American samples, and of European descendants. Interestingly, for seven of the ten investigated countries, nation boundaries united food cultures. Second, each of the nine food culture clusters was characterised by a unique pattern of traditional and modern eating practices. Third, the nine food culture clusters varied more in their traditional eating practices than their modern eating practices. These results might promote a better understanding of the link between food cultures and health and well-being that goes beyond nutrients. For instance, food cultures might be linked to well-being via strengthening people’s sense of cultural identity. Moreover, the present results contribute to a better understanding of the complex interplay between food and culture, and could help in developing culturally competent interventions to improve diet and reduce the risk of eating-related diseases.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of an article published in Food Research International. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Cross-country study; Food cultures; Health; Hierarchical cluster analysis; Nutrition transition; Traditional and modern eating |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Business (Leeds) > Management Division (LUBS) (Leeds) > Management Division Decision Research (LUBS) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 23 Mar 2022 10:35 |
Last Modified: | 10 Mar 2023 01:13 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111106 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:185030 |