Abstract
ObjectiveUnhealthy food choices follow a socioeconomic gradient that may partly be explained by one’s ‘cultural capital’, as defined by Bourdieu. We aim 1) to carry out a systematic review to identify existing quantitative measures of cultural capital, 2) to develop a questionnaire to measure cultural capital for food choices, and 3) to empirically test associations of socioeconomic position with cultural capital and food choices, and of cultural capital with food choices.DesignWe systematically searched large databases for the key-word ‘cultural capital’ in title or abstract. Indicators of objectivised cultural capital and family institutionalised cultural capital, as identified by the review, were translated to food choice relevant indicators. For incorporated cultural capital, we used existing questionnaires that measured the concepts underlying the variety of indicators as identified by the review, i.e. participation, skills, knowledge, values. The questionnaire was empirically tested in a postal survey completed by 2,953 adults participating in the GLOBE cohort study, The Netherlands, in 2011.ResultsThe review yielded 113 studies that fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Several indicators of family institutionalised (e.g. parents’ education completed) and objectivised cultural capital (e.g. possession of books, art) were consistently used. Incorporated cultural capital was measured with a large variety of indicators (e.g. cultural participation, skills). Based on this, we developed a questionnaire to measure cultural capital in relation to food choices. An empirical test of the questionnaire showed acceptable overall internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of .654; 56 items), and positive associations between socioeconomic position and cultural capital, and between cultural capital and healthy food choices.ConclusionsCultural capital may be a promising determinant for (socioeconomic inequalities in) food choices.
Highlights
Poor dietary intake is a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality [1,2]
Incorporated cultural capital was measured with a large variety of indicators
We developed a questionnaire to measure cultural capital in relation to food choices
Summary
Compared to high socioeconomic groups, low socioeconomic groups typically engage more in unhealthy behaviours, such as unhealthy food choices [3,4,5,6,7,8]. The behavioural explanation is an important mechanism underlying socioeconomic inequalities in health [9,10,11]. Our understanding of why low socioeconomic groups typically engage in unhealthy behaviours is still insufficient [12]. Unhealthy behaviours are thought not to be the result of entirely voluntary choices, but rather influenced by structures in the daily context, such as material resources [13]. Material deprivation, which is related to a lower household income and poorer living conditions (i.e. poorer housing conditions, more financial problems), has been shown to partly mediate the association between socioeconomic position and health behaviours [13]. Healthy dietary intake continues to improve above the level of poverty [3]
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