Food as a way to convey masculinities: How conformity to hegemonic masculinity norms influences men's and women's food consumption.

Lúcia Campos,Cristina Godinho,Sónia Bernardes

doi:10.1177/1359105318772643

Lúcia Campos, Cristina Godinho + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318772643

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Abstract

This study investigated how conformity to hegemonic masculinity norms affects men's and women's food consumption and whether such influence was contextually modulated. A total of 519 individuals (65% women; M = 44 years old) participated in a 2 (gender salience: low vs high) × 2 (participants' sex: male vs female) quasi-experimental between-subjects design, completing the Conformity to Masculinity Norms Inventory (Portuguese version) and reporting their past week's food consumption. Gender salience moderated the relation between men's conformity to masculinity norms and food consumption; sex-related differences in food consumption were partially mediated by conformity to masculinity norms. Implications for food consumption interventions are discussed.

Highlights

Noncommunicable diseases are chronic, non-transmissible illnesses, responsible for 68% of all deaths worldwide in 2012, a number expected to increase if prevention measures are not followed (WHO, 2016)
This study investigated how conformity to hegemonic masculinity norms affects men’s and women’s food consumption and whether such influence was contextually modulated. 519 individuals (65% women; M=44 years old) participated in a 2 (Gender salience: low vs. high) x 2 (Participants’ Sex: male vs. female) quasi-experimental between-subjects design, completing the Conformity to Masculinity Norms Inventory (Portuguese version) and reporting their past week’s food consumption
This study had the general purpose of examining the role of hegemonic masculinity norms in food consumption

Summary

Introduction

Noncommunicable diseases are chronic, non-transmissible illnesses, responsible for 68% of all deaths worldwide in 2012, a number expected to increase if prevention measures are not followed (WHO, 2016). Noncommunicable diseases are largely preventable, as their main risk factors are behaviours such as tobacco and harmful alcohol use, physical inactivity and unhealthy diets This last risk factor includes both high consumption of red and processed meat, and low fruit and vegetable intake (WHO, 2003). The median individual intake of fruits and vegetables is most often below the recommended 400 grams, across different countries (Boffetta et al, 2010; Hall, et al, 2009) These food consumption patterns have a great impact on health; according to Robertson et al (2004), such inadequate eating habits are one of the leading causes of healthy years lost, responsible for 4.6% of the burden of disease in Europe. The aim of the present study was to expand the knowledge on the psychosocial correlates of food intake, namely, how sex and gender are associated with meat and fruit/vegetable consumption

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