Abstract
BackgroundHealthy eating behaviour is an essential determinant of overall health. This behaviour is generally poor among people at risk of experiencing food insecurity, which may be caused by many factors including perceived higher costs of healthy foods, financial stress, inadequate nutritional knowledge, and inadequate skills required for healthy food preparation. Few studies have examined how these factors influence eating behaviour among people at risk of experiencing food insecurity. We therefore aimed to gain a better understanding of the needs and perceptions regarding healthy eating in this target group.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative exploration grounded in data using inductive analyses with 10 participants at risk of experiencing food insecurity. The analysis using an inductive approach identified four core factors influencing eating behaviour: Health related topics; Social and cultural influences; Influences by the physical environment; and Financial influences.ResultsOverall, participants showed adequate nutrition knowledge. However, eating behaviour was strongly influenced by both social factors (e.g. child food preferences and cultural food habits), and physical environmental factors (e.g. temptations in the local food environment). Perceived barriers for healthy eating behaviour included poor mental health, financial stress, and high food prices. Participants had a generally conscious attitude towards their financial situation, reflected in their strategies to cope with a limited budget. Food insecurity was mostly mentioned in reference to the past or to others and not to participants’ own current experiences. Participants were familiar with several existing resources to reduce food-related financial strain (e.g. debt assistance) and generally had a positive attitude towards these resources. An exception was the Food Bank, of which the food parcel content was not well appreciated. Proposed interventions to reduce food-related financial strain included distributing free meals, facilitating social contacts, increasing healthy food supply in the neighbourhood, and lowering prices of healthy foods.ConclusionThe insights from this study increase understanding of factors influencing eating behaviour of people at risk of food insecurity. Therefore, this study could inform future development of potential interventions aiming at helping people at risk of experiencing food insecurity to improve healthy eating, thereby decreasing the risk of diet-related diseases.
Highlights
Healthy eating behaviour is an essential determinant of overall health
Recent research indicated that the parcel content was generally not in line with nutritional guidelines, which may contribute to suboptimal dietary intake among people eligible for Food Bank use [13]
Food insecurity was mostly mentioned in reference to the past or to others and not to the participants’ own current experiences, i.e. mentioning past experiences of having insufficient money for food due to debts, or knowing others that were unable to afford sufficient food
Summary
Healthy eating behaviour is an essential determinant of overall health This behaviour is generally poor among people at risk of experiencing food insecurity, which may be caused by many factors including perceived higher costs of healthy foods, financial stress, inadequate nutritional knowledge, and inadequate skills required for healthy food preparation. Our recent study has shown that approximately one quarter of families living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in The Netherlands experienced food insecurity (van der Velde LA, Nyns CJ, Engel MD, Neter JE, van der Meer IM, Numans ME, et al: Exploring food insecurity and obesity in Dutch families: a crosssectional mediation analysis, unpublished). The Dutch Food Bank is a nongovernmental organization that distributes donated food to offer temporal food aid to people in need [12] This is done through providing food parcels, meant to supplement the usual diet, to eligible persons. Recent research indicated that the parcel content was generally not in line with nutritional guidelines, which may contribute to suboptimal dietary intake among people eligible for Food Bank use [13]
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