Knowledge Of Healthy Eating Research Articles

‘Whatever's on her Plate’: Food in the Lives of People with Learning Disabilities

Healthy eating has been identified as a particular issue for people with learning disabilities (Department of Health, 1995). This is not simply an issue to be considered in the light of the eating patterns of any individual. Health choices cannot be divorced from the social and economic circumstances in which people live. Neither is the relationship between food and health confined to its nutritional importance; food has a social and emotional significance. This paper reports the findings of a study that looked at a number of aspects of food in the lives of a group of 30 adults with learning disabilities. The paper reveals the less than healthy eating patterns of the study participants and their limited opportunities to influence what they ate. It describes participants' knowledge of healthy eating, and the difficulties people had in obtaining easy to understand information. Finally, strategies that take into account the preceding discussions, and which support people towards healthy eating, are suggested.