Barriers to healthy eating amongst men: A qualitative analysis

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.05.032

Social Science & Medicine

Volume 62, Issue 2, January 2006, Pages 387-395

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.05.032 Get rights and content

Abstract

Currently, little is known about the meanings men attach to food or to the links between food and health. The burgeoning literature on men's health highlights forms of masculinity (e.g. risk-taking, invulnerability) as a factor (negatively) influencing men's health practices. The aim of this study was to provide an analysis of men's accounts of food and health using concepts pertaining to masculinity. We report on a qualitative analysis of a dataset comprising 24 interviews with UK men from a range of age and social class groups. Our findings suggest two principal barriers to healthy eating in men: cynicism about government health messages and a rejection of healthy food on grounds of poor taste and inability to satisfy. These findings are discussed in relation to masculine ideals such as rationality, autonomy and strength. The implications of our analysis for future research and men's health promotion policy are discussed.

Introduction

Despite assumptions that men are neither informed nor concerned about diet and health unless stricken by major illness, to date there has been little research exploring men's experiences and understanding of food and its relation to health. An obvious reason for this gap in the literature concerns the traditional feminization of food-related practices such as shopping, cooking and healthy eating (see Warde & Hetherington, 1994; Caplan, Keane, Willetts, & Williams, 1998). With the advent of dedicated men's health policies and initiatives designed to address inequalities in health (see www.menshealthforum.co.uk), allied with changing masculinities (for example, cooking and enjoying diverse cuisine is no longer regarded as exclusively ‘women's business’ (see Roos, Prattala, & Koski, 2001), the time is right to study men's perceptions of food and healthy eating.

The present analysis constitutes an initial step towards understanding men's ideas about healthy eating. We consider qualitative interview data collected from men as part of a project carried out in the late 1990s on healthy eating and dietary change in the UK (see Povey, Conner, Sparks, James, & Shepherd 1998). At the time, gender was not a principal focus of the investigation, nor was the interview data analysed in depth. In this analysis, we have examined the interview transcripts in detail using thematic analysis and have explored how the concepts of food and health are construed by men and match with their masculine identities, if at all.

Section snippets

Masculinities, health and diet

Masculinities is the term now commonly used to denote diversity and complexity between men and forms of masculine identity. Qualitative research studies have already proved invaluable in elaborating different forms of masculinity along with their relative status and functions within particular social and cultural contexts (e.g. Connell, 1995; Edley & Wetherell, 1995; Gough, 1998). There are suggestions that conventional masculinities play a (negative) role in men's health (Courtenay, 2000). For

Method

In the original study, 48 participants were recruited for interview—24 women and 24 men. As already indicated, this paper focuses on the men, as very little research has considered men's health issues, especially around diet and health, and men are regarded as being at risk from various diet-related medical problems (DoH Food and Health Action Plan, 2003). The sample of men comprised three age groups, eight participants in each: (<35, 35–54, 55+ years) and two social class groups, 12

Analysis

While the concept of healthy eating was broadly accepted by the male interviewees, definitions and reported practices were quite varied. In this paper we do not focus on those foods and habits designated by the men as healthy or unhealthy, although it is worth noting that little differentiation by social class or age group was apparent. Rather, we concentrate on the perceived barriers to healthy eating, of which there are many. Three core themes were identified:

•
Practical constraints
•
An intrusive

Discussion

Our analysis suggests two important sources of resistance to healthy eating for a sample of men: cynicism pertaining to health promotion efforts filtered through the media, and a rejection of health-protecting foods as bland and slight. These perceived barriers to healthy eating can perhaps be linked to conventional masculinities which specify autonomous decision-making over obedience to authority, and plenitude and fulfillment over scarcity and self-denial (see Connell, 1995; Seidler, 1989).

Acknowledgements

The dataset used in this study was derived from an Economic and Social Research Council funded project entitled ‘Ambivalence about Health-related Dietary Change’ (ref: L209252040). We are grateful to P. Sparks, R. Shepherd, R. Povey & R. James.

Thanks also to A. Madill, A. White and D. O’Connor for comments on earlier drafts of this paper, and to the anonymous reviewers.

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Barriers to healthy eating amongst men: A qualitative analysis

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Masculinities, health and diet

Method

Analysis

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Journal of Men's Health & Gender

Social Science & Medicine

Social Science and Medicine

Appetite

The state of men's health

Men's Health Journal

A theory of psychological reactance

Concepts of healthy eating: Approaches from a social science perspective

Masculinities

The science and spirituality of nutrition

Critical Public Health

‘Could you please pass one of those health leaflets along?’: Exploring health, morality, resistance through focus groups

Social Science & Medicine

Men in perspective. Practice, power and identity

The discovery of grounded theory

Men and the discursive reproduction of sexism: Repertoires of difference and equality

Feminism & Psychology