Middle-Class Parents' and Teenagers' Conceptions of Diet, Weight and Health, 2007-2008

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.This is a mixed method data collection. The importance of understanding young people's health and eating habits has been firmly stated by policymakers and there is an ongoing need to improve awareness of the factors which contribute to class inequalities in health between different population groups. There is little empirical research, however, which has looked at how the everyday practices and perceptions of middle-class young people and their families might contribute to class-based inequalities in diet, weight and overall health. This study aimed to examine the dietary practices and health and weight conceptualisations of BMI-defined obese/overweight and non-obese/overweight young teenagers (aged 13-15 years) from middle-class families. These observations were situated within the 'habitus' of the family by exploring the aforementioned issues from the perspectives of teenagers' parents. Whilst it is widely accepted that the unequal material circumstances associated with class distinctions influence people's lives and health, it is through attention to the everyday lived experience of deprivation or affluence that it can be seen how class might underpin growing inequalities in health. Bourdieu, in his work on habitus, argued that social distinctions are maintained through the production and control of bodily practices, which are, often, mundane and taken-for-granted. Bourdieu and others postulated that people from middle-class groups may be more likely to value enhanced wellbeing, rather than merely a functional absence of disease. In light of this, some commentators have argued that higher social class groups are protected against obesity because of the value they place on maintaining a socially acceptable thinner body. It is not known how such classed dispositions influence the food and eating practices of young middle-class teenagers and their families. Further information about this study can be found at the project's ESRC award web page. Main Topics:Diet, weight, health, food practices, eating habits, young teenagers, family and social class.