What have we kept and what have we changed? A three generation study on nutrition and food handling

  • 15.11.2014
  • English Articles
  • Christine Brombach
  • Deborah Haefeli
  • Silke Bartsch
  • Sophie Clauß
  • Gertrud Winkler

Peer-reviewed | Manuscript received: April 17, 2014 | Revision accepted: September 26, 2014

Introduction

Eating behaviour is predominantly learnt during the processes of socialisation and adaptation to a culture. Parents and grandparents play an important role here. Thus, developments in eating behaviour should be considered in the context of intergenerational influences. Studies on mutual intergenerational influences within the family have been reviewed [1]. It is obvious from this that changes and influences on eating behaviour over three generations (grandparents, parents and children) have hardly been examined.

According to our researches, there have only been three studies: In the 1990s, Stafleu et al. and Vvan Staveren et al. found that there were striking similarities between three generations of Dutch women with respect to opinions, attitudes and intentions with respect to selected foods and intake of energy, fat and cholesterol [2, 3]. A study was performed in Germany on cooking habits over three generations. The findings were i. a. that the intake of convenience products had increased, that children were no longer involved every day in cooking, but that the mothers nevertheless transmitted their “cooking experience” and “cooking knowledge” to their children [4]. Ikeda et al. (2006) examined the nutritional quality of dark-skinned American women over three generations. They found that the grandmothers influenced the mothers, but not their granddaughters. The nutritional quality of the mothers’ and daughters’ diets were not similar [5]. None of these studies examined the eating behaviour over all three generations.

Summary

Eating behaviour and food handling were compared across three generations – grandparents, parents and their adult children. In addition, within each generation, comparisons were made between current eating behaviour and eating behaviour in childhood. This comparison between and within the generations was based on questions put to students, their parents and their grandparents, about food intake, cooking, food storage and use of leftovers.

For milk and milk products, alcoholic drinks and fish and seafood, there were no differences between the frequencies with which these foods were eaten by the three generations during childhood. There are however differences in the frequencies with which these three generations now eat wholemeal products and alcoholic drinks. The older generation has a better opinion than the younger generation of their own cooking skills. Food storage is very similar. The grandparents master economic treatment of leftovers the best.

The study shows that, for some food groups, the frequencies of intake change during the course of a lifetime and over three generations; for other food groups, there were no changes. One of the factors influencing changes in eating behaviour may be the interactions between the generations; this should be investigated more closely.

Keywords: nutritional behaviour, food intake, food handling, generations, intergenerational differences



Full text PDF (free access)

Das könnte Sie interessieren
The “meal dictatorship” or: What should children (be allowed to) eat in day care centers... weiter
Iodized salt use in packaged food weiter
What percentage of people adhere to vegetarian and vegan diets in Germany? weiter
Could collagen supplementation improve bodily functions? weiter
Fasting during chemotherapy weiter
Reducing emotional eating through mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioural training weiter