Social class factors in diet attitudes

Teenagers' attitudes to diet and weight are shaped by their social class, according to new UK research .

It is evident that children are moulded according to their parents' expectations about behaviour, according to Dr Wendy Wills of the University of Hertfordshire, who led the research.

The study found that middle-class families expressed concern that if children were overweight they would have poor health in later life. They also felt that being overweight would affect the children's self-esteem and ability to take part in life's opportunities.

In working class families, the researchers found that concern for the future is dominated by more pressing concerns about everyday life.

"In the context of risk and insecurity for working class families, the ideal body shape has little value," says Dr Wills.

Although working class families express the desire to improve the diet and lifestyle of their children, they sometimes lack the social and cultural abilities as well as the money to make such changes happen,
the study found.

This study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council was carried out by researchers at the University of Hertfordshire, the University of Edinburgh, and the Scottish Government.

[Posted: Sun 27/09/2009]