Family diet: good tastes, bad tastes, fabulous smells, and health

• Published in: Sociologia (Lisbon, Portugal) no. 62; pp. 57 - 80
• Main Authors: Leandro, Maria Engrácia, Ana Sofia da Silva Leandro, Virgínia Barroso Henriques
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Lisboa Centro de Investigação e Estudos de Sociologia 01.01.2010
• Subjects: Attitudes; Diet; Diseases; Family; Health; Health Problems
• ISSN: 0873-6529; 2182-7907

Since time immemorial an intimate relationship has existed between nature, the family, smells, tastes, afflictions, disease and health. An obsession with health, thinness and aesthetics must not act to the detriment of the balanced diet that the human organism requires. Eating too much or not wanting to eat are two extreme attitudes, each of which favours the appearance of disease. With these issues in mind, this paper intends to develop three aspects that we consider of primary importance. The first relates to the influence exerted by the formation of smells, tastes and pleasure on a hedonistic society, along with the associated risks. The second relates to concerns with the influence of the family in dietary terms, and its effects on the health of the family members, considering the social, economic, cultural, gender and family transformations in progress. Finally, in view of the new agri-food technologies and the inflexibility of work and school timetables, the last seeks to study the ways in which the family manages to negotiate the use of these new forms without adverse effects on the health of its members.