Study and characterization of food selection in households using a qualitative approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32870/jbf.v5i10.87Keywords:
qualitative methodology, food selection, householdsAbstract
The presence of chronic degenerative diseases has been associated with individuals’ food selection processes. In this context, qualitative methodologies allow the study and characterization of these processes within households, which are considered an important unit of analysis for understanding the family and social factors that influence food selection. The aim of this study was to characterize food selection in households from a qualitative perspective. A documentary review was conducted to identify relevant trends and characteristics in previous research on food selection, particularly studies addressing social factors and employing qualitative and mixed methodologies. In addition, a case study is presented based on a cross-sectional design with a qualitative approach, using mapping, census, semi-structured interviews, and non-participant observation techniques. The findings show that food selection in households is diverse and is mainly influenced by family traditions, visitors’ expectations, and economic factors. The study indicates that the use of qualitative methodologies offers a broader perspective for analyzing eating behaviors and the social interactions involved in food selection. Finally, the limitations of the study, such as subjectivity in interpretation and difficulties in generalizing the findings, are discussed, and directions for future research are proposed.
Downloads
References
Álvarez-Gayou, J. L. (2003). Cómo Hacer Investigación Cualitativa. Fundamentos y Metodología. Paidós Mexicana.
Amone, C. (2014). We are strong because of our millet bread: staple foods and the growth of ethnic identities in Uganda. Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, 18. 159-172. https://doi.org/10.3176/tr.2014.2.04
Aranceta, J. (2013). Preferencias y hábitos alimentarios. En B. J. Aranceta (Ed.), Nutrición Comunitaria (pp. 215-229). Elsevier
Bisogni, C. A., Connors, M., Devine, C. M., y Sobal, J. (2002). Who we are and how we eat: a qualitative study of identities in food choice. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 34(3), 128-139. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1499-4046(06)60082-1
Bisogni, C. A., Jastran, M., Shen, L., y Devine, C. M. (2005). A biographical study of food choice capacity: Standards, circumstances, and food management skills. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 37(6), 284-291. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1499-4046(06)60158-9
Blake, C. E. (2006). How Adults Construct Food Choice: Categories, Contexts, and Scripts. [Tesis doctoral, Cornell University]
Blake, C. y Bisogni, C. A. (2003). Personal and family food choice schemas of rural women in upstate New York. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 35(6), 282-293. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1499-4046(06)60342-4
Blake, C. E., Bisogni, C. A., Sobal, J., Devine, C. M., y Jastran, M. (2007). Classifying foods in contexts: how adults categorize foods for different eating settings. Appetite, 49(2), 500-510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2007.03.009
Blake, C. E., Bisogni, C. A., Sobal, J., Jastran, M., y Devine, C. M. (2008). How adults construct evening meals. Scripts for food choice. Appetite, 51(3), 654-662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2008.05.062
Blake, C. E., Devine, C. M., Wethington, E., Jastran, M., Farrell, T. J., y Bisogni, C. A. (2009). Employed parents’ satisfaction with food-choice coping strategies. Influence of gender and structure. Appetite, 52(3), 711-719. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2009.03.011
Blake, C. E., Wethington, E., Farrell, T. J., Bisogni, C. A., y Devine, C. M. (2011). Behavioral contexts, food-choice coping strategies, and dietary quality of a multiethnic sample of employed parents. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 111(3), 401-407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2010.11.012
Carbó, P. A. (2007). La formación reflexiva como competencia profesional. Condiciones psicosociales para una práctica reflexiva. El diario de campo como herramienta. Revista de Enseñanza Universitaria, 30, 7-18. https://institucional.us.es/revistas/universitaria/30/Albertin.pdf
Carson, N. E., Blake, C. E., Saunders, R. P., y O'Brien, J. C. (2013). Influences on the food choice behaviors of adults with severe mental illness. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 29(4), 361-384. https://doi.org/10.1080/0164212X.2013.848396
Casilimas, C. A. S. (1996). Investigación Cualitativa. Icfes.
Connors, M., Bisogni, C. A., Sobal, J., y Devine, C. M. (2001). Managing values in personal food systems. Appetite, 36(3), 189-200. https://doi.org/10.1006/appe.2001.0400
Contreras, J. (1992). Alimentación y cultura: reflexiones desde la Antropología. Revista Chilena de Antropología, (11) 95-111. https://revistadeantropologia.uchile.cl/index.php/RCA/article/view/17643
Corbetta, P. (2007). Metodología y Técnicas de Investigación Social. McGraw Hill
Creswell, J.W. and Creswell, J.D. (2023) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. Sage Publications Ltd.
Delaney, M. y McCarthy M. (2009). Food choice and health across the life course: A qualitative study examining food choice in older Irish adults. 113th EAAE Seminar “A resilient European food industry and food chain in a challenging world”, Chania, Crete, Greece.
Devine, C. M. (2005). A life course perspective: understanding food choices in time, social location, and history. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 37(3), 121-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1499-4046(06)60266-2
Devine, C. M., Sobal, J., Bisogni, C. A., y Connors, M. (1999). Food choices in three ethnic groups: Interactions of ideals, identities, and roles. Journal of Nutrition Education, 31(2), 86-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3182(99)70400-0
Devine, C. M., Wolfe, W. S., Frongillo, E. A., y Bisogni, C. A. (1999). Life-course events and experiences: association with fruit and vegetable consumption in 3 ethnic groups. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 99(3), 309-314. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-8223(99)00080-2
Devine, C. M., Connors, M. M., Sobal, J., y Bisogni, C. A. (2003). Sandwiching it in: spillover of work onto food choices and family roles in low-and moderate-income urban households. Social Science & Medicine, 56(3), 617-630. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00058-8
Devine, C. M., Farrell, T. J., Blake, C. E., Jastran, M., Wethington, E., y Bisogni, C. A. (2009). Work conditions and the food choice coping strategies of employed parents. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 41(5), 365-370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2009.01.007
Falk, L. W., Bisogni, C. A., y Sobal, J. (1996). Food choice processes of older adults: a qualitative investigation. Journal of Nutrition Education, 28(5), 257-265. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3182(96)70098-5
Furst, T., Connors, M., Bisogni, C. A., Sobal, J., y Falk, L. W. (1996). Food choice: a conceptual model of the process. Appetite, 26(3), 247-266. https://doi.org/10.1006/appe.1996.0019
Galindo, C.L. (1998). Sabor a ti: Metodología Cualitativa en Investigación Social. Universidad Veracruzana
Gibson, E.L. (2006). Mood, emotions and food choice. En R. Shepherd y M. Raats (Eds.), The Psychology of Food Choice (pp. 113-140). Ed. Biddles Ltd.
Gillespie, A. M., y Johnson-Askew, W. L. (2009). Changing family food and eating practices: the family food decision-making system. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 38(Suppl 1), 31-36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9122-7
Hernández-Sampieri, R., y Mendoza, C. (2020). Metodología de la Investigación: Las Rutas Cuantitativa, Cualitativa y Mixta. Mc Graw Hill
Jones, M. O. (2007). Food choice, symbolism, and identity: Bread-and-butter issues for folkloristics and nutrition studies (American Folklore Society Presidential Address, October 2005). Journal of American Folklore, 120(476), 129-177. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4137687
Laporte, J. R. y Vallvé, C. (2001). Principios Básicos de Investigación Clínica. AstraZeneca.
López-Larios M. de J. (2017). Caracterización de los procesos de selección de alimentos en hogares que reciben turistas y visitantes en la ruta permanente de la fiesta patronal de Zapotlán el Grande [Tesis de Maestría, Universidad de Guadalajara].
Manzini, J. L. (2000). Declaración de Helsinki: Principios éticos para la investigación médica sobre sujetos humanos. Acta Bioethica, 6(2), 321-334. http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S1726-569X2000000200010
Martin, C. E. (s.f.). What food a person eats identifies who that person is: a qualitative study of personal food choices. http://cmartin.yolasite.com/resources/Cultural%20Food%20Paper%20NFSC%20429.pdf
Mejía, A. R. y Sandoval, S. A. (1999). Tras las Vetas de la Investigación Cualitativa, Perspectivas y Acercamientos Desde la Práctica. Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO).
Namakforoosh, M. N. (2005). Metodología de la Investigación. Limusa Noriega Editores.
Nestle, M., Wing, R., Birch, L., DiSogra, L., Drewnowski, A., Middleton, S., ... y Economos, C. (1998). Behavioral and social influences on food choice. Nutrition Reviews, 56 (5), 50-64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.1998.tb01732.x
Peña, A. Q. (2006). Metodología de investigación científica cualitativa. En A. Quintana Peña y W. Montgomery (Eds.), Psicología tópicos de actualidad (pp. 65-73). UNMSM.
Quan, S., y Wang, N. (2004). Towards a structural model of the tourist experience: An illustration from food experiences in tourism. Tourism Management, 25(3), 297-305. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-5177(03)00130-4
Rimal, A., Fletcher, S. M., McWatters, K. H., Misra, S. K., & Deodhar, S. (2001). Perception of food safety and changes in food consumption habits: a consumer analysis. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 25(1), 43-52. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2001.00162.x
Ritchie, J., y Spencer, L. (1994). Qualitative data analysis for applied policy research. En A. Bryman y R. G. Burgess (Eds.), Analyzing Qualitative Data (pp. 173-194). Routledge.
Rozin, P. (2002). Perspectivas psicobiológicas sobre las preferencias y aversiones alimentarias. En J. Contreras (Comp.), Alimentación y Cultura: Necesidades, Gustos y Costumbres (pp. 85-109). Alfaomega grupo editor
Sampieri, R., Fernández Collado, C., y Baptista Lucio, P. (2010). Metodología de la Investigación (5ª ed.). Mc Graw Hill.
Smart, L. R., y Bisogni, C. A. (2001). Personal food systems of male college hockey players. Appetite, 37(1), 57-70. https://doi.org/10.1006/appe.2001.0408
Sobal, J., y Bisogni, C. A. (2009). Constructing food choice decisions. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 38(1), 37-46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9124-5
Valdés, L. M. (1995). Los indios en los censos de población. UNAM.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Madeline López Larios, Claudia Llanes Cañedo, Hugo Concepción Rodríguez Chávez, Luis Ángel López Giménez
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
