26 pages, This research is intended to initiate understanding of how obesity in the South persists even though the majority of inhabitants subscribe to a faith that discourages unhealthy lifestyles. Grounded in the Cognitive Dissonance Theory, this study examined Protestant evangelical Christians in the South (N = 11), who participated in semi-structured interviews. The first emergent theme was that, to these Southerners, the purpose of food is for sustenance and survival, as well as for bringing people together. Most participants reported having an average level of knowledge of nutrition and health. Furthermore, participants generally agreed that marketing or educational efforts had little effect on their understanding of nutrition. Another theme emerged when participants provided Biblical references to food or health. “The Body is a Temple” and “gluttony” were the most common Biblical concepts. All participants referred to taste or desirability as the driver of their food selections. Furthermore, most participants claimed habitual gluttony as a personal experience in their lives. This study concluded that subjects employed two modes of “trivializing” as a way of resolving dissonance. Some participants justified their eating habits based on Southern culture, while others explained that their church culture supported unhealthy eating as a means of gathering in fellowship.
Kadiyala, Suneetha (author), Morgan, Emily H. (author), Cyriac, Shruthi (author), Margolies, Amy (author), Roopnaraine, Terry (author), and Department of Population Health, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH), London, United Kingdom
Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
St. Johns Research Institute, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Department of International Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
Independent consultant, Brasilia, DF, Brazil
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2016-10-13
Published:
India: Public Library of Science
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 164 Document Number: D08245
Team Nutrition (Program : U.S.) (author) and United States Food and Nutrition Service (author)
Format:
government document
Language:
Eng;iish
Publication Date:
2013
Published:
USA: USDA, Food and Nutrition Service
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 152 Document Number: D10136
Notes:
1 online resource (107 pages) : illustrations (some color), A supplemental curriculum for grades 5-6., Via United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library. From the Historical Dietary Guidance Digital Collection
Peterson, Shirley S. (author), Gerstein, Dana E. (author), Mugford, Krista (author), Willey, Rachael (author), Davis, Jenny (author), Nicholson, Lisa (author), and Crawford, Patricia B. (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2008-02
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 163 Document Number: C27172
