Women remain overwhelmingly influential in making food choices
shopping, according to new research that could help health
promotion policies be targeted more effectively.
The study of nearly 200 British men and women in their early 30s found that, although half of the women worked full time, they still shouldered most of the responsibility for making sure their household was fed.
The rise of celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver has made cooking more acceptable a pastime to the modern man, say researchers from Newcastle University's Human Nutrition Research Centre, who carried out the study. But whereas some of the men surveyed saw cooking as a hobby and a chance to be creative, women had a more practical approach and were largely relied upon to do the day-to-day cooking and shopping tasks.
"Women have made great progress in terms of equal opportunities over the last few decades so it surprised us to find that many women, even in this relatively young age group, assumed the traditional female role of chief cook and food shopper," said lead author Dr Amelia Lake, a Newcastle University research fellow.
The study, funded by the Wellcome Trust, is published in the British Food Journal. The results, which highlight how important women continue to be in influencing food choices, could help shape health intervention policies.
Indeed, the publication of the study comes at the same time as the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued the first-ever national guideline addressing both the prevention and treatment of obesity in adults and children.
This document underlines the growing acceptance that while the causes of obesity are multi-faceted, food consumption still plays a central role in both prevention and treatment. It argues for example that schools should ensure that the ethos of all policies help children and young people to maintain a healthy weight, eat a healthy diet and be physically active.
This includes policies relating to building layout and recreational spaces, catering (including vending machines) and the food and drink children bring into school, the taught curriculum (including PE), school travel plans and provision for cycling.
The Newcastle study would appear to suggest that women should be specifically targeted in educational plans as they continue to play the most significant role in food choice and consumption though single men as a group remain notoriously ignorant about nutritional issues, and need to be targeted as well.
Of the 198 study participants from a sample based in Northumberland, North East England, 79 per cent were married or co-habiting. Among the women, 79 per cent were mainly responsible for their household's food shopping and 72 per cent were mainly responsible for preparing and cooking food.
The reasons given for this ranged from women having more time to shop and cook if they worked part-time to the belief that women made healthier food choices. Some women said they did the shopping because they thought could do it faster than their partner, who was often tempted by 'unnecessary treats'.
One-quarter of the women surveyed said they were responsible for food shopping and preparation because they were more skilled than their partners in planning, budgeting, preparing and knowing their family's food preferences.
Dr Lake, a registered dietician, said the findings highlighted the importance of practical cooking lessons in schools as a way towards changing traditional family dynamics.
"One reason for our findings could be that many of our study participants grew up in households that were traditionally structured, with their mothers in charge of most domestic duties," she said.
"With this as their key reference point, our study couples perhaps easily conformed to gender stereotypes."
In conclusion, the work shows how important it is to consider the role of women when developing health intervention policies.
