Marianne Pipping Ekström

Food and life cycle energy inputs: consequences of diet and ways to increase efficiency

Food consumption is one of the most polluting everyday activities when impacts during product life cycles are considered. Greenhouse gas emissions from the food sector are substantial and need to be lowered to stabilise climate change. Here, we present an inventory of life cycle energy inputs for 150 food items available in Sweden and discuss how energy efficient meals and diets can be composed. Energy inputs in food life cycles vary from 2 to 220 MJ per kg due to a multitude of factors related to animal or vegetable origin, degree of processing, choice of processing and preparation technology and transportation distance. Daily total life cycle energy inputs for diets with a similar dietary energy consumed by one person can vary by a factor of four, from 13 to 51 MJ. Current Swedish food consumption patterns result in life cycle energy inputs ranging from 6900 to 21,000 MJ per person and year. Choice of ingredients and gender differences in food consumption patterns explain the differences. Up to a third of the total energy inputs is related to snacks, sweets and drinks, items with little nutritional value. It is possible to compose a diet compatible with goals for energy efficiency and equal global partition of energy resources. However, such a diet is far from the Swedish average and not in line with current trends.

The food and weight combat. A problematic fight for the elite combat sports athlete.

Weight reduction in athletes is motivated by optimisation of performance, aesthetic reasons or to achieve a pre-designated weight. Previous research has shown that dietary restraint and short term weight regulation frequently takes place among combat sports athletes such as wrestlers and judokas. The aim of this study was to explore negative experiences related to dietary strategies and weight-making practises used by elite combat sports athletes. Using semi-structured interviews, 14 Swedish national team athletes in wrestling, judo and taekwondo were asked about their dietary intake and their engagement in both long- and short-term weight regulation practises. Content analysis of the transcribed interviews, display a constant struggle regarding nutritional standpoints. Sport demands such as achieving an optimal weight and nutritional intake were considered as central in order for excellent performance. Adhering to these demands was found to be problematic however, primarily because of; (1) negative physiological responses and (2) opposing ideals of a non-sport related nature, such as the importance of the athletes to be healthy and social in their everyday lives.

Who is Cooking Dinner

Abstract We analyze how the gendered division of cooking activities has changed in Nordic households over the period 1997–2012. Historically, food preparation and household cooking have been assigned to women, and cooking has been linked to female gender roles and identity. However, with womens increasing participation in the workforce, men have increased their contribution to household work and the gendering of food work is changing. Little is known about changes in how household cooking is gendered, and to what degree changes take place only in some population groups or in the wider population. We analyze developments in the gendering of cooking dinners in multi-person households. The analysis is based on two surveys from a project investigating changes in meal patterns in the Nordic countries. Individuals from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden were interviewed in 1997 (n = 4823) and 2012 (n = 8242) based on almost identical questionnaires centering on the previous day’s eating as reported by the individuals: this included foods eaten, the social context of its consumption and details of who had prepared the food. We make use of a sub-sample encompassing respondents from two-adult households who ate dinner at home (n = 1268 in 1997, and n = 2754 in 2012). Our analysis shows that men’s cooking has increased and women’s has decreased over the time period studied. However, the pace of this development has varied within social classes. While especially men from the middle class were already cooking in 1997, the cooking activity among men from the working class and the upper classes increased considerably from 1997 to 2012, so that by 2012, they had caught up with middle-class men.

The Complexity of Making a Conscious Meal: A Concept for Development and Education

The professionals in the commercial catering sector are challenged by a large number of demands in their daily work. The aim of this study is to extend the concept of The Conscious Meal and to develop it, enabling professionals in the catering service to meet needs, demands, and desires in the public and private meal sectors. This study highlights the complexity of making a meal in a commercial context as well as the importance of including ethical reflections in culinary education.

The study of Nordic meals : lessons learnt

Abstract This chapter presents a discussion on how eating as an everyday activity is structured in modern societies. Representative telephone surveys conducted in 1997 explored one day of eating in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Eating habits are quite different in the various countries, shaped by national meal conventions and practical coordination, but were at that time relatively structured in terms of what is eaten, when, where and with whom. Most people combine relatively structured, social meals, mainly at home, with less structured events alone. These patterns are first of all influenced by family structure and employment, less by socio-economic distinctions. In the final section, the theoretical and methodological impacts of the approach are discussed.

Adolescents’ trust in food messages and their sources

Purpose The authors used role-playing with subsequent focus group interviews in order to explore how adolescents negotiate conflicting food messages they encounter in their everyday lives. The purpose of this paper is to describe adolescents’ perceptions about different messages and their sources and to explore the trust they place in such sources. Design/methodology/approach In total, 31 adolescents aged 15-16 years participated in role-playing with subsequent focus group interviews. A qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings The adolescents depicted an everyday life with multiple and different messages about food and eating. In addition, they stated that these messages were conveyed by a wide range of sources at different levels, for example, by parents, teachers, sports coaches and media. The messages from different sources were conflicting and covered many different perspectives on food and eating. When negotiating food choices in the role-playing and in the focus group discussing how to handle different and conflicting messages, trust became visible. The trustworthiness of messages and trust in their sources were associated with several important aspects in regard to whether or not the messages were based on knowledge about food and nutrition, care for the person receiving the messages, and/or commercial interest. In addition, the results indicate that the situation and the social relationship to the person providing the message were of importance for trustworthiness. Originality/value This study is novel as it uses role-playing as a research method and describes the trust adolescents place on food messages and their sources. To understand the factors that enhance such trust is important for the development and provision of education, information, and other health-promotion activities related to food in order to support and strengthen adolescents’ critical reflections on food messages from different sources.

Eating and Risk: Adolescents' Reasoning Regarding Body and Image.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore and elucidate adolescents’ reasoning about risks related to food and eating. Design/methodology/approach Boys and girls aged 15-16 years participated in a focus group interview with role-playing as a stimulus for discussion and reflection. In all, 31 participants took part, divided into five groups. In the role-playing, the participants portrayed agents who they perceived to give messages about food. In the focus group they discussed their experience of carrying out the role-play, and how they usually cope with conflicting messages, preferences and needs regarding food and eating. Findings The findings suggested that there were two main themes of risk profiling related to eating. One concerned bodily risk related to the food ingested and included concerns both about not reaching health and performance due to the unfavourable intake of calories, nutrients, additives, bacteria, viruses and parasites, and threats to immediate well-being following consumption. The second main category concerned the risk of being conspicuous, or “sticking out”, which incorporated food-based gender norms and norms related to table manners. In practice, the risk of not displaying an appropriate image of themselves through their food and eating choices was more prominent than risk perceptions related to impacts of food choices on well-being and performance. Difficulties in classifying foods as “good” or “bad” enhanced their uncertainty. Originality/value The results suggest that health-promotion activities for young people should focus not only on how to feed their bodies but also on how to avoid feeding their anxieties.

Enjoy! Enhancing Meals in the Swedish Public Sector

ABSTRACT Public meals in schools, hospitals, social, and elderly care play an important role in Swedish welfare. This article analyzes texts concerning the public catering sector, following up government directives that meals should provide enjoyment. The aim was to study a discernible shift towards enjoyment in the approach to public meals. The method is qualitative, with data from functional texts related to the public meal sector in Sweden, using the Five Aspects Meal Model/FAMM as a qualitative framework used by dietitians to add soft values in the public catering sector to the average nutritional values. The result is described in terms of important meal situations: new values, hospitality and service, environment, experience, and food quality as related to how and in which way to make changes. The question of public meals is important in an international view with elderly and multicultural populations.

Reaching balance and sustainability: weight regulation in combat sports. A case study of a female boxer

Weight classification systems that operate in most combat sports often result in dietary restraint and preoccupation with body weight. The practice of rapid weight loss by severe reductions of food and fluid intake as well as sweat induced dehydration is prevalent. Research has demonstrated negative physiological, psychological and performance effects as an outcome of such practices, and sport governing bodies and medical associations have highlighted the importance of coming to terms with weight-making practices in combat sports. The aim of this paper is to provide insight into non-legislative ways of weight-making practices in boxing and consider this information with a sustainability lens. Two semi-structured interviews with a former world class female boxer concerning three phases during her career (novice, elite and coach) were conducted. The results of a content analysis demonstrate that irrespective of the boxing phase, the most prominent aspects in influencing weight regulation were knowledge, identity and balance. The phenomenon of weight regulation is not without contradiction however, and results suggest that structural changes (rules) within weight category sports should be considered.