Nina Kahma

Sport and social class: The case of Finland

Sports have often been neglected in the research on taste and cultural consumption. This article investigates lifestyle choices in the area of sports, with particular focus on the differences that can be drawn from occupational class and other background variables. Based on nationally representative survey data from Finland, participation in sports and sports spectatorship are examined. The main findings suggest that there are divisions between the occupational classes in the involvement in sports, but also in the involvement in individual sporting activities. However, the differences are less clear in sports spectatorship. The findings are somewhat at odds with recent research from different countries suggesting that education and income are important in explaining the differences, although occupational class also counts.

Food choices, perceptions of healthiness, and eating motives of self-identified followers of a low-carbohydrate diet

Background Low-carbohydrate (LC) diets have gained substantial media coverage in many Western countries. Little is, however, known about the characteristics of their followers. Objective The article analyses how those who report following an LC diet differ from the rest of the population in their background, food choices, weight reduction status, as well as food-related perceptions and motives. The data are a part of the Health Behaviour and Health among the Finnish Adult Population survey collected in spring 2012 (n=2,601), covering 15- to 64-year-old Finns. Results Seven per cent of the respondents identified themselves as followers of the LC diet. Gender and education were not associated with following an LC diet. The youngest respondents were the least likely to follow such a diet. The LC diet group preferred butter but also vegetables more commonly than the other respondents and were less likely to use vegetable bread spreads. The followers of the LC diet and the other respondents agreed about the healthiness of whole grain, vegetable oils, vegetables, and fruits and berries, and of the harmfulness of white wheat. Compared to the other respondents, the LC diet group was less likely to regard eating vegetable/low-fat products as important, more likely to regard eating healthy carbohydrates, and the health and weight-managing aspects of foods, as important and placed less value on sociability and pleasures connected to food. The results showed varying food choices among the followers of the LC diet: some even reported that they were not avoiding carbohydrates, sugars, and white wheat in their diet. Conclusions Planners of nutrition policies should follow-up on new diets as they emerge and explore the food choices and motives of their followers and how these diets affect the food choices of the whole population.

Cultural map of Finland 2007: analysing cultural differences using multiple correspondence analysis

This paper explores the patterns of cultural consumption in Finland using data collected in 2007 from a randomly selected sample of 3,000 persons. This is an explanatory study employing Multiple Correspondence Analysis as a method to map the cultural consumption patterns in Finland. The paper refers to a number of previous studies addressing the same issue in Denmark and particularly the UK in an attempt to place the results within a comparison framework. The main argument of this paper is not simply that within socio-economic groups there is a preference for similar culture, but that cultural preferences follow a structure over different domains that can be detected without reference to socio-economic factors. As a result of the analysis, two dimensions of the MCA solution are found, which represent differentiations between high engagement in culture versus disengagement and contemporary versus traditional forms of culture. These dimensions are very similar to the dimensions found in the UK, even if the placement of individual cultural activities varies somewhat. The applicability of the Bourdieusian approach to cultural differences between classes, as well as recent critical developments of the theory of distinction, will be discussed in light of the results.