Perceptions Around Healthy Eating and Implications for Home Cooking in a Group of Women in Catalonia, Spain

Abstract

Background: In general, and among various factors, most people declare that they take into account the importance of health when they are choosing their foods. Objective: Understand from the perspective of a group of women what constitutes healthy eating and the implications for daily cooking practices. Materials and Methods: With phenomenological orientation and qualitative methodologies, guided by the information saturation criterion, four discussion groups (n = 22) and 10 in-depth interviews (n = 12) were conducted with 31 women resid­ing in Catalonia, Spain. Results: Perceptions around what is “healthy” are diverse and complicated. In addition to identifying how discourse denotes whether foods are healthy or not, it was also found that assimilation and redefinition processes influence perceptions of “healthy” foods and culinary practices. Before considering health, preferences, tastes, cost, and convenience were considered when selecting food and making purchases. Conclusion: Helping the participants to identify how they label and consider “healthy” foods enabled the integration by interviewees of strate­gies to legitimize their discussions about health and culinary practices, although said strategies do not necessarily correspond with dietetic norms.