The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #37170

Steven R. Hawks, EdD, CHES, Health Science, Brigham Young University, 229L Richards Building, Provo, UT 84602, (801)378-1706, steve_hawks@byu.edu

This study compared motivation for eating between individuals from two different cultures that have moved through the nutrition transition at different rates and to different degrees. The analysis was based on a convenience sample of 1,218 participants aged 18 years and older attending colleges in the US and Japan. The Motivation for Eating Scale (MFES) was used to evaluate three different styles of eating (physical, emotional, or environmental) by nation and gender. For women, significant differences were seen for all three subscales. Women in the US were more likely to initiate eating for emotional reasons, while women in Japan were more likely to eat for physical or environmental reasons. Trends were in similar directions for men, but did not achieve statistical significance. Both women and men in the US were more likely than the Japanese respondents to eat in response to watching TV or movies. These results suggest that there are national differences in the cultural environment that may impact individual motivations for eating. As such, various cultural perceptions of food and culturally influenced eating styles should be considered in attempts to more fully understand the mechanics of the nutrition transition as it operates within a given country. By extension, public health policies and health promotion initiatives that are designed to limit the negative impacts of the nutrition transition may benefit from a greater understanding of the larger role that cultural differences in eating styles may play in the development of overweight and obesity.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the influence of culture on individual eating styles.
• Evaluate the relationship between eating styles and obesity.
• Analyze the nutrition transition from the perspective of culturally determined eating styles.
• Propose public health and policy strategies for manging the nutrition transition in developing countries.

Keywords: Obesity, Culture

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.