Life in urban Africa is often mired in crisis, thus researchers and practitioners usually pay attention to the multiple urban development challenges and sometimes interpret the activities and actions of urban dwellers as their means to survive in these cities. Urban food security research has remerged in recent years as a major development agenda in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), especially following the food price crisis of 2007/08, which translated into violent protest in many African cities. There is increased recognition that the issue of urban food insecurity encompasses more than just an availability crisis, yet there is limited attention paid to the multiscalar and multifaceted political-economic, social-cultural and environmental factors that drive food insecurity in cities. This research examines the multifaceted factors that shape food insecurity among urban dwellers in Gaborone, Botswana, by assessing household food access and choice/consumption patterns. Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, like many African cities, has experienced rapid urban growth since independence, however, with low subsistence agricultural production, Botswana depends largely on South Africa for food imports. Using in-depth analysis and research techniques, including participant observation, food diaries and discussions with 40 households, this study examines urban dwellers’ complex food experiences. The data from Gaborone show that changing urban food system, food prices, income status and people’s lifestyle influences urban residents’ ability to access appropriate foods. The research highlights the poor quality of urban diets in Gaborone among the survey population. The high consumption recorded of processed foods; sugars and oils are major contributory factors to the so-called ‘double burden’ of disease, where food insecurity and malnutrition coexist with obesity, a situation that is increasingly prevalent in low-income societies. Drawing on an easy-to-use analytical tool, the Household Dietary Diversity Score, while combining it with a political ecology approach to provide more contexts, this study highlights the political-economic, socio-cultural and ecological factors that drive urban dietary diversity. The research, therefore, contributes to the methodological debate around measures of food access, while providing empirical details on the case of urban food insecurity in Botswana. Further inquiries on the factors influencing people’s food choices and consumption patterns reveals that multiple interacting factors, including cost, convenience, commercials, culture and class influence the decision around which foodstuff households consume and that food consumption patterns within Gaborone are fluid, dynamic and hybridized. Thus, food consumption in SSA matters in its own right and by illustrating that consumption patterns in Gaborone are heterogeneous and fluid this research helps us better understand and contest the idea that globally food consumption patterns are becoming increasingly homogeneous and predictable. By providing a conceptually holistic and methodologically in-depth assessment of food experiences in Gaborone, this research calls for increased attention towards urban dwellers' agency and the complexity, dynamism and hybridity of urban processes in SSA cities / The International Development Research Centre (IDRC); International Foundation for Science (IFS) (Sweden) and The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

This research examines the evolutionary eating patterns of consumers when eating with those they are in relationships with, moving beyond eating decisions made in isolation or in the presence of strangers. Across three studies, unique patterns of consumption emerge when males and females are in different stages of romantic relationships. I demonstrate that the evolutionary motives of mate acquisition and mate retention drive eating patterns for relationship partners relative to their gender. I show that females match the eating habits of males at early stages in the relationship but are more independent later in the relationship, while males match eating habits of females in later stages in the relationships but are more independent early in relationships. I discuss how evolutionary eating patterns contribute to high obesity rates, provide recommendations for avoiding unhealthy eating among couples, and shed light on common cultural beliefs about weight gain in social relationships.

Doctor of Philosophy / Human Nutrition / Edgar Chambers IV / Understanding “why people eat what they eat” is important for improving the lives of people around the world by helping provide industrial and social solutions for people so that they may have greater pleasure and health from the foods they choose. The objectives of the research were to investigate motivations behind everyday meals and choices of different food groups using three different approaches incorporating two psychological perspectives: top-down and bottom-up. The first approach was the Eating Motivation Survey (TEMS) targeting the specific choices of foods and beverages people consumed at specific eating events (breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner, and late-night snack). The second approach was the Food Choice Map (FCM) technique to explore motivations for individual food choices for all eating within a typical week. These two approaches employed the bottom-up process. The last approach used TEMS to investigate food choice directly for six eating occasions, without information about what were eaten specifically. This procedure demonstrated a top-down process because people first thought about their eating as a whole and then read through all TEMS scales to find the motivations that they consider "appropriate" for their answers. The first surveys were completed by 198 participants. The FCM interview was conducted on 100 respondents and the same respondents also participated in the last approach. Data were analyzed by Correspondence Analysis. Liking was the strongest motivation that drove people’s food choice. In addition, need and hunger, habits, price, and convenience were the other main motivations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner while health and weight control were found to be the main driving factors for mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacking. Late-night snacks were linked to pleasure and visual appeal. For dinner, people also were motivated most by variety seeking and traditional eating. Different food groups were also chosen with different motivations. Grain, pasta, meats and poultry were linked to convenience, variety seeking, traditional eating, and price while nuts, seeds, eggs and dairy were associated with need and hunger, health, and weight control. Findings from this project advanced and reinforced the knowledge about food choice and encouraged investigating food choice from different perspectives.

abstract: Health knowledge alone does not appear to lead to sustained healthy behavior, suggesting the need for alternative methods for improving diet. Recent research shows a possible role of moral contexts of food production on diet related behaviors; however no studies have been conducted to specifically explore the relationship between moral constructs and food consumption. This study examined the relationship between fast food consumption and two measures of morality, Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ), specifically harm/care and purity/sanctity foundations, and the Ethical Concern in food choice (EC) questionnaire, which includes animal welfare, environment protection, political values, and religion subscales. The study also examined the association between the measures of morality. 739 participants, primarily female (71.4%) and non-Hispanic Whites (76.5%), completed an online survey that included the MFQ, the EC questionnaire, and a brief fast food screener. Participant's morality scores in relation to their fast food consumption were examined first using bivariate ANOVA analysis and then using logistic regression to control for covariates. The MFQ foundations were compared with the EC subscales using Pearson correlation coefficient. Significant bivariate relationships were seen between fast food consumption and the MFQ's purity/sanctity foundation and EC's religion subscales (p<0.05). However these significant bivariate relationships did not hold after controlling for gender, race, university education, and religion in the logistic regression analysis. The foundations of the MFQ were positively correlated with the subscales for the EC questionnaire (r values ranging from .233-.613 (p<0.01). MFQ's purity/sanctity foundation and EC's religion subscale were the two most highly correlated (r=.613, p<0.01) showing that moral intuitions may be associated with eating decision making. The study did not find significant associations between MFQ or EC scores and fast food consumption. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Nutrition 2013

Changes in the features of food demand and consumption have moved from the mass consumption model towards an increasing qualitative differentiation of products and demand. This movement towards addressing consumers’ demand for food products with more advanced quality attributes has led to increasingly complex food qualification processes and a proliferation of standards. Accompanying these changes in the agro-food system is a growing consumer concern for food safety and quality. Even though these trends are also permeating South Africa, little research has been done on the local quality dynamics of this emerging country. There is therefore the need to investigate consumers’ food choice behaviour in a developing country context, such as South Africa. Consumers’ quality perception and decision making process regarding food products is quantified through measuring consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP)for a given attribute in a food product. Willingness to pay refers to the maximum monetary amount that a consumer is willing to pay for a specific product representing a bundle of product attributes. The general objective of this study is to test the application of experimental auctions as one of the available methods to measure consumers’ willingness to pay, in order to determine the applicability of experimental auctions to specific research scenarios – for example the case of food products with advanced quality attributes in a developing country context. Sample selection for the experiment was done through a combination of random and convenience sampling. The total sample amounted to 31 participants. The target population was high income, established South African consumers, who are regular consumers of red meat and also the main buyers of groceries in the household. A pre-auction survey was done to determine the exact demographic composition of the sample as well as gaining insight into the sample’s buying behaviour and attitudes towards red meat, specifically Karoo lamb. A random nth price auction was conducted to obtain willingness to pay estimates for a premium on certified Karoo lamb. Various demographic and behavioural variables were linked to participants’ individual bids in order to determine the possible influence of these variables on participants’ bidding behaviour. This research study tested the application of an experimental auction mechanism in the food marketing context of a developing country. To the knowledge of the researcher, it is the first study of its kind done in South Africa. It was worthwhile to investigate this method as an alternative to stated preference methods in the field of food choice behaviour, because the auction conducted during this research project succeeded in giving meaningful insights into the possibilities of the certification of meat of origin in a developing country like South Africa. From the auction results, a general positive willingness to pay for certified Karoo lamb was observed, with an average premium recorded of R10.90/500g of loin chops. The impact of additional information was clearly visible as bids increased substantially after information treatments about the product were introduced. It was found that female respondents and respondents from the older age group generally bid higher premiums for Karoo lamb. Respondents buying red meat and sheep meat (i.e. referring to mutton and lamb products) from Woolworths and Spar also indicated a higher positive willingness to pay a premium for certified Karoo lamb. With specific reference to the case study product, a positive willingness to pay for certified Karoo lamb was determined in this study. The concerns raised by participants about the lack of availability and authenticity of Karoo lamb, serves as an indication of the need for a formal certification process of food products in South Africa. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

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<p>Preschoolers in the US are not meeting dietary guidelines, which is concerning since experience with foods during early childhood may influence food preferences in later life. To better understand why preschoolers are not meeting dietary guidelines it is necessary to understand the factors that influence why parents offer their children specific foods. The purpose of this study was to use the means-end framework and the laddering interview technique to better understand <i>why </i>parents of preschoolers decide to offer their children certain foods and <i>why</i> certain feeding strategies are helpful. A total of 33 parents of preschoolers (3–5-year-olds) completed one-on-one phone interviews regarding the foods they typically offer their child. Laddering data were elicited for three food groupings: foods parents typically offer, foods parents typically avoid, and foods parents prefer to offer. The resulting data were analyzed and summarized in a series of hierarchical value maps (HVMs). Parent and child-centric themes emerged as factors that influenced the foods parents offered their preschooler. The results of this study provide insight into the meanings and beliefs that impact the food decisions and feeding strategies used by parents of preschoolers.</p>

The purpose of this study was to investigate parents' perceptions of the food consumption practices and nutrition-related needs in a resource-constrained community, in terms of daily eating patterns, current knowledge and attitudes with regards to food choice, food production and food preparation, as well as community-based nutrition-related needs and information to be included in an intervention aimed at community-wide health and well-being. The study forms part of a broader research project, which aims to facilitate health and well-being in resource-constrained communities, in support of reaching identified Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs). Interpretivism was utilised as meta-theoretical lens and a qualitative research approach was followed. I selected Bronfenbrenner's Ecosystems Theory as guiding framework for the current study. A Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) research design was utilised to generate data with 22 purposefully selected parents from three primary schools in the Bronkhorstspruit area. Data were generated and documented through PRA-based workshops, observation, visual techniques, field notes and a reflective journal. Following inductive thematic analysis, five themes and related sub-themes emerged. The first theme relates to the daily eating patterns of the community, reflecting food consumed during breakfast, lunch and dinner. Secondly, healthy eating practices were identified as a theme, indicating that community members had a clear understanding of what healthy eating practices entails, available resources to inform healthy eating practices and current informational needs in terms of healthy eating practices. The third theme highlights food preparation practices, where women take responsibility for food preparation by means of a variety of methods. The fourth theme emphasises food purchasing practices, where community members buy from larger chain-stores, local shops and informal traders. Finally, the fifth theme indicates food production practices, where community members prefer to grow their own vegetables. Based on the findings it can be concluded that this community's food consumption patterns are primarily affected by factors in the macrosystem, namely poverty and unemployment. At the macro-level, access to healthy food, cost of healthy food and the influence of the media are aspects influencing the perceptions and decisions of community members such as parents. Changed food consumption practices and nutrition-related needs within the community may, in turn, effect change in the macrosystem by informing related future interventions. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

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Childhood obesity has tripled over the past three decades and poses a serious public health problem. The Smarter Lunchrooms Movement aims to increase healthy eating by incorporating low-cost to no-cost alterations to the school lunchroom in an effort to increase consumption of healthier foods, such as fruits and vegetables, by making them more attractive and convenient. Our study implemented Smarter Lunchrooms interventions at two primarily Hispanic elementary schools in Paso Robles, CA. The interventions focused on increasing the appeal of the salad bars, including installation of age-appropriate signage highlighting fruits and vegetables, as well as branding of fruits and vegetables with fun age-appropriate characters. Fruits were also placed into decorative bowls to increase their attractiveness. To determine whether these changes had an influence on fruit and vegetable choice and consumption, we tracked student’s choice and intake prior to and following the intervention. Consumption was analyzed using a visual tray waste measurement to determine how much fruit, vegetable, and entrée the students ate during lunch. Following the intervention, the proportion of children who selected fruits and vegetables increased at one school, but not at the other. Of the children that selected fruits and/or vegetables, the proportion eating the entire fruit or vegetable increased at both schools, while the proportion of students who did not eat any of their vegetables decreased at one school. There were few significant differences by grade level (1-3 and 4-5). If easy-to-implement strategies such as Smarter Lunchrooms interventions are effective mitigators of obesity risk, larger scale efforts across populations may help stem the ever-increasing impact of obesity. Therefore, future research should identify targeted methods by which to approach younger vs. older children among diverse socio-demographic and geographic groups.