Browsing by study line "Ruokakäyttäytyminen"

Alcohol policy, alcohol legislation and alcohol consumption have a long history in Finland. For long, Finnish people have been seen as binge drinkers and harms caused by alcohol have been a true problem and burden for the public health. Still, alcohol is present in our everyday life. Therefore, there needs to be different ways to limit the consumption and related harms. This is where alcohol policy comes into action; its long history and the quite restrictive methods used in Finland have been generated for the welfare of the Finnish people and public health. Alcohol policy entails many aspects to consider. Discussing alcohol policy without taking into account such factors as self-regulation, alcohol culture and consumer practices leaves the discussion unilateral. The aim of this thesis is to identify what kind of policy measures were targeted when discussing the alcohol Act 2018 in the plenary session before voting about the Act. Also, the aim is to identify whether there was prejudice or stigma present in the discussion and how was alcohol culture taken into consideration when discussing the new act. In this study the focus is on alcohol culture and politics and therefore the research design of this study is qualitative. The material used in this research is a transcript of a plenary session held the day before the new Act was voted on. The method of analysis used to analyse the research material is directed content analysis. Still, it should be recognized, that this research is strongly related to rhetoric analyses as well. The debate in the plenary session was intense and strongly emphasized by personal opinions and arguments. The discussion many times shifted away from health policy to industrial policy which leaves open a question about the justification of alcohol policy in general. Stigma was present in the discussion and alcohol culture was referred to in a negative and positive sense. The nine target areas of alcohol policy were addressed, pricing and availability being emphasized more than other. The topic in general is part of a wider societal discussion and should be addressed from a wider perspective than alcohol policy alone.

Research shows that Finnish people could increase the consumption of some domestic fish species. Increased consumption has been calculated to have economic, social, and environmental benefits. The current situation of fish consumption is unsustainable. Academic literature on consumption and food systems emphasizes the importance of a holistic view to sustainability. Environmental sustainability has been emphasized and other dimensions of sustainability have been neglected, regarding policies and regulations of the fish industry. In this study, it is argued that observing the consumer perceptions of sustainability dimensions could help to develop a more sustainable fish industry and consumption patterns. The theoretical framework was formed based on literature review. A three-dimensional view to sustainability was used including social, economic, and environmental dimensions. The relevant factors to measure the importance of the dimensions were formed with previous studies on fish consumption. The research aims to reveal perceptions to sustainability dimensions importance from a consumer interface. The research questions are: Which dimensions of sustainability have importance to consumers regarding fish consumption? Are any of the dimensions and factors involved more important than the others? Are there differences between groups on the perception of the dimensions? The research was carried out as a quantitative online survey and shared on social media platforms. Data (N=107) was analysed with quantitative methods (descriptive statistics, crosstabulation and Kruskal-Wallis’s test). Most participants considered all sustainability dimensions important. Environmental dimension was the most important, and especially the factors of protecting the ecosystems, fish stocks and waterbodies. Between age groups a statistically significant difference was found in the importance of the environmental dimension. The results indicate that Finnish people are willing to consume more domestic fish, and care about the sustainability of fish consumption. This study contributes to the discussion of sustainable fish consumption and provides a new approach on developing more sustainable food systems.

In nutrition science, food and nutrition are generally seen primarily as health promotion and disease prevention tools. One of the critical health promotion activities has been weight loss. However, the desired health goals are rarely achieved, even though health information is abundant, and dieting is widespread. My study aimed to find out how people struggling with weight management and challenges in their food relationship describe their food relationship, the factors that influence it, and how they see learning to eat intuitively, i.e. by listening to their bodies, as part of their food relationship. I aimed to increase the understanding of the different factors associated with eating and dieting and to consider whether there might be alternatives to traditional weight loss methods focusing on overall well-being and strengthening body connection rather than simply tracking weight. The research material was collected through semi-structured thematic interviews. The interviewees (=9) were selected from the participants of the "Farewell to yo-yoing" online course using intuitive eating methods. The interviews were organized using Teams’ video conference app between April and August 2022. The interview material was transcribed and analyzed using theory-based content analysis. The theory and analysis of the study were based on the food relationship framework of Talvia and Anglé (2018) and its five different aspects: behaviour, thoughts, feelings, senses and values. Body image challenges, often stemming from childhood and adolescence, were perceived as the main factors influencing the food relationship. Comments about body image and eating, as well as social comparison, were crucial factors that contributed to developing a perceived problematic food relationship. For some, eating had also become a way of regulating emotions. On the other hand, childhood was also associated with positive experiences, such as eating together and regular eating rhythms, which helped to connect with bodily sensations. Different food-related rules and diets emerged as common factors that undermined the ability to eat according to the body’s signals and were also associated with guilt about eating and binge eating. Similarly, training in intuitive eating was described to increase well-being, psychological flexibility, and decreased black-and-white thinking. In contrast, trust in the body's messages had become more central. However, learning to eat according to the body’s signals and challenging previous beliefs was still a work in progress for many. My thesis brought together the concepts of food relationship and intuitive eating in a new way. It helped highlight experiences rarely seen in the health promotion debate. The results suggest that the factors perceived to have negatively impacted the food relationship were the same factors that undermined the ability to eat based on the body’s signals. Therefore, supporting a positive relationship with food appears to be a key factor for intuitive eating. Future work should explore whether intuitive eating methods could be one way of promoting public health more widely, using standardized measures such as the IES-2 questionnaire. More research is also needed on using of the food relationship framework to promote health and support a positive relationship with food.

Background: Adults’ obesity prevalence has become threefold world widely during the last 50 years, and the rate is estimated to continue to increase in the future. Overweight and obesity are a health challenge, as they create health problems to persons and load the health care. Both obesity prevention and treatment are a constituent of health care. Updated Obesity Current Care Guideline (2020) has been created to support the work of health professionals. It has not been previously studied nationally, how the obesity guideline is known, and how the prevention and treatment are handled in different health care sectors, areas, and occupational groups in Finland. Aims: This thesis aimed to find out, who of the health professionals had familiarized with the updated obesity guideline and how they perceive it has affected their work. Additionally, the prevention and treatment methods, procedures of the health care, and attitudes of the health professionals were studied. Methods: The used material was part of the questionnaire regarding the Obesity Current Care Guideline. Electronic questionnaire was sent with an open link to the professionals and supervisors working in primary health care, special health care and public and private occupational health care. 760 professionals responded to the questionnaire. Here, 447 responses from professionals, who mainly work in the prevention and treatment of adults’ obesity, are used as data. Microsoft Excel 2208 -program and IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0 -program’s cross-tabulation and Chi-square test were used to analyze the results. Results: Half (52 %) of the professionals, who participated in the study, were familiarized with the updated obesity guideline. Nutritional therapists and doctors were familiarized more than other occupational groups (p<0,001). Of those, who had familiarized with the guideline, 45 % considered that the guideline has affected to the procedures of their work. The methods of the guideline were used in the health care to some degree, especially professionals brought up obesity topic into discussion and used lifestyle treatment. Professionals working mainly with adults estimated that health care procedures do not follow completely the guideline, and many professionals were not aware of the obesity prevention and treatment procedures of their organization and area. The attitudes of the professionals were mainly positive. One fourth of the responders did not consider that bringing up obesity topic into discussion is natural. Conclusions: The Obesity Current Care Guideline implementation should be improved, so that all health professionals would know the content of the guideline and take advantage it in their work. The procedures of the obesity prevention and treatment must be developed, since they were not in line with the guideline and many professionals were not aware of the procedures of their own organization, like weight management groups. Professionals’ attitudes were mainly positive indicating high interest towards obesity prevention and treatment. Some professionals considered bringing up obesity topic into discussion not being natural, which indicates the need for education and communication about already existing materials. These could help the work of the professionals and lead to better support of the patients. When examining the results of this thesis, it is essential to keep in mind the option of biased results, because of the small number of answers – the results cannot be generalized to total health care of Finland. However, the results can be used in developing the Obesity Current Care Guideline work and adults’ obesity prevention and treatment in the health care. The topic should be studied more with advanced methods and with a representative sample.

Background: Dairy has a culturally and economically quintessential role in European countries while significantly contributing to GHG emissions. However, flexitarian dairy consumers are scarcely researched, especially in Finland, one of the world’s most dairy-intense countries. There is a rising need for comprehensive research on dairy consumption and the role of dairy in everyday life food consumption practices. Objectives: With a social practice theoretical approach, this study aims to understand the role of dairy and dairy alternatives in the food preparation practice of Finns in North Ostrobothnia’s countryside. Daily food preparation and its performances can be defined as routine-like behaviour that consists of several interconnected elements: bodily and mental activities, things and their use, and background knowledge such as understanding, know-how, emotions, and aspirations. The main research objective is divided into two sub-themes: a) what kinds of competences, materials and meanings support the use of dairy in people’s daily food preparation practice, and b) what kinds of competences, materials and meanings promote a change in food preparation practice regarding the use of dairy alternatives. Methods: The data consisted of semi-structured interviews (n=11) gathered through discretionary chain-referral sampling. The study’s participants were required to be born after 1980, live in the countryside of North Ostrobothnia and consume dairy products regularly. The transcribed data was analysed by structuring and coding it into themes formed by elements of competences, materials, and meanings and their interconnections. Results and conclusions: Dairy holds quintessential value in routinised food preparation. Dairy’s role in food preparation was significant as interviewees had a vast amount of silent knowledge and skills on using dairy products to achieve fulfilling and tasty meals approved by others around the same table. Interviewees were accustomed to using particular ingredients provided at home, and dairy was often used in food preparation alongside those foodstuffs. Regularly used recipes often included some type of dairy product. The taste and texture of dairy were highly valued, having a strong cultural meaning: foods containing dairy were considered as ‘proper’ food. Meanings to use dairy alternatives instead of dairy were sustainable and ethical issues, health-related concerns, pure curiosity, and taste. Dairy alternatives were used as dairy products, which made them facile to use as new skills or know-how were not needed. In contrast, a lack of proven recipes and competences to prepare food from dairy alternatives also prevented interviewees from using them. Interviewees did not want to compromise the taste of everyday meals, and dairy alternatives were only used if they did not affect the taste or texture of the food. Preparing food from dairy was intertwined with other food consumption practices, such as eating and shopping for food, which could be concentrated on in future research. More comprehensive cultural change in food consumption practices is required to shift from dairy to plant-based alternatives.