Family food work: lessons learned from urban Aboriginal women about nutrition promotion
Wendy FoleyInala Indigenous Health Service, 64 Wirraway Parade, Inala, Qld 4077, Australia. Email: wendy_foley@health.qld.gov.au
Australian Journal of Primary Health 16(3) 268-274 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY10004
Published: 6 September 2010
Abstract
This article reports on ethnographic study of urban Aboriginal family food and implications for nutrition promotion. Data were collected over 2 years through in-depth interviews and participant observation in groups conducted through Indigenous organisations in a suburb of Brisbane. Issues when organising family food include affordability, keeping family members satisfied and being able to share food, a lack of cooking ideas, the accessibility of nutrition information, additional work involved in ensuring healthy eating, and a desire for convenience. Many different health professionals provide nutrition advice, often directing it towards individuals and not providing adequate guidance to facilitate implementation. The easiest advice to implement worked from existing household food practices, skills and budget. Cooking workshops helped to provide opportunities to experiment with recommended foods so that women could confidently introduce them at home. Aboriginal women are concerned about healthy eating for their families. Disadvantage can limit dietary change and the complexity of family food work is often underestimated in nutrition promotion. Household, rather than individual, framing of nutrition promotion can lead to more sustainable healthy eating changes.
Additional keywords: Australia, cooking, Indigenous.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all study participants for their generosity. Helpful comments on a draft paper were gratefully received from Sharon Laurence and Sally Spurr and two anonymous reviewers. This study was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Scholarship in Indigenous Health Research and the Queensland Government Growing the Smart State PhD Funding Program.
Burns C,
Sacks G, Gold L
(2008) Longitudinal study of consumer price index (CPI) trends in core and non-core foods in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 32(5), 450–453.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |
Caraher M, Lang T
(1999) Can’t cook, won’t cook: a review of cooking skills and their relevance to health promotion. International Journal of Health Promotion & Education 37(3), 89–100.
Coveney J
(2002) What does research on families and food tell us? Implications for nutrition and dietetic practice. Nutrition and Dietetics 59(2), 113–119.
Crotty PA,
Rutishauser IHE, Cahill M
(1992) Food in low-income families. Australian Journal of Public Health 16(2), 168–174.
| PubMed |
CAS |
Drewnowski A, Darmon N
(2005) The economics of obesity: dietary energy density and energy cost. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 82(Suppl.), 265S–273S.
| PubMed |
CAS |
Friel S,
Walsh O, McCarthy D
(2006) The irony of a rich country: issues of financial access to and availability of healthy food in the Republic of Ireland. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 60(12), 1013–1019.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |
CAS |
Harrison MS,
Coyne T,
Lee AJ,
Leonard D, Lowson S ,
et al
.
(2007) The increasing cost of the basic foods required to promote health in Queensland. The Medical Journal of Australia 186, 9–14.
| PubMed |
Harrison M,
Lee A,
Findlay M,
Nicholls R,
Leonard D, Martin C
(2010) The increasing cost of healthy food. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 34(2), 179–186.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kettings C,
Sinclair AJ, Voevodin M
(2009) A healthy diet consistent with Australian health recommendations is too expensive for welfare-dependent families. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 33(6), 566–572.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |
Panaretto K,
Coutts J,
Johnson L,
Morgan A,
Leon D, Hayman N
(2010) Evaluating performance of and organisational capacity to deliver brief interventions in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical services. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 34(1), 38–44.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Rose D
(2007) Food stamps, the thrifty food plan, and meal preparation: the importance of the time dimension for US nutrition policy. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 39(4), 226–232.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |
Santich B
(1992) The incompatibility of nutritional ideals with low incomes. Food Australia 44(5), 230–234.
Spikmans FJM,
Brug J,
Doven MMB,
Kruizenga HM,
Hofsteenge G, van Bokhorst-van der Schueren MAE
(2003) Why do diabetic patients not attend appointments with their dietitian? Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 16, 151–158.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |
CAS |
Travers K
(1996) The social organization of nutritional inequities. Social Science & Medicine 43(4), 543–553.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
CAS |
Turrell G,
Hewitt B,
Patterson C,
Oldenburg B, Gould T
(2002) Socioeconomic differences in food purchasing behaviour and suggested implications for diet-related health promotion. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 15(5), 355–364.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |
CAS |
1 National Aboriginal Islander Day Observance Committee celebrations are held in July each year to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
