Alimentación salud y cultura - SANHISO C. International health and ...

AlimentAción, sAlud y culturA: encuentros interdisciplinAres
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discreet changes in food portions and an unlimited amount of food
and found that although there were significant data to illustrate that
consumption increased simultaneously with food portion size, there
were no data to support the hypothesis that some individuals were
more likely to over consume than others. This stance has been challenged
by Burger et alii (2007) who found in their research that an
individual’s BMI accounted for 28-51% of the variance in choice of
food portion size.
There is a wealth of research which addresses the impact of increasing
portion sizes on obesity levels in the United States, however
very little has been conducted elsewhere. A comparative study by Rozin
et alii (2003) found that despite the French gastronomic tradition
of rich, calorie-laden food, there was a significantly lower prevalence
of obesity in France than in the United States, a phenomenon referred
to as the ‘French Paradox’. Their findings highlighted how the French
consume much less food in one sitting, that snacking was not commonplace
and that there was a greater respect for food in French
culture when compared to the USA. They argue that it is attitudes
towards food, or the ecology of eating, which most significantly affects
obesity levels. Interestingly, a cross-national study by Rabin et
al (2006) showed that within Europe, the United Kingdom displayed
one of the highest obesity prevalence’s, whereas France had one of
the lowest which prompts us to question whether the British eating
environment has evolved similarly to that of the USA.
There have been no significant pieces of research conducted to
date into changes in portion size in Britain over the past century, so
it is important to contextualise some of the major historical events
which have shaped the 21 st century British eating environment. Two
of the most important events are, arguably, the impact of the Second
World War and rationing and the introduction of intensive farming
methods.
At the outbreak of the Second World War (1940) rationing was
swiftly introduced into Britain, because of food shortages resulting
from the nations’ heavy reliance on imported foodstuffs and the need
to direct resources toward the War effort. The rationing scheme categorized
foodstuffs into three groups; rationed foods (meat, bacon,
ham, fats, cheese, sugar and sugar products), quasi-rationed foods
(milk and eggs) and un-rationed foods (local, seasonal fruit and veg-