Abstract

PARALES QUENZA, Carlos José. Healty - eating Colombia: a structural analysis from social representations. Univ. Psychol. [online]. 2006, vol.5, n.3, pp. 613-626. ISSN 1657-9267.

The article explores the structure of the social representation of healthy eating in four groups in Colombian society (two rural and two urban, professionals and non-professionals). The structural analysis distinguished common elements across all the groups studied, namely vegetarian foods, white meat, and the ideal conditions for eating, which were identified as the central core of the representation. The findings concur with other reports in the literature on healthy eating. Health practices, however, revealed inconsistencies and show that health beliefs may function as paradoxical systems and they are defined according to the contexts of communication. Instead of a conventional view knowledgeattitudes- behavior, the theory of social representations offers a distinctive framework for the study of health practices and assumes consistency and rationality in terms of the sociocultural implications of the action.

Keywords : Healthy eating; Social representations; Structural approach.

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