The clash of culture and cuisine: A qualitative exploration of cultural tensions and attitudes toward food and body in Chinese young adult women

Abstract

Objective Accumulating evidence suggests that the prevalence of eating disorders among Chinese women is a public health concern. Prior studies have drawn linkages between conflicting cultural values, identity confusion, and eating disorder symptomatology, which may be relevant for understanding the rise of eating disorders amidst China's rapid economic and sociocultural transformation. Here, we explore how women's experiences with traditional eating norms and modernizing norms of femininity may shape their food and body attitudes. Method Chinese young adult women (N = 34; aged 18–22 years) participated in semi‐structured interviews focusing on experiences with norms surrounding eating and ideal feminine appearance, perceived conflict between these norms, and their responses to perceived conflict. Interviews were conducted via email (n = 27) or via Skype (n = 7). Participants were not asked about past or present diagnoses of eating disorders. Analysis of responses was guided by the principles of thematic analysis. Results Women reported encounters with cultural eating norms and feminine appearance norms, and described factors that motivated continued or discontinued adherence to these norms. Women reported strategies of conflict resolution, which resulted in different emotional and behavioral outcomes including eating disorder symptoms. Discussion Women's experiences with norms surrounding eating and appearance indicate the centrality of these encounters in the formation of individual and interpersonal values. Our findings suggest the importance for clinicians to assist clients in exploring the meanings behind internalized attitudes toward food and body, and to help clients balance interpersonal and individual needs.

Risk factors for eating disorders among Chinese and international university students: a comparative cross-sectional study

“…The possible reason may be the rapid advancement, idealism and vast media involvement as many studies suggested that media plays an important key role in the cause of EDs (15). Depiction of personal appearance, pressure, and complained of disordered eating and dissatisfaction of the body are endorsed by media and young ones are more attracted towards this (14,30). ED could be present in both males and females, however, the proportion of males with EDs were smaller than females in many previous studies (7,20).…”

Body Image and Eating Disorders Among South Asian American Women: What Are We Missing?

“…In future research, investigators should assess the function of food and norms surrounding food culture for SAs. Similar to Chinese groups (Ng et al, 2021), SA women noted it is considered disrespectful to refuse additional helpings of food, which may encourage overeating, lossof-control eating, and/or binge eating. Furthermore, cultural considerations, including light-skin ideals, marriage pressures, and dual appearance pressures, need to be incorporated into ED assessments to improve identification of ED symptoms in this group.…”

Exploring the Determinants of Food Choice in Chinese Mainlanders and Chinese Immigrants: A Systematic Review

“…A consistent weakness of all the studies was the lack of discussion regarding the authors' cultural and theoretical positioning in the respective study. A small number of studies briefly described the researchers' background (mainly bilingual ability or expertise) [24,26,30,31,34,40], but none discussed the researchers' potential influence on the study. Only five studies used theories or theoretical frameworks to design the research [32,35,42,44,47].…”

“…In family settings, the consideration of other family members was a common factor influencing participants' food choices. For instance, young adult women reported eating unwanted food or overeating to avoid conflict and to show respect and gratefulness to the cook [34]. Chinese immigrants who grew up in China still preferred a Chinese diet after moving overseas [25,28,29,32,35,36,[40][41][42].…”