'Trying to make it all come together': structuration and employed mothers' experience of family food provisioning in Canada

Abstract

This research examined the aetiology of employed mothers' food choice and food provisioning decisions using a qualitative, grounded theory methodology. Semi-structured interviews using the Food Choice Map were conducted with eleven middle-income employed mothers of elementary school-age children. Results demonstrated that the women exhibited conflicting identities with respect to food choice and provisioning. As 'good mothers' they were the primary food and nutrition caregivers for the family, desiring to provide healthy, homemade foods their families preferred at shared family meals. They also sought to be independent selves, working outside the home, within the context of a busy modern family. Increased food autonomy of children, and lack of time due to working outside the home and children's involvement in extracurricular activities, were significant influences on their food choice and provisioning. This resulted in frequently being unable to live up to their expectations of consistently providing healthy homemade foods and having shared family meals. To cope, the women frequently relied on processed convenience and fast foods despite their acknowledged inferior nutritional status. Using Giddens' structuration theory, the dynamic relationships between the women's food choice and provisioning actions, their identities and larger structures including socio-cultural norms, conditions of work and the industrial food system were explored. The ensuing dietary pattern of the women and their families increases the risk of poor health outcomes, including obesity. These results have implications for public health responses to improve population health by shifting the focus from individual-level maternal influences to structural influences on diet.

The weight of work: the association between maternal employment and overweight in low- and middle-income countries

“…Dual parental and employment responsibilities may induce stress among mothers and modest evidence suggests that adverse mental health (e.g. depression) is associated with increased overweight among women [43][44][45][46]. It is possible that the rapid transformation of the food and built environment in LMIC, such as the spread of supermarkets and availability of ultra-processed foods, provides an enabling environment for the aforementioned hypothesized changes among formally employed women [47][48][49].…”

The barriers that women face when choosing food for their primary school children: A case study in the Western Cape Province, South Africa

“…Unfortunately, these foods are often high in fat and sugar and children become accustomed to them, hence developing a preference. [26,27] This could result in the younger generations acquiring fewer cooking skills from their mothers and, in turn, a reliance on convenience foods.…”

“…[26] Not only is there a need for healthier pre-prepared and convenience meals, but also for the education of mothers on ways to prepare quickand-easy nutritious homemade meals. The food industry has responded and capitalised on this need, but the majority of options still focus on convenience and not on health.…”

Receiving Assistance and Local Food System Participation

“…In addition, women with lower incomes are less able to achieve normative ideals of food provisioning, enact and maintain identity through food provisioning, and provide care and nourishment for their loved ones, adding to the potential stresses of food provisioning [44]. Further, research has found that women often make trade-offs between their preferred food provisioning practices and the constraints they experience, and using convenience foods is a common strategy that can minimize the physical and mental labor of food provisioning [45,46], potentially even for women who would prefer to engage in LFSs.…”