The influence of gender stereotypes on eating habits among Costa Rican adolescents.

PURPOSE: To identify the influence of gender stereotypes on eating habits among Costa Rican adolescents. DESIGN: Qualitative, descriptive research was used in this study. SETTING: Adolescents and parents were recruited from socioeconomically diverse populations in rural and urban areas of San José, Costa Rica. SUBJECTS: Subjects were 92 adolescents (14 to 17 years old) and 48 parents. METHODS: Focus group data were transcribed and entered into the qualitative data analysis software Atlas.ti version 5.0. Analyses were grounded on the social cognitive theory. RESULTS: Five themes emerged from the focus group discussions: (1) Costa Rican adolescents associate the consumption of moderate quantities of healthy foods with femininity and male homosexuality. (2) The consumption of hearty portions of nonhealthy foods was associated with masculinity and male heterosexuality. (3) There is an emerging view that it is acceptable for heterosexual male adolescents to take care of their bodies through healthy eating. (4) Body care among female adolescents is an element of femininity and body image. (5) Parents reinforce their daughters' persistent concern with weight control because they perceive it as feminine behavior. CONCLUSION: Health promoters should be aware of the existing and changing food stereotypes around gender as an avenue for the promotion of healthy eating.

Parental feeding styles and adolescents' healthy eating habits. Structure and correlates of a Costa Rican questionnaire.

This study designed and validated a questionnaire aimed at examining parental feeding styles to encourage healthy eating habits among Costa Rican adolescents. Adolescents (n=133; mean age 15.4 years), and their parents, participated in the study. The parents completed a parental feeding style questionnaire, and the adolescents completed 3-day food records. Confirmatory factor analyses suggest four distinct parental feeding styles, (a) verbal encouragement of healthy eating behaviors; (b) use of verbal sanctions to indirectly control the intake of healthy food; (c) direct control of access to and intake of food; and (d) use of food to regulate emotions and behavior. There were no correlations between dietary intake and the verbal encouragement of healthy eating behaviors, but there were significant negative correlations between (1) "the use of verbal sanctions to indirectly control the intake of healthy food", and the consumption of fruit and vegetable, of calcium, iron, vitamin B6 and folic acid intake, and (2) between the "direct control of access to and intake of food" and fast food consumption and total carbohydrates intake. The use of food to regulate emotions and behavior was positively correlated with high energy-dense food consumption. Stratification of the data shows significant differences by gender in the correlations between parental feeding style and dietary intake. Understanding parental feeding styles in a Latin American context is a first step in helping researchers develops culturally-appropriate parenting intervention/prevention strategies to encourage healthy eating behaviors during adolescence.