Exploring the impact of socioeconomic status on the food and eating practices of Maltese families

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to understand better food and eating practices of Maltese families in relation to socioeconomic status. The objectives of this study were to a) understand sociologically the meaning Maltese families assign to unhealthy/healthy food and eating practices, b) the role that socioeconomic status play in this, and c) the barriers and facilitators of unhealthy/healthy food and eating practices. A number of thirty participants participated in my study. Two qualitative methods were used for this research. Twenty-three participants were required to fill in a food diary and participated in a follow-up interview, while seven participants were interviewed only. The interview was semi-structured. A self-administered questionnaire was given to the participants in order to understand better their demographic characteristics such as the level of education, family structure, annual household income and occupation. These demographic characteristics helped me to understand better the socioeconomic status of the participants. Most of the participants were females, formed part of a nuclear family, resided in Ħaż-Żebbuġ and in Żabbar, worked in the social welfare services sector and earned €21,000 to €30,000 per year. Several participants especially mothers who work in social welfare services and have young children used nutritional discourse to construct healthy/unhealthy food and eating practices. Most of the participants attached a positive meaning to food and prioritised commensality (the act of eating together). This study concludes that the inflation has taken a toll on the participants especially low-income participants. Some low to median income participants changed shopping practices and food brands to save money. Most of the participants buy food from the supermarkets to benefit from point schemes. Moreover, several participants buy fruit and vegetables, and meat from the fruit vendor and butcher respectively due to high level of trust. Most of the mothers prepare food from scratch because they feel responsible for their families’ well-being.