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FEDERAL STATE AUTONOMOUS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

FOR HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

NATIONAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY HIGHER SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

St. Petersburg School of Social Sciences and Area Studies

BACHELOR'S PROJECT

“Healthy Nutrition” as an element of the lifestyle of a modern city dweller: analysis of Consumer Practices and Values of residents of St. Petersburg

Field of study: 39.03.01 Sociology

Degree programme: Sociology and Social Informatics

Didyk Kseniia Andreevna

Supervisor:Candidate of Sciences (Sociology)

Y.N. Krupets

Saint Petersburg 2020

Introduction

In the modern world, the science of how to eat is actively developing, research is being conducted and nutrition practices are being discussed, since the health of people on the planet directly depends on this. However, there are many diseases caused by poor nutrition. According to WHO, in 2016, out of 56.9 million deaths worldwide 1.6 million occurred due to diabetes compared to less than 1 million in 2000 (WHO, 2018).

This study will examine two generations, one of them grew up during the Soviet Union, which was different in its culture from the generation born in the 90s, the transition period, known for the change of power in the crisis of 1998, and, as a result, the limited choice of certain products. Thus, generations that have grown up in different societies but following each other and represent a generation of fathers and children may be inclined to impose different social meanings on their eating practices. During the period of economic reforms in the 90s of the twentieth century, there was a sharp institutional transition from the Soviet distribution system of food supply to the market system. It was a shock to the majority of the population and led to ambiguous changes in nutrition practices (Zarubina, 2014).

The social environment, as well as the urban infrastructure itself, sets the meanings, values and trends that affects the consumption of individuals and can change their habitual consumption styles. H. Leibenstein (Leibenstein, 1950) called mentioned the social effect of joining the majority; it can explain why the demand for a product increases when other people purchase it. This can partly describe the growing demand for “healthy” products. However, there is another effect, which name is “Veblen effect” (Veblen, 2007). The main idea is that if the product is rare and expensive, it can become more desirable and valuable, and there is a “snob” effect, which appeared when an individual does not want to buy a product or service precisely because others have it. This explains the popularization and interest of certain groups of people in rare exotic goods, in this case related to healthy nutrition.

Besides, consumer society changed over the last years: opened access to a variety of vegetables and fruits, the appearance of ”superfood” like chia seeds, coconut oil and other new types of products, located on the shelves regardless of the season and geographic location, the appearance of specialized food stores, availability of various food delivery services, as well as the possibility to use modern cooking tools, such as a multi-cooker, steamer, and other features. On the other hand, the emergence of high workload and stress levels as vital parts of city life, increasing informational awareness about dietetics in comparison with previous decades are new distinctive features that are the parts of a life of a modern resident of a megalopolis.

That means that over the last decade situation on the consumer society changed. Does it mean that young people have their meanings attributed to healthy eating practices that are different in comparison with their parental generation and if it is, in which way?

Furthermore, there is no official description of what is “healthy”, so the term is vague which gives opportunities for different interpretations among people. Because in Russia today the concepts of “proper” and “healthy” nutrition are mixed, it was decided to consider these concepts as synonyms. Sociologists describe the term of “proper food” as: “A social construct formed under the influence of a complex set of social structures”, - emphasize E. Yu. Ganskau and V. N. Minina (Ganskau, E. Y., & Minina, V. N., 2015, p. 84). In addition, in the modern society, the concept of the goal of adherence to “proper” nutrition is being transformed. Currently, the ideal and standard of “normality” is a slim body. Thus, people of modern society is afraid of obesity while previously people used to be afraid of starvation (Montanari, 2009).

Thus, changes in the culture affecting changes in a consumer society, products offered in stores, as well as a variety of ideas among people about what is “healthy” food and what is not due to their differences in age and culture, and specificity of being a dweller of a big city, causes research interest in this topic. Also, there are currently no studies in Russia that analyze differences in the perception of “healthy” nutrition between the two generations. In this regard, the research question of my thesis is: “What meanings young people and their parents' generation representatives put into the concept of “proper/healthy” nutrition and how they implement these practices”. The research paper aims to identify and analyze these meanings and practices attributed to “proper/healthy” nutrition.

The research objectives to achieve the goal are identified:

1) Determine the role friends play in reproducing the meanings and practices of “proper/healthy” nutrition among young people and their parents' generation

2) Determine the role of parents and children in the reproduction of the meanings and practices of “proper/healthy” nutrition;

3) Determine the role of the media in reproducing ideas and practices of “proper/healthy” nutrition;

4) Determine the meanings attributed to the practice of “proper/healthy” nutrition by young people and their parents' generation;

5) Identify and typify nutrition practices, which are used by young people and their parents' generation in St. Petersburg.

The object of this research is young people and their parents ' generation in St. Petersburg, who adhere to proper/healthy nutrition; the subject is healthy/proper eating practices and their meanings. The empirical basis of this study consists of 16 semi-structured interviews: 5 of them with men and 11 with women who evaluate their nutrition practices as healthy/proper. In terms of two age groups, the youth group consisted of 9 respondents, while the elder group included 7 informants.

The structure of the paper consists of three main chapters:

The first chapter will provide a theoretical overview of the main concepts that will form the basis of the research tool - a guide for conducting interviews. Some empirical research on the topic conducted by foreign and Russian researchers will be considered as well.

The methodological part of this study is presented in the second chapter. In this section, the research question, purpose, and main tasks are formulated, as well as the methods used for data collection and analysis. Then, a description of the context in which the study is being conducted will be provided.

The third chapter is devoted to the analysis and interpretation of the empirical data obtained during the research. This section will be devoted to the analysis of the interviews collected during the research.

Chapter 1. Literature review

1.1 Sociological approaches to studying food and nutrition

Since nutrition is an integral part of human existence, researchers from various fields of scientific knowledge were interested in the processes associated with this activity.

Various disciplines study nutrition. For example, dietetics, which studies food and food components, their effects, digestibility, combinations, and their role in maintaining human health or in the development of various diseases.

Also, nutrition research is engaged in medicine, studying the effects of products on living organisms.

In psychology, people's eating practices and their deviations are studied, such as anorexia, bulimia. History, cultural studies, ethnography, and anthropology study the historical types of food, cultural consumption, and traditions connected with food in different societies. Food economics analyzes the production, distribution, and exchange of food.

The relationship of nutrition practices to diseases is studied using a sociological approach to the study of diseases that are related to eating behavior. The main examples of such diseases are anorexia, bulimia, and obesity (Bardina, 2016).

I. V. Sokhan identified the following methodological approaches to the study of food and food culture: philosophical, ethnographic, historical, psychoanalytic, political, cultural, anthropological and sociological. The sociological approach is characterized as follows: “Food is one of the markers of social stratification; it is an important object of prestigious consumption. Eating together is one of the most important forms of human socialization. Production, distribution, preparation, and consumption of food affect the functioning of social structures” (Sokhan I. V., 2013).

A philosophical approach to the study of the influence and meaning of food on human life was taken in the 3rd century ad by Porphyry, the Ancient Roman philosopher, who wrote a treatise “On abstinence from animal food “ (Porphyry, 1823). Porphyry positively describes food, when it plays a minimal role in a person's life, does not inflame the appetite leading to gluttony, and does not lead away from solving real problems. Similar ideas can be traced in religious philosophy, where an increased interest in food is associated with gluttony and excessive subordination of the human body, which leads to the death of the soul.

Further, the understanding of food was not developed within the framework of philosophical analysis, and only in the XX century E. Levinas in the work “Time and Other” finally returned to thinking about food. E. Levinas gave a philosophical definition of food, defining it as the penetration of the other into the identical, as far as the human becomes at the expense of the other, which penetrates the identical when a person experiences his insufficiency, experienced as hunger (Cohen, 1987).

In sociology, several approaches to the study of nutrition have been formed: functionalism, positivism, structuralism, genetic structuralism and materialism (Veselov, 2015). There are also related branches of sociology that are interested in nutrition: sociology of health, sociology of consumption, and economic sociology.

First, nutrition from the positivist perspective. Society in the understanding of representatives of this direction is an inseparable organism consisting of elements that perform a certain function. Therefore, it can be said that nutrition serves as the main function not only of the individual organism but also of the social organism. Nutrition is the main function of the body, which provides vital activity and reproduction of the body as a biological system. Sorokin in his work in 1922 describes the social role of nutrition and hunger, as they affect our behavior, thoughts, social organization and cultural life (Sorokin P. A., 1975). The most destructive disasters such as wars, revolutions, famines, and epidemics are related to nutrition. Hunger suppressed pain and sexual reflexes, forcing people to concentrate on how to satisfy it. Hunger has a power that can even weaken the self-defense instinct.

If the amount of food is enough, all the functions of the social organism act following the order. If there is a hunger, then the crime rate increases, hunger provokes strikes, wars, and revolutions. This is the most important conclusion of Sorokin that the reason of all revolutions is the factor of hunger. Further, in 1932, Richards based on the ideas of functionalism and following P. A. Sorokin, published the book “Hunger and work in a savage tribe: a functional study of nutrition among the Southern Bantu”. Richards, like Sorokin, said that food is the most important need of a person. However, beyond that, she consider the need in food as the most fundamental one (Richards, 2013).

Speaking about the approach of structuralists, important aspects of nutrition are its elements and their relationship. Structuralists in the study of nutrition were the first who tried to identify the general formal laws of nutrition, which values and meanings a person attaches to meals, as well as ways of cooking. One of the famous structuralists is French anthropologist Levi-Strauss.

In his work “Raw and cooked” he compared raw and prepared food, where raw food is displayed as natural one while cooked showed the aspects of human culture (Lévi-Strauss C. , 1969). Levi-Strauss described two main methods of food preparation, first is by using fire and the second one by water in a certain dish. “Fried” is more natural as there is no intermediary, but “boiled” has a cultural intermediary: dish and liquid. The social sense of “fried” is associated with “guests” since cooked on the fire belongs to a large social group, “boiled” with “home”, and belongs to a narrow circle of the family. “Fried” food is usually prepared in the wild in most cases by men, while “boiled” food - at home in the kitchen by women. Another method of cooking he distinguished is “Smoking”.

In his book, Levi-Strauss considered cuisine as a special language that reflects not only the culture and traditions of a society but also its structure and the rules (Lévi-Strauss, 2012). While studying healthy nutrition practices in this work, it is important to ask the question: what a person wants to say with the help of a material object, food in this case. Nutrition practices can show person's marital status, age, social status and other social aspects.

Barthes, French literary theorist and philosopher also made a significant contribution to the development of sociology of nutrition from the of structuralist's point of view. In his essays “Wine and milk” (Barthes R. , 1972), “Steak and potatoes” (Leak, 1994) and “Ornamental cooking” (Leak, 1994). According to Barthes, wine is socialized in the sense that it is not only based on morals and the environment of action. It adorns everything, even the smallest ceremonials of French life; it helps to have a quick meal, to arrange a feast, and to chat in a bistro or to make a speech at a banquet. Milk acts as an antagonist to wine and is associated with childish innocence; it serves as a perception of strength and calm, without igniting the inner fire of a person. The steak becomes food for them, with which French people try to join their nature, the feeling of which is given by the blood and meat that are in the steak. Potatoes complement the steak, adding an element of patriotism. Barthes mentions a military person who asked for potatoes and interprets his request not just as a desire to eat, but as a signal of the character's patriotism. In his paper: “Toward a psychosociology of contemporary food consumption” Barthes analyzes the structure of nutrition, and compares food consumption in different countries (Barthes R. , 2012) Barthes claims that it is necessary to consider the concept of the food itself differently. Food is not just several products that can be subjects of statistical or dietary explanation. These are images, signs, a communication system, a set of rules, traditions, and rituals. Nutrition is a way of behavior, is an act of a person. When we consume food, we necessarily mean something by it and want to show society. Food is a communication system, not a way to satisfy some basic need. This shows that food is transformed into a social situation and lost its original meaning. M. Douglas in her paper “Food in the social order” examines in detail and analyzes the usual ritual of eating (Douglas, 2014). Trying to analyze the code embedded in our food practices she examines which components the usual meal ritual consists of. She is interested in why for every culture and society, the order of food consumption exists, and what does the food means for them. A great impact in the food ritual has cutlery, ratios the food, the sequence of consumption, and the method of cooking. Food consumption is a message with certain rules giving a special meaning to the participants of the meal. The Ritual of food consumption has a certain structure. For example, breakfast, then lunch, and dinner. There are significant differences in the food people eat in the morning and in the evening. For example, for lunch it is a dish or meat, for breakfast porridge is appropriate.

As part of an offshoot of structuralism, a prominent representative of genetic structuralism is the well-known French sociologist Bourdieu, who used three categories: habitus, capital, and the social field. In the book “Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste”, Bourdieu says that people's tastes are different: there is a taste for luxury as well as a taste for necessities (Bourdieu, 2013). Each class is inherent not only to economic differences but also with their own taste, its own habitus, cultural capital. Through tastes social classes can be distinguished from one another.

Bourdieu wrote that food preferences depend on each class's perceptions of the body and the impact that food has on the body. For each class, the priorities in the value of food for the body are different, for example, for the working class, physical strength is important, so they will eat more nutritious foods, while the aristocratic layer will choose healthy, low-calorie food. Each person chooses food, guided not only by ideas about the desired body but also on a deeper level, it is a whole-body scheme, including the manners during meals, the selection of dishes. In this way, differences in manners can be noticed, for example, the choice and amount of food consumed between women and men: it is usual for men to leave a “clean plate”, ask for supplements, drink “strong” alcohol, while women eat “small pieces”, drink “light” drinks, and eat “light” snacks.

Thus, when analyzing the nutrition of classes, P. Bourdieu suggests considering in addition to the economic factor, the level of cultural capital. It is necessary to divide the space of food consumption depending on the presence or absence of cultural and economic capital. He emphasizes that with an increase in the incomes of the working classes their preferences do not change, and they eat the same as it was before but more in the size. However, those who have a large cultural capital even with low incomes have completely different dietary preferences.

With the growth of cultural capital people tend to prefer ethnic cuisine, “healthy products” (fresh vegetables, fruits, juices, yogurt). Meat preference is given to beef or lamb, as opposed to pork and chicken preferred in working classes. Seafood for higher and only fish for working. The way of cooking is also differing from stew to grilled food.

The class context is also significant: food was a factor in social hierarchy, distancing, competition for status, mean of social affirmation, and in a court society it was also a “fetish of prestige”. For example, the French royal cuisine included: a large kitchen, a pantry, a pastry shop, a kitchen where ice cream is made, fruit, wine and bread cuisine (Elias, 2006).

The materialist approach relates to the claim that any existing social system is based on an economic component. Materialists argue that nutrition cannot be considered separately from the production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of food. Braudel in the paper “Material civilization, economy and capitalism of XV-XVIII centuries” explains that people and things are closely related, things constantly surround a person in everyday life: food and drinks, furniture and stoves, housing and building materials, suits and fashion, transportation and energy sources, money and luxury goods, tools and technical inventions, diseases and treatments, villages and cities. In his first volume, “The structure of everyday life” (Braudel, 1992), Braudel examines how the food habits of Europeans change depending on the structure of production and trade. In the second Chapter of the first volume, Braudel wrote about the important role of food in human life. He argues that food indicates the culture of a person, the social status, wealth, habits, preferences, level of civilization, and even the age of a person. He also claimed that what was a luxury for ordinary people some time age can easily become common today. Nutrition as a social economic system includes food production: hunting, gathering, farming, agricultural production, exchange, distribution and redistribution of food, preparation and consumption. Braudel discovered, that there are four “food revolutions” in the history of humankind (Braudel, 1992). The first occurs in the Paleolithic era and marks the transition to the consumption of protein food that has undergone heat treatment. Second part during the Neolithic period, it is a transition to agriculture and cattle breeding. The next revolution is connected with the creation of the world economy and the global food system in the era of geographical discoveries and the beginning of the formation of Maritime cargo trade in the 16-18 centuries. The last transition is associated with the beginning of mass industrial production and creation of a mass system of food consumption.

Thus, several approaches can be distinguished in the sociology of nutrition: positivism and functionalism, structuralism, and materialism. The first explains that nutrition provides not only the functioning and vital activity of the body, but serves as a social institution, providing with the socialization of individuals. Nutrition practices are strictly regulated by social norms and build boundaries between social classes. Structuralism discusses the process of nutrition, eating practices as the way by which individuals translate certain meanings, understanding nutrition practices as a system of social communication. Materialism shows how production and nutrition are connected, combining them into a single economic system.

Studying how cultural interactions change through generations, Margaret Mead distinguished that three types: postfigurative, which means that children learn the culture from their parents and grandparents; cofigurative culture also translates the dominance of parental perceptions while prefigurative culture means than during the life parents are changing their cultural patterns adopting new traits from their children (Mead, 1970). Thus, during the research, it is important to pay attention to how the adoption of practices in the field of healthy nutrition in the modern urban community are taking place.

Since this study involves comparing healthy eating practices of two generations, it is necessary to learn about the existing works similar to this topic. One of well-known studies is associated with economic and social changes. In this longitudinal study researchers studied how much of the expense young Italians spend on food and what kind of food it is (Casini L., Contini C., Marone E., Romano C., 2012) They conducted this study for 10 years to identify which products are popular. The study showed that the number of those who eat heavy foods is increasing, while the number of those who include vegetables and fish in their diets is decreasing, and the number of young people consuming semi-finished products has increased. These results suggest the need to encourage producers to make healthy food, since the results obtained can later lead to serious health problems for many people.

1.2 Studying nutrition in the frame of the sociology of consumption

One of the most important topics in the sociology of nutrition, and specifically in this case - healthy nutrition is the field of scientific knowledge, which is called the sociology of consumption. In the sociology of consumption, the concept of lifestyle is vital. According to this approach lifestyle is a demonstration of an individual's belonging to a certain social group. The theoretical interpretation of the concept of “lifestyle” was introduced by Veblen in his work “the theory of the leisure class: an economic study of institutions” (Veblen, 2007). In this paper, the author studied the concept of lifestyle along with practices of demonstrative consumption. According to this theory, conspicuous consumption is associated with a particular lifestyle in which individuals shows their social status by defining the way they consume certain goods. Thus, Veblen claimed that there is a division into social groups depending on which consumption practices are inherent in the individual. One of the prominent sociologists whose name is M. Weber also studied consumption practices. According to his investigations, the principle of dividing society into classes is based on consumption practices, which, in turn, are related to the lifestyle. According to Weber, the main task of the lifestyle is to create certain symbols and signs, through which it can be possible to create and maintain the functioning of the status group (Weber, 2018).

According to the French sociologist J. Baudrillard, the initial consumption of various goods is not focused on achieving individual savings, it is a social function contributes to the hierarchical distribution of individuals. Such consumption is formed under the influence of culture and its compulsion. Baudrillard also highlights an important aspect of consumption in postmodern society, dividing pleasure and consumption: “enjoy for themselves, but when they consume, they never do it alone, but enter into a generalized system of exchange and production of encoded values” (Baudrillard, The consumer society: Myths and structures. , 2016).

Narrowing the study of consumption in general to the study of nutrition practices, we should highlight the work of Simmel. He notes that food is a sign and reflects certain meanings. Food is a special language, a separate form of interaction (Simmel, The sociology of the meal, 1997).

In the context of this research, it is important to mention studies related to the healthy nutrition practices in the frame of changing consumer society in a big city. The development of technologies leads to the typification of manufactured products, which is primarily relevant for the urban population, there are a lot of food store chain supermarkets, shopping malls where urban city dweller can purchase any type of the product knowing the outcome beforehand in comparison with the village dweller who has no such opportunity. Thus, the sociologist Ritzer introduces a new term “McDonaldization”, which characterizes changes in society in the direction of rationalization, increasing efficiency and predictability (Ritzer, 2007). These are the principles of maximum standardization of services, the main functions of which are to reduce the consumption process to simpler operations, to reduce prices to a level accessible to most consumers by reducing quality, to manipulate people's taste settings and preferences, and to use symbolic images that are easily accessible to the individual. Besides, as was noted by Sokhan, there is no meal with its communicative potential; the time that can be spent on cooking and the meal itself is alienated in favor of work, the subject environment is impoverished -- traditional dishes are replaced with disposable analogues (Sokhan I. , 2014).

Fashion also has its origins in the urban space, there is even the concept of “fashion capitals”, such as Paris, New-York, Moscow. That is why the importance of fashion in the process of forming healthy eating practices should be considered. Several major works related to the sociology of fashion will be mentioned. In this section the work of Simmel “Fashion” should also be noted (Simmel, 1957). According to the author, fashion plays a role of connection and individualization. If fashion is followed only by a part of the social group, and then it extends to a broader it can lead to its change. Fashion performs the function of separating the upper layers from the lower, so as soon as certain type of fashion begins to affordable to other layers, it is replaced. Thus, Simmel shows that fashion is a feature of stratified societies. Baudrillard created one more influencing theory of fashion. In his concept fashion is a code that is demonstrated by the individual. The distinctiveness of a thing reflects the investment that a person has made in it (Baudrillard, 2017). Thus, the tendency to eat healthy food can be explained from the point of view of the commitment to fashion of a circle of people, who tried to show their belonging to a certain social group by reproducing similar consumer practices.

Chapter 2. Methodology, methods and empirical base of the research

Aim and Research Questions

The topic of my bachelor thesis is “healthy nutrition” as an element of the lifestyle of a modern city dweller: analysis of consumer practices and values of residents of St. Petersburg”.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the meanings that the youth of St. Petersburg and their parents' generation put into the concept of “proper/healthy” nutrition and how these practices are implemented.

Thus, the object of this research are young people and their parents' generation in St. Petersburg, who adhere to “proper/healthy” nutrition; the subject is healthy/proper eating practices and their meanings

Due to the fact that in Russia the concepts of “proper” and “healthy” nutrition are mixed, it was decided to consider these concepts as synonyms including the process of conducting interviews to collect the empirical material of the study.

The research question of the research paper is: What meanings young people and their parents' generation representatives put into the concept of “proper/healthy” nutrition and how they implement these practices.

The research project objectives are as follows:

1) Determine the role friends play in reproducing the meanings and practices of “proper/healthy” nutrition among young people and their parents' generation

2) Determine the role of parents and children in the reproduction of the meanings and practices of “proper/healthy” nutrition;

3) Determine the role of the media in reproducing ideas and practices of “proper/healthy” nutrition;

4) Determine the meanings attributed to the practice of “proper” nutrition by young people and their parents' generation;

5) Identify and typify nutrition practices, which are used by young people and their parents' generation in St. Petersburg;

Description of the method selection process, justification for this choice

As mentioned earlier, the purpose of this study is to analyze and compare the meanings that the youth of St. Petersburg and their parents' generation put into the concept of healthy nutrition and how these practices are implemented. To achieve this goal, qualitative method of data collection was used, then processing and analysis was made, due to the fact that this is the most suitable method for studying the life experience of people.

The data was collected using the semi-structured interview method, since this method gives an opportunity to ask additional questions which are not included in the interview guide, additional questions can be asked in order to clarify the necessary information and get a more complete answer to the questions of interest.

The informants were selected criteria method. Before providing an interview with informant, it was important to make sure that he or she identified own nutrition practices as “proper/healthy”.

Noteworthy, there is no single General definition of what is “proper/healthy” nutrition. However, sociologists describe proper nutrition as “a social construct formed under the influence of a complex set of social structures”, - emphasize E. Yu. Ganskau and V. N. Minina (Ganskau, E. Y., & Minina, V. N., 2015)

Thus, before starting the interview, respondents were asked whether they considered their eating habits “proper/healthy”. In addition, the informants had to live on the territory of St. Petersburg and their age should be from 18 to 25 years (despite the fact that in Russia people from 14 to 30 years are considered as young people, this group was interpreted another wayfor the study, since in this study it is important that people's nutrition practices do not depend on the fact that respondents can not provide the necessary diet themselves). As well as the second age category, for people from 42 to 65 years, this period was chosen so that their age corresponds to the generation of parents of the younger age group.

Description of the process of creating and applying data collection tools

Empirical data were collected using semi-structured interviews. The research tool was a guide that I created and contained 46 open questions. The guide was divided into several blocks, each one is necessary to answer the tasks set in the study. The first one contained personal information about the Respondent: age, gender, occupation. The next block helped to reveal the aspect of the informants' relationship with friends, the perceptions of their surrounding on “proper/healthy” nutrition and how similar their ideas about “proper/healthy” nutrition are. The third section included questions about relationships with parents or children, depending on generation group, how the views of relatives could affect the attitude towards nutrition and converge their views. Further questions were devoted to the theme of the role of “proper/healthy” and “improper” diet, the complexities of applying the practices of “proper/healthy” eating in St. Petersburg. The fifth block reveals the questions about “good” nutrition practices (the products used in the diet, what stores are visited, is there a taboo on certain foods and or cooking methods). The last section is necessary in order to sum up the interview, with the help of which it was possible to learn about the informant's future plans in the field of “proper/healthy” nutrition, what feelings informants experience implementing “proper/healthy” eating practices, in addition, the informant evaluated the practice of “proper/healthy” nutrition” in terms of trends in the urban space.

During the research 16 interviews were conducted, 5 of them with men and 11 with women. The inequality of the represented groups is due to restrictions related to the search for male informants who evaluate their nutrition as “proper/healthy”. In terms of two age groups, the youth group consisted of 9 respondents, while the elder group included 7 informants.

13 interviews were conducted using online calls in WhatsApp, and 3 face-to-face. Conversations were recorded with the consent of the respondents.

Then, the interview was transcribed and the data obtained were analyzed. Further, the main topics on which the coding of empirical data is carried out were highlighted.

Description of the data collection process and its results

The minimum interview duration was 22 minutes, the maximum was 55 minutes, and the average interview duration was approximately 35 minutes. As a result, 16 informative interviews were collected. One interview was obtained as a result of recording the informant's voice responses to the questions presented in the guide, but this did not affect the information content of the obtained empirical material.

It was assumed that the interviews would be conducted with equal participation of men and women, but according to the results, 5 of them were conducted with men, and 11 with women. While searching for respondents, I found it difficult to find men who rated their eating practices as “proper/healthy”. In addition, many informants mentioned that girls are more interested in this topic, although the gender aspect was not the subject of that study and therefore, questions related to thus field were not included into the guide.

The age of informants who took part in the study was 21-23 years for the younger age group and 42-62 for the elder group. The table below provides a summary of informants

Chapter 3. Healthy nutrition

Since the purpose of this study is to analyze healthy nutrition practices and meanings that are attributed to them by the youth of St. Petersburg and their parents 'generation and how these practices are implemented. I want to start with the meanings that are attributed to “proper/healthy” eating practices.

I divided the topic of “proper/healthy” nutrition into three groups:

· The meanings that informants put into the concept of “proper/healthy” nutrition

· Practices: what types exist, their description and role of the surrounding in the process of implementation of healthy eating practices.

· Opinions on the difficulties in the process of reproducing practices, as well as the possibility of developing healthy eating practices among residents of St. Petersburg

Speaking about the types of practices, it can be distinguished which products informants use in their diet and what they limit or tend to exclude from it. Food preparation methods are mentioned, both frequently used and those that are avoided. In addition, a section was dedicated to the places of public catering visited by respondents, which stores they choose to purchase the goods they need, and the role of the environment in the process of reproducing healthy eating practices.

3.1 Meanings

During the analysis of the interviews, several key meanings assigned to healthy eating practices by respondents of both generations were identified. The informants were not directly asked what meanings they put into healthy eating practices, but many related to this topic questions made it possible to identify meanings attributed to “proper/healthy” nutrition practices. During axial coding, the meanings that informants attributed to their nutrition were defined. As a result, after grouping similar meanings together that young people and people of their parents ' age put into their healthy eating practices, four main meanings were identified. Nutrition in informants ' narratives was presented as a practice of taking care of appearance, as practices of taking care of health, to be “like others”, as well as presenting nutrition as a mean of getting energy. Further, all the meanings attributed to healthy eating will be described in detail, and it will also be revealed whether it is possible to say that similar meanings are attributed to nutrition by individuals of the same generation. It is crucial to mention the role of friends and relatives affected on the perception and reproduction of healthy eating practices, living conditions in the metropolis, in particular, St. Petersburg, as well as aspects such as social media and presence of specialized medical education or nutritionist education of the informant or in his or her close surrounding.

3.2 Beauty

The meaning that informants put into nutrition practices concerns the desire to be attractive, informants usually used the words “not to get fat”, “lose weight”, “appearance”, which were encoded as “proper nutrition equals being beautiful”.

External attractiveness is considered by informants from two positions: as a tool to be fit (body itself), and to meet certain standards of beauty (hair, skin, e.t.c). In the first case, the healthy diet includes the meanings of diets and restrictions, and division of what is “tasty” and what is “healthy”. “Proper/healthy” nutrition is perceived from the point of view of maintaining or striving to become sporty or slim, to get “normal” body, which plays a role in choosing certain nutrition practices (Krupets Ia., Nartova N. , 2014).

Informants evaluate the consequences of “improper” nutrition in terms of changes in their bodies. The attributed meanings are not both gender-colored and are not mentioned only by a specific generation.

“As soon as I see that my stomach is growing, I start to work hard at sports and stop eating disgusting things, then I reach some kind of funny goal and everything starts again...so that is to look handsome” (Informant 9, M, 21 years old, student, former athlete)

“I noticed that I started to gain weight, I ate one sandwich, well, but then my sides formed” (Informant 15, W, 44 years old, works in a beauty salon) “ß çàìåòèëà, ÷òî íà÷àëà ïîïðàâëÿòüñÿ, âðîäå ñúåëà îäèí áóòåðáðîäèê, íó ÷òî òàêîãî-òî, íî òóò æå ó ìåíÿ áîêà îáðàçîâûâàëèñü” (Èíôîðìàíò 15, Æ, 44 ãîäà, ðàáîòàåò â ñàëîíå êðàñîòû)

The meanings attributed to healthy eating play a role in the implementation of practices by respondents: they choose low-calorie food, divide food into “tasty” and “healthy”, and use the concept of “bad” food, the consumption of which leads to involve sports exercises to prevent negative consequences of that type of food.

“By my diet I reduced the weight, but there are products that I don't really like, I understand that it is useful, so correct to me, but to say that I would like to eat now, not sure need to you have always supported this, I think”(Informant 11, W, 42, working in the state sector) “Ñâîèì ïèòàíèåì ÿ óìåíüøèëà âåñ, íî â íåì åñòü ïðîäóêòû, êîòîðûå ÿ íå î÷åíü ëþáëþ, ÿ ïðåêðàñíî ïîíèìàþ, ÷òî ýòî ïîëåçíî, òàê ïðàâèëüíåå äëÿ ìåíÿ, íî ñêàçàòü, ÷òî ÿ õîòåëà áû ïèòàòüñÿ òàê âîò, íå çíàþ, íàäî ÷òîáû òåáÿ âñåãäà ïîääåðæèâàëè â ýòîì, ìíå êàæåòñÿ” (Èíôîðìàíò 11, Æ, 42 ãîäà, ðàáîòàåò â ãîñ ñåêòîðå)

“I eat meat, well, turkey or chicken more often, lower-calorie, so as not to gain extra weight” (Informant 9, M, 21 years old, student, former athlete) “Ìÿñî åì, íó èíäåéêó èëè êóðèöó ÷àùå, áîëåå íèçêîêàëîðèéíîå, ÷òîáû íå íàáðàòü ëèøíèé âåñ” (Èíôîðìàíò 9, Ì, 21 ãîä, ñòóäåíò, áûâøèé ñïîðòñìåí)

“if I want to eat something harmful, no one will stop me, but then I will be ashamed and I will go to drive it all” (Informant 9, M, 21 years old, student, former athlete) “Åñëè ÿ õî÷ó ÷òî-òî ñúåñòü âðåäíîå, òî ìåíÿ íèêòî íå îñòàíîâèò, íî ïîòîì ìíå ñòàíåò ñîâåñòíî, è ÿ ïîéäó âñå ýòî ñãîíÿòü” (Èíôîðìàíò 9, Ì, 21 ãîä, ñòóäåíò, áûâøèé ñïîðòñìåí)

Thus, there is a constant mention of nutrition as a way to maintain physical fit, where the criteria are weight and body parameters, and, as can be seen from the quotes, this meaning does not imply a permanent preference for healthy eating and it is temporary, besides, requires support from outside.

The second type of beauty meanings is not related to the parameters of the body, but to the quality of skin and hair and is an additional factor to the primary meanings of health

“Of course, everyone always talks about this to those who are interested in this topic, many people thank me for opening their eyes, for example, about the benefits of sesame, both for hair and nails” (Informant 14, W, 62 years old, owner of a mini-farm) “Êîíå÷íî, îá ýòîì âñåãäà âñå ãîâîðÿò êîìó ýòà òåìà èíòåðåñíà, ìíîãèå ãîâîðÿò ìíå ñïàñèáî, ÷òî ÿ èì îòêðûëà ãëàçà, íàïðèìåð, ïðî ïîëüçó êóíæóòà, è äëÿ âîëîñ, è äëÿ íîãòåé” (Èíôîðìàíò 14, Æ, 62 ãîäà, âëàäåëèöà ìèíè-ôåðìû)

“The skin becomes better, immediately cheerful, because the insulin does not jump” (Informant 16, M, 21 years old, fitness trainer and student) “Êîæà ñòàíîâèòñÿ ëó÷øå, ñðàçó áîäðåíüêèé òàêîé, ïîòîìó ÷òî èíñóëèí íå ïîäñêàêèâàåò” (Èíôîðìàíò 16, Ì, 21 ãîä, ôèòíåñ-òðåíåð è ñòóäåíò)

In this situation, there is a conjunction of meanings, the so-called “health equals beauty”, as the thinking is conducted in terms of medicalizing nutrition practices to improve the appearance, reflecting the health of the body through hair, nails, skin and other codes used by informants in their interviews. In this case, the theme is gender-colored and the meanings attributed to healthy nutrition by women regardless of age group. In addition, it is important to consider the fact that these meanings were attributed by women with medical education. In this case, it can be said about the presence of these informants of a high level of cultural capital, which was acquired during the course of specialized education, allowing them to endow their nutrition practices with these meanings (Bourdieu, 2013).

3.3 Health

Research shows that the state of health of individuals plays a role in the reproduction of certain food practices (Mol, 2008) Thus, it is interesting to analyze which informants tend to link their nutrition with health, putting in their daily eating habits the meaning of caring for their own health. There is a concept that people with diseases are medicalized their healthy eating practices. Examples of codes that were associated with health are the words of informants that they try to eat “health”, “insulin”, “to feel better”, “diseases”.

The goal of that nutrition practices is to stay healthy, according to informants of the research

“I would like to stay healthy as long as possible” (Informant 13, W, 48 years old, cosmetologist) “Õîòåëîñü áû îñòàâàòüñÿ çäîðîâîé êàê ìîæíî äîëüøå” (Èíôîðìàíò 13, Æ, 48 ëåò, êîñìåòîëîã)

The effects on health were assessed as relatively mild in some cases, for example, not feeling good after eating not healthy food, having heartburn.

“Eat harmful and immediately heartburn, unpleasant sensations” (Informant 15, W, 44 years old, works in a beauty salon) “Ñúåøü âðåäíîå è ñðàçó èçæîãà, íåïðèÿòíûå îùóùåíèÿ” (Èíôîðìàíò 15, Æ, 44 ãîäà, ðàáîòàåò â ñàëîíå êðàñîòû)

However, more serious diseases, such as obesity, liver and cardiovascular problems, and cancer are associated by informants with the lack of maintaining a healthy diet as well.

“Diabetes, many types of cancer, they for example, arise from an unhealthy lifestyle, and a lot of excess weight, that is, cardiovascular diseases, well, we are not talking about the type of figure and skin, but it is also all there, acne there occurs from an unbalanced diet, excess weight” (Informant 6, W, 21 years, fitness trainer) “Ñàõàðíûé äèàáåò, ìíîãèå âèäû îíêîëîãèè, îíè, íàïðèìåð, âîçíèêàþò îò íåçäîðîâîãî îáðàçà æèçíè, è áîëüøîãî ëèøíåãî âåñà, òî åñòü ýòî ñåðäå÷íî-ñîñóäèñòûå çàáîëåâàíèÿ, íó òàì î âèäå ôèãóðû è êîæå ìû íå ãîâîðèì, íî ýòî òîæå âñå åñòü, àêíå òàì âîçíèêàåò îò íåñáàëàíñèðîâàííîãî ðàöèîíà, ëèøíèé âåñ” (Èíôîðìàíò 6, Æ, 21 ãîä, ôèòíåñ-òðåíåð)

“Well, this is obesity, and immediately a lot of diseases, ranging from diabetes to cancer” (Informant 7, M, 24 years old, athlete) “Íó ýòî îæèðåíèå, è ñðàçó êó÷à áîëåçíåé, íà÷èíàÿ îò äèàáåòà è çàêàí÷èâàÿ ðàêîì” (Èíôîðìàíò 7, Ì, 24 ãîäà, ñïîðòñìåí)

Indeed, informants tend to describe their healthy eating practices from the point of view of medicine and mention that they began to adhere when they got various types of diseases: from the lack of calcium to allergy and other diseases.

“I switched to proper nutrition, when the disease, about 8 years ago, there was allergic reaction to products with yeast” (Informant 12, M, 51, works in a private firm) “ß ïåðåøåë íà ïðàâèëüíîå ïèòàíèå, êîãäà ïîÿâèëèñü çàáîëåâàíèÿ, ëåò 8 íàçàä, ïîÿâèëèñü àëëåðãè÷åñèå ðåàêöèè íà äðîææåñîäåðæàùèå ïðîäóêòû” (Èíôîðìàíò 12, Ì, 51 ãîä, ðàáîòàåò â ÷àñòíîé ôèðìå)

“You know when I started this topic actively interested in when his daughter gave birth, then had the teeth to strengthen, understand what need calcium-containing products, and began to look for what foods contain” (Informant 14,W, 62, the owner of a mini-farm) “Çíàåøü, êîãäà ÿ íà÷àëà ýòîé òåìîé àêòèâíî èíòåðåñîâàòüñÿ, êîãäà äî÷ü ðîäèëà, ïîñëå ýòîãî íàäî áûëî çóáû óêðåïëÿòü, ïîíÿëà, ÷òî íóæíû êàëüöèéñîäåðæàùèå ïðåïàðàòû, è ñòàëà èñêàòü â êàêèõ ïðîäóêòàõ ñîäåðæèòñÿ” (Èíôîðìàíò 14, Æ, 62 ãîäà, âëàäåëèöà ìèíè-ôåðìû)