Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Contributions of the Life Course Perspective to Research on Food Decision Making

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background

The life course perspective (LCP) has emerged as a powerful organizing framework for the study of health, illness, and mortality. LCP represents a “whole life” analysis perspective which originated in the field of sociology.

Methods

Its concepts are increasingly applied to understanding the development of chronic disease over long periods of time in the human life span. A missing link, however, in the adaptation of the LCP to health research, is the insight the LCP may offer into understanding the societal, social network, and family contexts that frame stability and change in dietary behavior.

Results

This paper reviews key concepts that comprise the LCP but primarily focuses on applications that have relevance to food decision making in social context. A case study of chronic work–family stress and perceived time scarcity as barriers to dietary improvement is included.

Conclusion

Illustrative findings are presented on dietary behavior in a diverse sample of lower-income working parents. This paper also offers ideas on increasing the contributions of the LCP to nutritional research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Almeida DM, Wethington E, Kessler RC. The Daily Inventory of Stressful Events: An interview-based approach for measuring daily stressors. Assessment. 2002;9:41-55.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Baltes PB. On the incomplete architecture of human ontogeny. Selection, optimization, and compensation as foundation of developmental theory. Am Psychol. 1997;52:366-380.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Ben-Shlomo Y, Kuh D. A life course approach to chronic disease epidemiology: Conceptual models, empirical challenges and interdisciplinary perspectives. Int J Epidemiol. 2002;31:285-293.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Berkman LF, Glass T, Brissette I, Seeman TE. From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium. Soc Sci Med. 2000;51:843-857.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Berkman LF. Social epidemiology: Social determinants of health in the United States: Are we losing ground? Annu Rev Public Health. 2009;30:27-41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Berney LR, Blane DB. Collecting retrospective data: Accuracy of recall after 50 years judged against historical records. Soc Sci Med. 1997;45:1519-1525.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Blake CE, Devine CM, Wethington E, Jastran M, Farrell TJ, Bisogni CA. Employed parents’ satisfaction with food-choice coping strategies. Influence of gender and structure. Appetite. 2009;52:711-719.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Christakis NA, Fowler JH. The spread of obesity in a large social network over 32 years. N Engl J Med. 2007;357:370-379.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Cohen S. Social realtionships and Health. Am Psychol. 2004;59:676-684.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Cohen S, Lemay EP. Why would social networks be linked to affect and health practices? Health Psychol. 2007;26:410-417.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Darnton-Hill I, Nishida C, James WP. A life course approach to diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases. Public Health Nutr. 2004;7:101-121.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Devine C, Olson CM. Women’s dietary prevention motives: Life stage influences. J Nutr Educ. 1991;23:269-274.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Devine CM, Olson CM. Women’s perceptions about the way social roles promote or constrain personal nutrition care. Women Health. 1992;19:79-95.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Devine CM, Wolfe WS, Frongillo EA Jr, Bisogni CA. Life-course events and experiences: Association with fruit and vegetable consumption in 3 ethnic groups. J Am Diet Assoc. 1999;99:309-314.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Devine CM, Bove CF, Olson CM. Continuity and change in women’s weight orientations and lifestyle practices through pregnancy and the postpartum period: The influence of life course trajectories and transitional events. Soc Sci Med. 2000;50:567-582.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Devine CM. A life course perspective: Understanding food choices in time, social location, and history. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2005;37:121-128.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Devine CM, Farrell TJ, Hartman R. Sisters in health: Experiential program emphasizing social interaction increases fruit and vegetable intake among low-income adults. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2005;37:265-270.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Devine CM, Jastran M, Jabs J, Wethington E, Farell TJ, Bisogni CA. "A lot of sacrifices:" work-family spillover and the food choice coping strategies of low-wage employed parents. Soc Sci Med. 2006;63:2591-2603.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Devine CM, Stoddard AM, Barbeau EM, Naishadham D, Sorensen G. Work-to-family spillover and fruit and vegetable consumption among construction laborers. Am J Health Promot. 2007;21:175-182.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Elder JG. The life course paradigm: Social changes and individual development. In: Moen P, Elder Jr G, Luscher K, eds. Examining Lives in Context. American Psychological Association; 1995:101–139.

  21. Elder JG. The emergence and development of life course theory. In: Mortimer E, Shanahan M, eds. Handbook of the Life Course. New York: Kluwer; 2003:3-19.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  22. Ferrie JE, Shipley MJ, Marmot MG, Stansfeld S, Davey SG. The health effects of major organisational change and job insecurity. Soc Sci Med. 1998;46:243-254.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Ferrie JE, Shipley MJ, Stansfeld SA, Smith GD, Marmot M. Future uncertainty and socioeconomic inequalities in health: The Whitehall II study. Soc Sci Med. 2003;57:637-646.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Feunekes GI, de GC, Meyboom S, van Staveren WA. Food choice and fat intake of adolescents and adults: Associations of intakes within social networks. Prev Med. 1998;27:645-656.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Furst T, Connors M, Bisogni CA, Sobal J, Falk LW. Food choice: A conceptual model of the process. Appetite. 1996;26:247-265.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. George LK. In: Mortimer J, Shanahan M, eds. Life Course Research: Achievements and Potential. New York: Kluwer; 2003:671-680.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Geronimus AT, Hicken M, Keene D, Bound J. "Weathering" and age patterns of allostatic load scores among blacks and whites in the United States. Am J Public Health. 2006;96:826-833.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Gillespie AH, Gillespie G. Family food decision-maiking: An ecological systems framework. J Fam Consum Sci. 2007;99:22-28.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Goodwin RD, Hoven CW, Murison R, Hotopf M. Association between childhood physical abuse and gastrointestinal disorders and migraine in adulthood. Am J Public Health. 2003;93:1065-1067.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Gunnell DJ, Frankel SJ, Nanchahal K, Peters TJ, Davey SG. Childhood obesity and adult cardiovascular mortality: A 57-y follow-up study based on the Boyd Orr cohort. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998;67:1111-1118.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Gunnell DJ, Davey SG, Frankel SJ, et al. Childhood leg length and adult mortality: Follow-up of the Carnegie (Boyd Orr) survey of diet and health in prewar Britain. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1998;52:142-152.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Halfon N, Hochstein M. Life course health development: An integrated framework for developing health, policy, and research. Milbank Q. 2002;80:433-479. iii.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. House JS, Umberson D, Landis KR. Structures and processes of social support. Annu Rev Sociology. 1998;14:293-318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. House JS, Lantz PM, Herd P. Continuity and change in the social stratification of aging and health over the life course: Evidence from a nationally representative longitudinal study from 1986 to 2001/2002 (Americans’ Changing Lives Study). J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2005;60(Spec No 2):15-26.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Jabs J, Devine CM, Bisogni CA, Farrell TJ, Jastran M, Wethington E. Trying to find the quickest way: Employed mothers’ constructions of time for food. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2007;39:18-25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Kahn RL, Antonucci T. Atachment, roles and social support. In: Baltes PB, Brimm OG, eds. Lifespan Development and Behavior. New York: Academic; 1980:253-286.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Kuh D, dos Santos Silva I, Barret-Connnor E. Disease Trends in Women Living in Established Market Economies: Evidence of Cohort Effects During the Epidemiological Transition. A Life Course Approach to Women’s Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2002:347-373.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Lazarus RS. Stress and Emotion. New York: Springer; 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Lynch J, Smith GD. A life course approach to chronic disease epidemiology. Annu Rev Public Health. 2005;26:1-35.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Marmot M. The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects our Health and Longevity. New York: Times Book; 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  41. McDonough P, Berglund P. Histories of poverty and self-rated health trajectories. J Health Soc Behav. 2003;44:198-214.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Metcalfe C, Davey SG, Sterne JA, Heslop P, Macleod J, Hart C. Frequent job change and associated health. Soc Sci Med. 2003;56:1-15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Moen P, Wethington E. The concept of family adaptive strategies. Annu Rev Sociology. 1992;18:33-51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Moen P. Its About Time: Couples and Careers. Ithaca: Cornell University Press; 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Neumark-Sztainer D, Story M, Ackard D, Moe J, Perry C. The "Family Meal": Views of adolescents. J Nutr Educ. 2000;32:329-334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Neumark-Sztainer D, Hannan PJ, Story M, Croll J, Perry C. Family meal patterns: Associations with sociodemographic characteristics and improved dietary intake among adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc. 2003;103:317-322.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). The Contributions of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research to Improving the Health of the Nation: A Prospectus for the Future. 20096. Washington DC, US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. Ref Type: Report.

  48. Olson CM. Tracking of food choices across the transition to motherhood. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2005;37:129-136.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Pearce N, Davey SG. Is social capital the key to inequalities in health? Am J Public Health. 2003;93:122-129.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Schoenborn CA. Marital status and health: United States 1999–2002. Adv Data.. 2004;351:1-32.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Seeman TE, Singer BH, Ryff CD, Dienberg LG, Levy-Storms L. Social relationships, gender, and allostatic load across two age cohorts. Psychosom Med. 2002;64:395-406.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Seo DC, Sa J. A meta-analysis of psycho-behavioral obesity interventions among US multiethnic and minority adults. Prev Med. 2008;47:573-582.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Serido J, Almeida DM, Wethington E. Chronic stressors and daily hassles: Unique and interactive relationships with psychological distress. J Health Soc Behav. 2004;45:17-33.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Setterstein RA. Lives in Time and Place: The Problems and Promises of Developmental Science. Amityville: Baywood; 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Shonkoff JP, Boyce WT, McEwen BS. Neuroscience, molecular biology, and the childhood roots of health disparities: Building a new framework for health promotion and disease prevention. JAMA. 2009;301:2252-2259.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Singer B, Ryff CD. Heirarchies of life histories and associated health risks. In: Adler N, Marmot M, McEwen B, Stewart J, eds. Socioeconomic Sttus and Health in Industialized Nations: Social, Psychological and Biological Pathways. New York: New York Academy of Sciences; 1999:96-118.

    Google Scholar 

  57. Sobal J, Rauschenbach B, Frongillo EA. Marital status changes and body weight changes: A US longitudinal analysis. Soc Sci Med. 2003;56:1543-1555.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  58. Sobal J, Bisogni C, Devine CM, Jastran M. A conceptual model of the food choice process over the life course. In: Shepherd R, Raats M, eds. The Psychology of Food Choice. Cambridge: CABI; 2006:1-18.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  59. Umberson D. Gender, marital status and the social control of health behavior. Soc Sci Med. 1992;34:907-917.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  60. Vermeir I, Verbeke W. Sustainable food consumption: Exploring the consumer "attitude-behavioral intention" gap. Journal of Agricultural and Experimental Economics. 2006;19:169-194.

    Google Scholar 

  61. Wethington E, Moen P, Pillemenr K, Glasgow N. Multiple roles, social integration and health. In: Moen P, Pillemer K, Glasgow N, eds. Social Integration in the Second Half of Life. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press; 2000:48-71.

    Google Scholar 

  62. Wethington E. The lifecourse perspective on health: Implications for health and nutrition. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2005;37:115-120.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The development of this paper was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging (1 P30 AG022845, P.I. Karl Pillemer) and the National Cancer Institute (1 R01 CA 102684, P.I. Carol M. Devine). I would like to thank Ardyth Gillespie, Carol M. Devine, Carole Bisogni, Tracey Farrell, Margaret Jastran, and Sarah M. Hertzog for their many contributions to this work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development, MVR Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853-4401, USA

    Elaine Wethington Ph.D.

  2. Department of Sociology, Uris Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853-4401, USA

    Elaine Wethington Ph.D.

  3. Public Health Nutrition/Health Policy Advisor NIH/Division of Nutrition and Research Coordination, 6707 Democracy Blvd., 2 Democracy Plaza, Room 635, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Wendy L. Johnson-Askew Ph.D., M.P.H.

Authors
  1. Elaine Wethington Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wendy L. Johnson-Askew Ph.D., M.P.H.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elaine Wethington Ph.D..

About this article

Cite this article

Wethington, E., Johnson-Askew, W.L. Contributions of the Life Course Perspective to Research on Food Decision Making. ann. behav. med. 38 (Suppl 1), 74–80 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9123-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9123-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation