Sociologic study of food habits--a review. II. Differentiation, accessibility and solidarity

The process of changing food habits is more complex than would appear to most nutritionists; it involves much more than the collection of information. Change must be studied from a multidisciplinary, chiefly a sociologic, point of view, since the food habits of families within a community are formed in a matrix of human relationships. Three major variables are presented and discussed: (a)differentiation, the capacity to process information; (b)accessibility, the measured distance between a family and an information source; and (c)solidarity, the ability of a family group to react cohesively to proposed change. To effect change in his dietary habits, an individual needs his family's cooperation. The nutritionist will do well to rely on the findings of social scientists if proposed changes in family food habits are to be implemented.