Perceptions on healthy eating, physical activity and lifestyle advice: opportunities for adapting lifestyle interventions to individuals with low socioeconomic status

Abstract

BackgroundIndividuals with low socioeconomic status (SES) are generally less well reached through lifestyle interventions than individuals with higher SES. The aim of this study was to identify opportunities for adapting lifestyle interventions in such a way that they are more appealing for individuals with low SES. To this end, the study provides insight into perspectives of groups with different socioeconomic positions regarding their current eating and physical activity behaviour; triggers for lifestyle change; and ways to support lifestyle change.MethodsData were gathered in semi-structured focus group interviews among low SES (four groups) and high SES (five groups) adults. The group size varied between four and nine participants. The main themes discussed were perceptions and experiences of healthy eating, physical activity and lifestyle advice. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and a thematic approach was used to analyse the data.ResultsIn general, three key topics were identified, namely: current lifestyle is logical for participants given their personal situation; lifestyle change is prompted by feedback from their body; and support for lifestyle change should include individually tailored advice and could profit from involving others. The perceptions of the low SES participants were generally comparable to the perceptions shared by the high SES participants. Some perceptions were, however, especially shared in the low SES groups. Low SES participants indicated that their current eating behaviour was sometimes affected by cost concerns. They seemed to be especially motivated to change their lifestyle when they experienced health complaints, but were rather hesitant to change their lifestyle for preventive purposes. Regarding support for lifestyle change, low SES participants preferred to receive advice in a group rather than on their own. For physical activities, groups should preferably consist of persons of the same age, gender or physical condition.ConclusionsTo motivate individuals with low SES to change their lifestyle, it may be useful to (visually) raise their awareness of their current weight or health status. Lifestyle interventions targeting individuals with low SES should take possible cost concerns into account and should harness the supportive effect of (peer) groups.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-1036) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Preferences of women for web-based nutritional information in pregnancy

“…While women of lower socioeconomic status may not expect to receive dietary advice on a personalized level, these women demonstrate lower levels of interest in healthy eating advice, in addition to health advice for preventative purposes. 31,32 Women of lower socioeconomic status have also been found to prefer receiving advice in groups. 32 The differences in content preferences expressed across the educational strata are also notable.…”

“…31,32 Women of lower socioeconomic status have also been found to prefer receiving advice in groups. 32 The differences in content preferences expressed across the educational strata are also notable. Considerably, more of the women with third level education wanted recipes (P ¼ 0.02), personalized dietary feedback (P < 0.001), social features (P ¼ 0.004), compared with women who did not have third level education.…”

Promoting Physical Activity among Underserved Populations

“…Moreover, low SES has been associated with an elevated risk of various lifestyle-related chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and obesity (28), as well as an elevated risk of all-cause mortality (16). Many reasons to account for higher risk of physical inactivity among low SES populations have been identified, including less access to facilities (e.g., gyms, parks & recreation facilities), less time to engage in recreational activities, lower levels of education (i.e., lack of knowledge about health and health behaviors), and higher levels of stress (5, 7, 14, 27, 61). Additionally, perceptions of lack of safety in low SES neighborhoods may negatively affect individuals’ engagement in physical activity, even though these perceptions might not always correspond to objective measures of safety (96).…”

Desigualdad de oportunidades y movilidad intergeneracional en Canarias. Un informe del Centro de Estudios de Desigualdad Social y Gobernanza (CEDESOG) de la Universidad de La Laguna

“…Existen numerosos estudios (Bukman et al, 2014;Singh et al, 2009;Timperio et al, 2008) que demuestran los efectos beneficiosos del ejercicio físico sobre la salud. La OMS señala además que la falta de actividad física es el cuarto factor de riesgo en lo que respecta a la mortalidad mundial (el 6% de las muertes en el planeta) 39 .…”