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Tips on healthy eating - when does it become lecturing?

Healthy eating tips - when does it become a point of reference? When you work with health and food, you wrestle with this all the time, I promise. I was going to finish my Wednesday theme on food and health, but I got requests to continue... and yes, I have more to write on this topic!

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Wednesdays on food and health

This is a travel blog, but until you can travel, it's perfect to think about your health! I have a PhD in public health science (a total of 9 years of studies at Karolinska Institutet), and have focused on eating habits and physical activity, so why not talk about that? Here are some of my previous posts in the series:

Tips om hälsosam mat - eller kanske pekpinnar?

Tips, advice and information on food - is it advice?

One of the most difficult aspects of working with public health issues is probably how to provide good information. It is is tricky - don't say anything else! One way to understand the tricky part is to look at different ethical principles.

  • The principle of goodness - to do good
  • The principle of non-harm - to do no harm
  • The principle of fairness - to be fair
  • The principle of autonomy - to respect people's own decisions

"If you look at the bottom principle, you should respect people's decisions and choices, and that's what can be provocative about food advice, that it feels like an intrusion into something as private as what people want to eat. Why should society interfere with what you eat for dinner? If it lands the wrong way, it can definitely feel like pickling sticks.

On the other hand, if you look at the other ethical principles, it is difficult to completely avoid providing information. If you know that certain fish contain heavy metals and can harm a foetus, for example, then it is important to provide information about it. When it comes to the principle of fairness it is also about considering how the information reaches everyone, not only you but also those who may have a cognitive disability or a different mother tongue.

Råd om tips om hälsosam mat - blir det pekpinnar?

6-8 slices of bread a day

Do you remember the derided 'The National Board of Health and Welfare recommends 6-8 slices of bread a day' campaign from the 1970s? It was the authorities that were mocked for it, but in fact it was the Bread Institute, the bakery's PR organisation, that was behind it. Money talks, as always. But the reaction to the campaign says a lot about the way people are not want to get dietary advice. When someone pushes specific advice in your face, which you haven't asked for, you think it's being pickling sticks.

Bröd

Healthy eating tips for today

Today, the social climate is completely different from the 1970s, and there are many voices making themselves heard. When it comes to food and health, these voices include governments, food producers, health food retailers, authors, bloggers and many, many others. Where do you look for information and tips on healthy eating? When do you get annoyed and feel that the information is being given to you? What do you think should be done to ensure that good information also reaches those who do not have the same opportunities as you?

Fisk - tips om hälsosam mat, eller pekpinnar?

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