Salutogenic Eating Project

Researchers at the universities of Wageningen, Cagliari, Chester, Girona, Perugia, Trondheim and Zagreb collaboratively study the mechanisms that drive healthy eating patterns. The insights may help design policies and practices enabling eating patterns which are supportive to health development. Research up to now has identified multiple resources on the individual (e.g. knowledge, motivation) and environmental (e.g. social support, availability of healthy foods) level that support healthy choices. However, insight lacks on how people learn to identify and apply resources through life-experiences. The project has developed methodology for quantitative and qualitative approaches. The first results of a Dutch survey have been published. The ‘Food-Life-Story’ method has already been applied in Wageningen and Chester, using storytelling as a method to initiate self-reflection on life-experiences that enabled current eating practices.