Securing Wellbeing
Room A is located next to the registration desk and coffee break.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect and How It Is Placing South African Paediatric Nutrition at Risk : Investigation of Consumer Knowledge on the South African Paediatric Food-based Dietary Guidelines
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rochelle Van Veijeren
The coexistence of undernutrition, over-nutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in South Africa can be defined as the Triple Burden of Malnutrition. South Africa as a third world country comprises many vulnerable young children as they are directly dependent on their caregiver’s competence toward feeding. Although there are numerous proactive measures in place, such as the Paediatric Food-based Dietary Guidelines (PFBDGs), caregivers often put the health of young children at risk because they overestimate their abilities or lack specific knowledge. This is referred to as the Dunning-Kruger effect, which is a cognitive bias whereby people with low ability, expertise, or experience regarding a certain type of task or area of knowledge tend to overestimate their ability or knowledge, which could have unfortunate consequences. This study therefore set out to investigate the possibility of the Dunning-Kruger effect amongst SA infant caregivers by testing subjective and objective knowledge pertaining to the current South African PFBDGs. Data was collected via an electronic questionnaire across Gauteng, South Africa. Initial results from the subjective knowledge test revealed that many respondents perceived themselves as having a superior level of knowledge. When confronted with the objective testing, results unfortunately did not match the same level of competence. Hence, a Dunning-Kruger effect could be confirmed. These results should be viewed as concerning and give rise to public health concerns in South Africa: in this case, malnutrition of young children. This study highlights a need for increased consumer awareness of the PFBDGs, followed by better interpretation thereof.
Connecting with Community and Negotiating with 'Mess': Towards Contextualising Food-related Public Health Policy View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Deborah Ong
Recent studies have indicated that 40% of populations in high-income and low-middle-income countries do not adhere to their national dietary guidelines. In Australia, < 2% of women attained the Australian Dietary Guidelines’ (2013) recommended intake of vegetables. This is startling considering the many diet-related non-communicable diseases faced by countries globally (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes, osteoporosis). Two decades of Public Health interventions focusing on obesity and malnutrition in Australia have met with mixed results, while ‘high risk’ categories have slowly become the ‘new normal’. One possible reason for this is the disconnect between dietary guidelines and the ‘messy’ contextualised social worlds that people inhabit. The ways that individuals and communities source, prepare, consume and learn about food are multiple and varied. This is not reflected adequately in current Public Health policy. Focusing on how people interact with and learn about food within communities, this research project draws on approximately 160 hours of ethnographic fieldwork over 5 months and interviews(n=12) with participants at a local community centre. Drawing conceptual inspiration from the fields of Food Pedagogies and Affect Theory, I use this case study to explore the roles of place, identity and memory in the exchange of food knowledge(s). I argue that an appreciation of how people find/create emplaced and affective meaning with food can provide critical new perspectives on how to tackle complex food-related issues. It can also give insight on how to make public health interventions more sustainable and relevant to the ‘messy’ lives of individuals and communities.
Ramen-ticizing Asian Food Fandom: Ramen, K-food, and Consuming Fandom
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Karol Chandler Ezell
Ramen is well known as an iconic “Japanese” food and has worldwide popularity. From the least expensive of mass marketed convenience food to specialty ramen shops with gourmet specialties, ramen today is everywhere. From the 1980s-early 2000s, ramen was originally a considered a low-status food of poverty associated with college students and even prisons in the U.S. In the last few decades, however, it has taken on special meaning to fans of online gaming, anime, Kdramas, and Kpop. Loving ramen, wearing and displaying ramen merchandise, and being a connoisseur of different ramen brands and preparations is now a part of performative fandom and identity. My observations of Kpop fandoms showed that fans have incorporated ramen into their fan-related activities, even seeking out particular brands and recipes to emulate their idols. Similarly, each genre emulates what they see in media, so that eating ramen is a meaningful way of connecting themselves to a fan identity. This paper presents interview and fieldwork observations of the ways fans sought out, identified, and interacted with ramen and other “authentic” or iconic Japanese and Korean foods as part their fan experience. Anime fans, Kdrama enthusiasts, and Kpop fandoms, overwhelmingly romanticized eating ramen IRL (in real life) as a way of connecting to their parasocial, often online/media-based experiences as fans. I propose that consuming ramen provides a multi-sensory and tactile way of feeling real connections to fandoms that are often mostly viewed solely through social media.
