Social representations on food from childhood to the elderly: the look on the past and the present

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify the social representations of the elderly about the food from childhood. It is an exploratory and qualitative approach. Interviews of life with a pre-established script were used in the methodological route. The data were treated by content analysis. With data analysis, the symbology of food and the content that was around it, such as habits, norms, values and attitudes, were discussed. Nine elderly individuals between 61 and 80 years of age participated in a university extension project in the Vale do Paraiba Paulista / SP region. It was observed that social relations, increased consumption and events at the table suffered changes between the past and the present. However, the social representations about childhood food present in the memory of the elderly were related to the affectivity and related relationships, festivities and memories. For these elderly people the affectivity is configured in several ways, such as the pleasure of eating food, receiving someone or being received with food around, and the sense of showing affection in social relationships. At the same time that the elderly have noticed the changes in society in regard to eating and other contents that surround it, the social representations of childhood food are permeated with symbolism and affectivity proper to this object of study.