Lay Understandings of Functional Foods as Hybrids of Food and Medicine

Abstract

AbstractThis article examines the lay appropriation of so-called functional foods that are marketed to enhance health and well-being and/or to reduce the risk of disease. Previous research has shown that consumers are skeptical of functional foods and inclined to contrast them with natural and non-technological foods. We argue that taking into account the hybrid nature of functional foods at the borderline between food and medicine provides a useful starting point for an analysis of lay appropriation, i.e. understanding and adoption of the new products. We first present results from earlier studies on lay conceptions of healthy eating and of medicines, and then analyze the role of these in the lay appropriation of functional foods. In this analysis, we make use of findings from both our own studies and those of other researchers, and give consumers a voice by presenting quotations from a qualitative study carried out in Finland in 2004. We claim that the food–medicine dichotomy can in many respects explain the ways in which consumers conceptualize functional foods and adopt them in their daily eating.Keywords: functional foodsconsumerslay understandingsfood and medicineappropriation Additional informationNotes on contributorsMikko JauhoMikko Jauho is a senior researcher at the National Consumer Research Centre in Finland. He has studied diverse issues in the fields of health and social policy as well as personal healthcare combining historical and sociological methods. Among his publications are works on lay understandings and media representations of functional and genetically modified foods. He is currently working on a project looking at the emergence of lifestyle risk in the context of cardiovascular disease prevention in Finland. National Consumer Research Centre, PO Box 5, Kaikukatu 3, 00531 Helsinki, Finland (mikko.jauho@ncrc.fi).Mari NivaMari Niva is a senior researcher at the National Consumer Research Centre in Finland. She is specialized in the study of practices and ideals of food and eating, particularly meanings of healthy eating in everyday life. Her doctoral thesis focused on the conceptual and practical appropriation of functional foods in Finland. She currently examines structures, contents and rhythms of eating in Nordic countries, factors affecting meat consumption in Finland, and everyday practices of weight management. In her research she has used both qualitative and quantitative methods. National Consumer Research Centre, PO Box 5, Kaikukatu 3, 00531 Helsinki, Finland (mari.niva@ncrc.fi).