Representaciones sociales sobre alimentación saludable en población vulnerable. Bucaramanga, Santander. Colombia / Social representations about healthy feeding in vulnerable population in Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia
To describe and to interpret the social representations and the critical points of a healthy feeding, a qualitative study was carried out in population of low incomes of the city of Bucaramanga in 2003. 25 focal groups were conformed and classified in children that attend the school, teenagers, young adults and older adults, a total of 245 subjects participated. The interviews were recorded and transcribed in a word processor, and they were analyzed with software called Ethnograph 5.0. The analysis included a descriptive level and other interpretive, to validate the information, the triangulation technique was used. The population considers that a healthy feeding must contain variety and quantity of food. The fat and sweet are considered as the foods with moredangerous effects for health, fruits and vegetables as the better foods. The critical points that interfere in their practice are the absence of knoweledgement of the recipes and of the nutritional value, the low incomes, the lack of time and equipment for the preparation. The women show more interest and responsibility toward the familyfeeding. The most important agents in the nutritional education are, the family, the health sector Institutions and education.