Are We What We Eat? An Ethnographic Approach To Food Consumption Among Azuay'S Older Adults. 2019

This Research Project Examines The Relationship Between Aging, Caring And Dietary Practices Among Older Adults In The Province Of Azuay. Official Data From National Census (Ecv) Has Limited Information On The General State Of Senior Citizens And, At The Local Level Few Studies Have Focused On This Age Group. This Project Will Ethnographically Explore Eating Practices And Habits Among Older Adults In Order To Question The Following: How Do They Attribute Moral Valence And Health Properties To Their Food Choices? How Does Cooking Become An Integral Part Of Older Adulthood Caring Practices? How Are Older Adults' Eating Practices Historically And Culturally Situated And How Do They Circulate In Terms Of Class, Gender, Ethnicity, And Kinship? And, How Do Public Health Practitioners Understand Food In Relation To Biological Quantifications, Nutrition, Depression Tests, And Other Clinical Instruments? Our Objective In Studying Eating Practices In Later Life Is To Demonstrate That Food Is A Constitutive And Constituting Element Of Care Cultures, Which Develop Various Forms Of Affective Exchange And Relationships. For Instance, Sons And Daughters Of Older Adults Buy Food For Their Parents, Who In Turn Become Responsible For Cooking And Taking Care Of Their Grandchildren. In Doing So, We Draw And Put Into Dialogue The Political Economy Of Food And Nutrition; The Anthropology Of Care And Aging; Medical Anthropology; And Science And Technology Studies (Sts) Approaches To Body Measurements And Statistics.