How social context and gender influence the sense of responsibility for serving healthy meals: a study involving parents

Purpose This research tests how the social context of meals influences the sense of responsibility for serving healthy meals and food choices, taking into account the role of gender. Design/methodology/approach An online between-subject scenario experiment was conducted with parents of young children (under 12 years old) in Flanders, Belgium ( N = 288, 67.4% women). Participants envisioned serving and consuming food in three social contexts: alone, with core family members, or with peers. Findings The social context in which meals take place significantly influences participants’ sense of responsibility for serving healthy meals, which influences their food choices. Moreover, the influence of the social context varies by gender. Women feel more responsible for serving healthy meals than men when eating alone or among core family members. Men feel more responsible for serving healthy meals when eating with others, irrespective of whether these others are core family members or peers, than when eating alone. Practical implications One’s sense of responsibility serves as a significant positive determinant in making healthy food choices. However, this sense is context dependent. In a family context, and irrespective of gender, sense of responsibility correlates only weakly to moderately with the perceived healthfulness of food choices. Consequently, the question arises as to whether emphasizing responsibility is the most effective strategy for promoting healthy food choices. Originality/value This paper provides new insights into how the social context shapes parents’ sense of responsibility for serving healthy meals and how this, in turn, affects food choices.