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Gwen Chapman, Ph.D.

Gwen ChapmanAssociate Professor; Food, Nutrition and Health

Ph.D. (Nutritional Sciences), University of Toronto
M.Sc. (Nutritional Sciences), University of Toronto
Internship (Dietetics), Victoria Hospital, London, Ontario
B.S.H.Ec. (Dietetics and Nutrition), University of Saskatchewan

Contact

FNH 243 - 2205 East Mall
Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6T 1Z4
Tel 604. 822.6874
Fax 604.822.2184
Email gec@interchange.ubc.ca 

 

Research Interests

The question that weaves a common thread through my various research activities relates to how people’s everyday food practices and concerns are shaped by socially constructed notions about food, health, bodies, and social roles. My study of food habits draws upon theoretical and methodological approaches from the social sciences, particularly in the use of qualitative research methods, rooted in sociological and anthropological traditions.  Key components include learning about the meanings food and eating have for people, and developing an understanding of the links between those subjective meanings, the environments in which they have arisen, and the eating patterns that have ensued.

I am currently implementing a large, multisite qualitative study that will examine how local food cultures, socioeconomic status, and the family context interact to produce the everyday food practices of adolescents and their parents. In other recent research, I have explored the meanings of food and nutrition in North American culture through studies that have looked at:

  • the family context of food decision-making in Caucasian British Columbian and Punjabi British Columbian families
  • women’s understandings of the relationships among diet, health, and breast cancer risk
  • the experiences of women who have dieted to meet the requirements of athletic competition
  • the meanings of food, body, and health for Filipino-Canadian women
  • understandings of vegetarian eating patterns among women who are vegetarians, former vegetarians and non-vegetarians

In all of these studies, I have been interested in what people understand to be ‘healthy eating’ and how those understandings relate to physical health concerns, body image issues, and/or social roles (e.g., gender, family roles and relationships, ethnocultural context). I am also interested in how people describe their actual eating habits in comparison to the notions of ‘healthy eating’ that they hold, and the other factors that appear to be shaping those eating habits.

 

Research Projects

  • Local Food Cultures and Socioeconomic Status as Social Determinants of Nutritional Health: Exploring Family Food Practices (funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research)
  • The Family Context of Food Decision-Making in Diverse Ethnocultural Groups (funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research)
  • The Food Practices and Concerns of Men with Prostate Cancer

 

Teaching

  • Nutrition Education in the Community; Health Research Design; Behavioral Aspects of Nutrition
  • Use of Problem Based Learning and Web-based learning in University teaching
  • UBC Killam Teaching Award, 2003

 

Publications

Bilyk MC, Sontrop JM, Chapman GE, Barr SI, Mamer L. The food experiences and eating patterns of visually impaired and blind people. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. In press for 2009.

Beagan BL, Chapman GE, D’Sylva A, Rassett R,. “It’s just easier for me to do it”: Rationalizing the family division of foodwork. Sociology. In press for 2008.

Sellaeg K, Chapman GE. Masculinity and food ideals of men who live alone. Appetite. 2008;51(1):120-128.

Hammond GK, Chapman GE. Decision-making in the dairy aisle: Maximizing taste, health, cost and family considerations. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. 2008;69(2):66-70.

Bassett R, Beagan BL, Ristovski-Slijepcevic S, Chapman GE. Tough teens: The methodological challenges of interviewing teenagers as research participants. Journal of Adolescent Research. 2008;23(2): 119-131.

Bassett R, Beagan B, Chapman GE. Grocery lists: Connecting family, household and grocery store. British Food Journal. 2008;110(2): 206-217.

Bassett R, Chapman GE, Beagan BL. Autonomy and control: The co-construction of adolescent food choice. Appetite. 2008;50(2-3): 325-332.

Ristovski-Slijepcevic S, Chapman GE, Beagan BL. Engaging with healthy eating discourse(s): Ways of knowing about food and health in three ethnocultural groups in Canada. Appetite. 2008;50(1):167-178.

Chapman GE, Sellaeg K, Levy-Milne R, Barr SI. Increasing capacity for practice-based research among health professionals through a multi-site qualitative research project. Qualitative Health Research. 2007;17(7): 902-907.

Marchessault G, Thiele K, Armit E, Chapman GE, Levy Milne R, Barr S. Canadian Dietitians' Understanding and Use of Non-Dieting and Size Acceptance Approaches in Weight Management. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research. 2007;68(2):67-72.

Fielden SJ, Sheckter L, Chapman GE, Alimenti A, Forbes JC, Sheps S, Cadell S, Frankish JC. Growing up: Perspectives of children, families, and service providers regarding the needs of older children with perinatally-acquired HIV. Aids Care. 2006;18(8):1050-1053.

Ristovski-Slijepcevic S, Chapman GE. Integration and Individuality in Healthy Eating Meanings, Values, and Approaches of Childless, Dual Earner Couples. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 2005; 18:301-309.

Chapman GE, Sellaeg K, Levy-Milne R, Ottem A, Barr SI, Fierini D, Marchessault G, Nolan D, Paquette, MC, Saunders N, Thiele K, Do it with Focus Research Group. Canadian dietitians' approaches to counseling adult clients seeking weight management advice. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2005; 105:1275-1279.