Gender Differences In Food Selection Essay

The research question is as follows: are there any gender difference in people’s beverage selection of soft drinks and diet soft drinks? The hypothesis is that compared to men, women are less likely to choose soft drinks among all beverages, and if soft drinks are chosen, women are more likely to consume diet soft drinks than regular ones. Relevant empirical works have shown that gender differences in food selection exist as men demonstrate fewer healthy choices than women (Wardle, 2004). In both adolescence and adulthood, men consume meats, dairy products, and carbohydrate- rich foods significantly more frequent than women, and women were more likely to consume fruits, yogurt, tea, and low-calorie carbonated beverages (Rolls, 1991). Health beliefs are hypothesized as one cause of gendered food selection as men rate many health behaviors, including food selection choices, as less important than women do (Wardle, 2004). Gender distinctions about weight and body shape are also reasons to explain food selection differences among men and women. The pervasiveness of women’s

Since most of these researches were conducted at least 10 years ago, socially prevailed health beliefs and ideal female body shape and weight have both changed, thus gender beverage choices might also have altered. Soft drinks and their low- calorie versions could be typical examples to be examined for gender food choices to suggest whether women’s consumption of foods is stereotypically associated with caloric restrictions or not. Therefore I would like to use recent data to examine people’s choices on soft drinks and diet soft drinks and see if gender difference in drinking still exist and how the difference has