Hello! I'm Lisa Grabinsky, a Mexican Fulbright scholar and a recent graduate from the Applied Anthropology MA program @OregonState I'm presenting my research “Use of Dietary Guidelines in Nutrition Consultations and Their Impact on Dietary Patterns in Mexico City” #foodstudies20

The prevalence of metabolic disease has rapidly increased over the last 30 years in Mexico. At the onset of the situation, the “Tower of Babel” —a group of nutrition experts—analyzed the often contradictory education tools health professionals had used thus far. #foodstudies20

Through the Ministry of Health, they published a set of standardized food orientation guidelines for health professionals: NOM-043. To explain its basic nutrition concepts to any person, it came with a food-based dietary guideline: “El Plato del Bien Comer” #foodstudies20

Divided into 3 groups (“Fruits & Vegetables”, “Cereals”, “Legumes & Foods of Animal Origin”), El Plato strived to represent the overall nuances of Mexican food culture, so anyone in the country could see that eating “correctly” is possible within their resources. #foodstudies20

Furthermore, its portrayal of cutlery did not only ground the idea that it was a plate of food and not a pie chart, but also imposed an aspirational behavior for marginalized, rural populations that use corn tortillas and perhaps a spoon as utensils. #foodstudies20

Nearly 15 years since the publication of the NOM-043 and the inclusion of El Plato in nutrition practice, elementary school textbooks & food labels, I conducted a study in an area of Mexico City with a high density of nutrition clinics and of office spaces. #foodstudies20

I gathered a group of 4 young dietitians who had obtained their degree from a Mexican institution within the last 10 years —ensuring their training was based on the NOM-043—, 5 office-worker patients (OWP) undergoing nut treatment, & 2 members of Tower of Babel. #foodstudies20

The “Godínez” Lifestyle: I chose office workers for this study because they are common nutrition patients & as younger generations are able to obtain Bachelor’s Degrees & become professionals overflowing the job market, a subculture called “Godínez” has emerged. #foodstudies20

They navigate Mexico City’s traffic 1-3 hours daily to sit for hours at a desk, neglecting times & spaces meant for personal wellbeing. Not having time nor energy to cook anything more elaborated than a scrambled egg, OWPs rely on a 3rd party to provide meals. #foodstudies20

In addition, major life changes that led to weight gain (e.g. marriage) are initial motivators to seek nutrition counseling. Veteran OWPs have assimilated nutrition jargon to their speech, while newcomers use “Fat talk” (Salk and Engeln-Maddox 2012). #foodstudies20

Counseling session: Once inside the premises, patients arrive to the reception desk & wait to be called into the dietitian’s office. Dietitians will try to calm their patient w/small talk developing from an innocent yet stressful question: “How did it go?” #foodstudies20

The dietitian proceeds to measure the patient’s body, usually w/ a bio-impedance machine that sends electric pulses through the hands & feet to accurately analyze levels of body water, muscle & fat mass. This process may cause certain discomfort. #foodstudies20

Finally, the dietitian will engage in nutritional education tailored to the patient’s needs & will finish up by providing tools for their diet, from a rigid meal plan that patients may or may not have agency in negotiating to a specialized dietary tracking app. #foodstudies20

Except for Lorena —a diabetes specialist—, dietitians find El Plato useful for basic nutrition concepts but do not fully agree with its contents, design, & lack of adaptability. Thus, they use it differently than it was intended to & may rely on more updated tools. #foodstudies20

They’re interested in making El Plato adaptable to regionality & seasonality. Suggestions for improvement & update sparked heated debates, in which the possibility of adaptations based on socio-economic status uncovered issues of historical racism in Mexico. #foodstudies20

Paradoxes of food modernity: Within the ample offer of food options in Mexico City, OWPs struggle to find a balance in their food decisions that satisfies personal taste, nutrition advice, convenience, and social relationships (Bertran 2016, secs. 518–520). #foodstudies20

This "tension" (Weaver 2019, 79) that pulls apart OWPs when making food decisions may be greater during the weekend, when routine changes, priorities shift, and the socializing aspect of eating tends to weigh more heavily. #foodstudies20

Still, these OWPs consume more fruits/veggies and H2O & less sugary beverages than the Mexican population, habits public health professionals have strived for everyone to develop w/ policies targeting individual behaviors (e.g. soda tax) (Gálvez 2018, 123–24). #foodstudies20

Despite OWPs’ efforts, dietitians disagreed with certain food decisions, whether they would affect the patient’s health directly or not. Take-out containers & plastic bottles are harmful to the environment, even when they are used for a salad or to drink more water #foodstudies20

They suggested corrective actions to deal w/ the unsatisfactory choice (e.g. sharing the meal, compensate the excesses w/exercise, skip a meal). These appear harmless to the trained eye, but they could trigger an eating disorder & generate stigma (Berlant 2017). #foodstudies20

Conclusions & Recommendations: While dietary guidelines are designed for the gen pop, the NOM-043 is meant only for health professionals. Although El Plato was widely popularized —even across borders—, it was never meant to be taken out of a medical context. #foodstudies20

An update to the NOM-043 & El Plato should incorporate any advances in nutrition science, changes in Mexican diets since 2012 (when it was last updated), and food sovereignty & sustainability agendas. This could aid in shaping young activist dietitians. #foodstudies20

No silver bullet: Mexico’s metabolic health issue is a consequence of frictions set in motion across different temporalities within its history, which led to the current “arrangements of culture and power (Tsing 2005, 5)” that are hindering public health. #foodstudies20

Who could be potential allies in current and future presidential administrations? This is important for community nutrition & policies targeting systemic & structural changes become priorities in present and future Mexican government agendas. #foodstudies20

Thank you so much for reading all the way to the end!

A special ‘thank you’ to my participants, @eyatesd & the rest of my committee & professors, @ASFS_org & @afhvs_org #foodstudies20 , @Comexus , @OSUAnthropology , and my family & friends from Mexico, the US, & beyond