Using Body-Map Storytelling for Accessing Insights in an Educational Intervention for Food Consciousness

Abstract

Body-map storytelling (BMST) is a qualitative visual research methodology and has been used to access embodied subjective experiences in different areas of knowledge, with few studies in the field of nutrition. The consciousness of body experiences can decrease vulnerability to environmental stimuli for food consumption, which can be advantageous in contemporary changes with a significant appeal to food overconsumption. This study aimed to present the application of the BMST as an integral part of the Food and Nutrition Education Program with Sensory and Cognitive Exercises (PESC), an intervention designed to promote consciousness of eating experiences, highlighting its potential as a tool for the expression and assessment of perceptions triggered by the intervention. To this end, a theoretical framework, the Triple-Aspect Monism theory of consciousness, and a methodological framework, the manual for the use of BMST in health research, were considered. The adapted BMST application protocol was designed so that BMST could promote the synthesis of intervention activities and their integration with previous eating experiences and fit the intervention structure. 19 adult Brazilian women created individual BMSTs in collaboration with us and recorded narratives. These were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s Reflexive Thematic Analysis, considering messages generated at the end of BMST production. The findings present an overarching theme: Insights about embodied eating experiences and four thematic categories related to eating experiences: Holistic approach, learning, self-evaluation, and applied eating experiences. The application of BMST has been demonstrated as a visual and qualitative research methodology with promising relevance in nutrition studies. This methodology acted as a catalyst for the embodied expression of women’s consciousness of eating experiences related to contemporary food consumption appeals.