You may have heard of the gluten-free diet. In addition, some readers may be familiar with dietary trends related to cutting gluten. However, they may be less familiar with Celiac disease, or with exactly how high the stakes are for people required to stay away from gluten for their overall health and safety.
Although Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition which impacts approximately 1% of the population, most people living with Celiac disease don’t know they have it. Food impacts social interactions because it is intertwined with culture.
In this article, the authors explore tensions related to gender, and how social stigma plays out for men living with Celiac disease, as well as showing how they navigate their social lives.
Check out the abstract below, and then click through to the main article to learn more:
Health-Related Stigma and Challenges Faced by Men Living with Celiac Disease: A Qualitative Analysis
Peer-reviewed research by: Angie Pitt, Fiona Lerigo and Rose-Marie Satherley
Background
Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune condition managed by strict adherence to a gluten-free diet. Dietary choice has gendered connotations, and men with CD may face judgment from others when following a gluten-free diet. However, little is known about health-related stigma in men with CD.
Objectives
The study aim was to explore the health-related stigma and challenges faced by men with CD, and the influence of CD on their lives.
Methods
Qualitative semistructured online interviews were conducted with men living with CD.
Participants
Twenty adults (aged 18 years or older) identifying as men living in the United Kingdom, with self-reported CD, were recruited using social media and opportunistic sampling.
Statistical analyses
Participants provided rich, detailed discussions about aspects of their experience of living with CD. Reflexive thematic analysis was used, with a critical-realist lens that enabled researchers to connect men’s experiences within wider sociocultural constructs such as masculinity and social identity.
Results
Three themes were identified: CD threatens social inclusion; others’ assumptions about CD and microaggressions have a psychological influence, and masculine norms, health-related stigma, and power dynamics influence men’s health behaviors and everyday experience. Health-related stigma was found to be interconnected with these men’s gendered social environment, suggesting that may be an important social and structural determinant of dietary, health-related, and health support-seeking behaviors in men diagnosed with CD.
Conclusions
Contrary to prior assumptions, health-related stigma influences men with CD of all ages, particularly in social settings. The study unveils the complex interplay of individual beliefs, social norms, and power dynamics, in particular with other men, that influence individual beliefs and emphasize the performative aspect of food consumption. Internalized stigma and microaggressions influence men’s well-being. To better support men with CD, health providers, charitable organizations, and the food industry should address the social influence of adherence to a gluten-free diet, in particular perceived threats to social status and inclusion, which may cause concern, influence food choice, and influence dietary adherence.
Click here to read the full open-access article, published in 2023 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Full Reference //
Pitt, A., Lerigo, F., & Satherley, R.-M. (2023). Health-Related Stigma and Challenges Faced by Men Living with Celiac Disease: A Qualitative Analysis. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
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