Kia Ditlevsen
Biographic Data
| ID | 334996 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kia Ditlevsen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kia |
| FAMILY NAME | Ditlevsen |
| SIGNATURE | DITLEVSEN K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Copenhagen |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0405-4431 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 13 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Negotiating Organic Meat Consumption in Light of Higher Prices, Climate, and Other Ethical Concerns: A Qualitative Study Among Danish Organic Consumers
Research on organic food consumption tends to focus on organic food in general or on products with high organic market share, overlooking how product-specific characteristics may shape distinct consumption patterns, especially as food prices increase and concerns evolve. This paper focuses on organic meat, a product particularly affected by declining organic retail sales in Denmark. We examine how consumers negotiate rising food prices, climate c…
Capabilities and practices: Performing ‘proper’ food practices from a deprived social position
Food practices found among disadvantaged population groups are often deemed inappropriate in terms of healthiness and culinary standard. Here, we analyse the appropriateness of food practices in disadvantaged households according to those performing them. Following a call to employ the Capability Approach (CA) to strengthen the focus on social inequality within newer social practice theories (SPT), we analyse data from in-depth interviews about f…
There is Always Food in the Freezer”. Negotiations of Respectability, Health and Food Among Women in Disadvantaged Conditions
Drawing on qualitative in-depth interviews with 15 women living in low-income households in Denmark, this article explores how disadvantaged women discursively negotiate their own respectability in conditions that do not allow them to keep up with social norms concerning health, proper eating, and being a good citizen. Our findings show that the women refer to their own socially marginalized position in society and difficulties in living up to di…
Bad avocados, culinary standards, and knowable knowledge. Culturally appropriate rejections of meat reduction
Cultural conventions are central to tackling unsustainable consumption. In the Global North food conventions are increasingly contested due to the political importance of climate change and the share of global greenhouse gas emissions tied to animal food production and consumption. Significant reductions in meat consumption are touted as pathways to adaptation, but most consumers remain committed to consuming meat-based meals and diets with meat.…
Perceptions, facilitators and barriers of physical activity among people living with HIV: A qualitative study
The findings demonstrated differing perceptions, facilitators and barriers of physical activity among PLWH. Interventions addressing awareness, gender stereotypes and roles related to physical activity from individual to community level are needed. Supportive environment and infrastructures are needed to improve physical activity levels in PLWH in Tanzania
Intersectionality and food consumption: A roundtable
Intersectionality is a concept that has received little attention in scholarship on consumption, despite its significant relevance. Marie Plessz and Stefan Wahlen organised a roundtable held at the European Sociological Association (ESA) Consumption research network (RN5) interim meeting, 2 September 2022, in Oslo. This is a summarised and edited transcript of this roundtable discussion. As such, it advances the conceptual lens of intersectionali…
Pathways of less healthy diets. An investigation of the everyday food practices of men and women in low income households
Dietary health is a key theme of health policy and public debates on health and inequality. The social gradient in dietary health is evident, but less is known about the processes in everyday life through which less healthy diets are shaped among people with low socio-economic status. In this mixed methods study we recruited 30 men and women living in low income households in Denmark and combined qualitative interviews about household practices w…
Better than antibiotics. Public understandings of risk, human health and the use of synthetically obtained livestock vaccines in five European countries
Drawing upon data collected within 20 focus groups with consumers from five European countries, in this article we investigate how perceptions of human health risk and current anxieties regarding agricultural food production affect citizens’ acceptance of the use of an emerging biotechnology, synthetic biology, in the development of vaccines for animals bred for food production. In focus group discussions in Austria, the UK, Poland and Denmark, p…
Say my name? Anonymity or not in elite interviewing
This article discusses anonymizing elite interviewees. Based on our experiences with interviewing professional elites and ultra-elites in different research projects, we describe how the types of conflicts involving analysis and publication change when interviewees are not promised anonymity. We discuss how contextualizing the elite positions of anonymized interviewees becomes increasingly difficult in interviews with persons who hold prestigious…
The Purity of Dirt: Revisiting Mary Douglas in the Light of Contemporary Consumer Interpretations of Naturalness, Purity and Dirt
Food consumption and risks associated with it have changed substantially since the 1960s, yet the interpretation and conceptualization of 'purity and danger' have not evolved very much since Mary Douglas' seminal work on the topic. In this study, we present an empirically based contemporary interpretation of purity and danger in relation to the consumption of food, dietary supplements and health-related everyday routines. Drawing on qualitative i…
Synthetic livestock vaccines as risky interference with nature? Lay and expert arguments and understandings of “naturalness”
The article describes how the idea of “naturalness” was used by three different groups in arguments over the risk of livestock vaccines developed in synthetic biology. Based on interviews with two groups of scientific experts and focus groups with lay people in five European countries, and using Toulmin’s argument analysis as the analytical tool, the article maps and compares the different ways in which “naturalness” was used as a warrant. Severa…
A taste for locally produced food - Values, opinions and sociodemographic differences among ‘organic’ and ‘conventional’ consumers
Local food has received considerable attention in recent years. It is seen as a response to increased demand for authentic foods, just as organic foods have been considered to be. It is unclear whether organic and local are two complementary or competitive trends in food consumption. This study addresses this question with a mixed methods investigation of why Danish consumers of organic products and conventional consumers of local products choose…
Resignation, goal orientation or cultural essentialism? Health care practitioners' approaches to interventions on childhood obesity
This qualitative study investigates health care practitioners’ approaches to early childhood obesity in Denmark and their view on their own ability to initiate processes of change in affected families, and it asks the overall question of whether perceived barriers become real through practitioners’ reluctance to intervene in families labelled as ́problematic’. The paper identifies three approaches in the practitioners’ narratives: the socially or…
Body weight management and dilemmas of health responsibility for vulnerable groups in the changing Danish welfare state: A comparative case analysis
This article explores how health responsibility in relation to body weight management is institutionally enacted in three welfare institutions in the interplay between traditional ‘social interventionist’ welfare and ‘non-interfering’ neoliberal ideology. The analysis asks how citizens of non-Western origin at different life stages are positioned within, and navigate, opposing ideological value systems, and adapt to, or resist, institutionally co…
From policy to reality: Early overweight, structural barriers, and the allocation of responsibility in the Danish health care system
This qualitative study explores the structural barriers to preventive interventions targeting childhood obesity in the Danish health care system. Based on interviews with relevant health care professionals, the paper reports on the problems which are experienced by general practitioners and health visitors and which complicate implementation of the policies of the Danish health authorities. Findings show that the current system is not well equipp…
Say my name? Anonymity or not in elite interviewing
This article discusses anonymizing elite interviewees. Based on our experiences with interviewing professional elites and ultra-elites in different research projects, we describe how the types of conflicts involving analysis and publication change when interviewees are not promised anonymity. We discuss how contextualizing the elite positions of anonymized interviewees becomes increasingly difficult in interviews with persons who hold prestigious…
A taste for locally produced food - Values, opinions and sociodemographic differences among ‘organic’ and ‘conventional’ consumers
Local food has received considerable attention in recent years. It is seen as a response to increased demand for authentic foods, just as organic foods have been considered to be. It is unclear whether organic and local are two complementary or competitive trends in food consumption. This study addresses this question with a mixed methods investigation of why Danish consumers of organic products and conventional consumers of local products choose…
Bad avocados, culinary standards, and knowable knowledge. Culturally appropriate rejections of meat reduction
Cultural conventions are central to tackling unsustainable consumption. In the Global North food conventions are increasingly contested due to the political importance of climate change and the share of global greenhouse gas emissions tied to animal food production and consumption. Significant reductions in meat consumption are touted as pathways to adaptation, but most consumers remain committed to consuming meat-based meals and diets with meat.…
From policy to reality: Early overweight, structural barriers, and the allocation of responsibility in the Danish health care system
This qualitative study explores the structural barriers to preventive interventions targeting childhood obesity in the Danish health care system. Based on interviews with relevant health care professionals, the paper reports on the problems which are experienced by general practitioners and health visitors and which complicate implementation of the policies of the Danish health authorities. Findings show that the current system is not well equipp…
Body weight management and dilemmas of health responsibility for vulnerable groups in the changing Danish welfare state: A comparative case analysis
This article explores how health responsibility in relation to body weight management is institutionally enacted in three welfare institutions in the interplay between traditional ‘social interventionist’ welfare and ‘non-interfering’ neoliberal ideology. The analysis asks how citizens of non-Western origin at different life stages are positioned within, and navigate, opposing ideological value systems, and adapt to, or resist, institutionally co…
Resignation, goal orientation or cultural essentialism? Health care practitioners' approaches to interventions on childhood obesity
This qualitative study investigates health care practitioners’ approaches to early childhood obesity in Denmark and their view on their own ability to initiate processes of change in affected families, and it asks the overall question of whether perceived barriers become real through practitioners’ reluctance to intervene in families labelled as ́problematic’. The paper identifies three approaches in the practitioners’ narratives: the socially or…
Synthetic livestock vaccines as risky interference with nature? Lay and expert arguments and understandings of “naturalness”
The article describes how the idea of “naturalness” was used by three different groups in arguments over the risk of livestock vaccines developed in synthetic biology. Based on interviews with two groups of scientific experts and focus groups with lay people in five European countries, and using Toulmin’s argument analysis as the analytical tool, the article maps and compares the different ways in which “naturalness” was used as a warrant. Severa…
A taste for locally produced food - Values, opinions and sociodemographic differences among ‘organic’ and ‘conventional’ consumers
Local food has received considerable attention in recent years. It is seen as a response to increased demand for authentic foods, just as organic foods have been considered to be. It is unclear whether organic and local are two complementary or competitive trends in food consumption. This study addresses this question with a mixed methods investigation of why Danish consumers of organic products and conventional consumers of local products choose…
Better than antibiotics. Public understandings of risk, human health and the use of synthetically obtained livestock vaccines in five European countries
Drawing upon data collected within 20 focus groups with consumers from five European countries, in this article we investigate how perceptions of human health risk and current anxieties regarding agricultural food production affect citizens’ acceptance of the use of an emerging biotechnology, synthetic biology, in the development of vaccines for animals bred for food production. In focus group discussions in Austria, the UK, Poland and Denmark, p…
Say my name? Anonymity or not in elite interviewing
This article discusses anonymizing elite interviewees. Based on our experiences with interviewing professional elites and ultra-elites in different research projects, we describe how the types of conflicts involving analysis and publication change when interviewees are not promised anonymity. We discuss how contextualizing the elite positions of anonymized interviewees becomes increasingly difficult in interviews with persons who hold prestigious…
The Purity of Dirt: Revisiting Mary Douglas in the Light of Contemporary Consumer Interpretations of Naturalness, Purity and Dirt
Food consumption and risks associated with it have changed substantially since the 1960s, yet the interpretation and conceptualization of 'purity and danger' have not evolved very much since Mary Douglas' seminal work on the topic. In this study, we present an empirically based contemporary interpretation of purity and danger in relation to the consumption of food, dietary supplements and health-related everyday routines. Drawing on qualitative i…
Pathways of less healthy diets. An investigation of the everyday food practices of men and women in low income households
Dietary health is a key theme of health policy and public debates on health and inequality. The social gradient in dietary health is evident, but less is known about the processes in everyday life through which less healthy diets are shaped among people with low socio-economic status. In this mixed methods study we recruited 30 men and women living in low income households in Denmark and combined qualitative interviews about household practices w…
Perceptions, facilitators and barriers of physical activity among people living with HIV: A qualitative study
The findings demonstrated differing perceptions, facilitators and barriers of physical activity among PLWH. Interventions addressing awareness, gender stereotypes and roles related to physical activity from individual to community level are needed. Supportive environment and infrastructures are needed to improve physical activity levels in PLWH in Tanzania
Intersectionality and food consumption: A roundtable
Intersectionality is a concept that has received little attention in scholarship on consumption, despite its significant relevance. Marie Plessz and Stefan Wahlen organised a roundtable held at the European Sociological Association (ESA) Consumption research network (RN5) interim meeting, 2 September 2022, in Oslo. This is a summarised and edited transcript of this roundtable discussion. As such, it advances the conceptual lens of intersectionali…
Bad avocados, culinary standards, and knowable knowledge. Culturally appropriate rejections of meat reduction
Cultural conventions are central to tackling unsustainable consumption. In the Global North food conventions are increasingly contested due to the political importance of climate change and the share of global greenhouse gas emissions tied to animal food production and consumption. Significant reductions in meat consumption are touted as pathways to adaptation, but most consumers remain committed to consuming meat-based meals and diets with meat.…
There is Always Food in the Freezer”. Negotiations of Respectability, Health and Food Among Women in Disadvantaged Conditions
Drawing on qualitative in-depth interviews with 15 women living in low-income households in Denmark, this article explores how disadvantaged women discursively negotiate their own respectability in conditions that do not allow them to keep up with social norms concerning health, proper eating, and being a good citizen. Our findings show that the women refer to their own socially marginalized position in society and difficulties in living up to di…
Negotiating Organic Meat Consumption in Light of Higher Prices, Climate, and Other Ethical Concerns: A Qualitative Study Among Danish Organic Consumers
Research on organic food consumption tends to focus on organic food in general or on products with high organic market share, overlooking how product-specific characteristics may shape distinct consumption patterns, especially as food prices increase and concerns evolve. This paper focuses on organic meat, a product particularly affected by declining organic retail sales in Denmark. We examine how consumers negotiate rising food prices, climate c…
Capabilities and practices: Performing ‘proper’ food practices from a deprived social position
Food practices found among disadvantaged population groups are often deemed inappropriate in terms of healthiness and culinary standard. Here, we analyse the appropriateness of food practices in disadvantaged households according to those performing them. Following a call to employ the Capability Approach (CA) to strengthen the focus on social inequality within newer social practice theories (SPT), we analyse data from in-depth interviews about f…
Sociology (9 works) · Political science (8 works) · Medicine (6 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Biology (5 works) · Obesity and Health Practices (5 works) · Social science (5 works) · Environmental health (4 works) · Law (4 works) · Gender Studies (3 works)