Shaping Body By the Food: Perceptions in Chileans and Mexicans Adults

The incorporation principle is the common belief that the food ingesting by humans transforming the body and identity of the eater, and for this reason, the control of food is central in the control of the self (Fischler, 1996). Using this concept, this work show how people think the food like a way to shaping body and the role given to the individual and environmental factors in the control of this process. From 70 semi-structured interviews in Santiago and Mexico City, I identified that people actually think that food is one of the major factors that shape the body, helping achieve an ideal body or not. The interviewees think that moderation in the intake and consumption of healthy foods produce slender silhouettes; on the contrary, they believe that rich food intakes and consumption of junk food make overweight bodies. I identified two opinions on the individual's ability to control their body through food. On the one hand, who believe that the quality of ingested food depends mainly on the individual and their will because it is the individual who decides what to eat and therefore what kind of body have. On the other hand, are those who believe that individuals are limited in their decisions by factors outside the human being, as the available food supply, the resources and the food culture. The first position was more common among Mexican interviewees, while the second position was more usual among Chileans interviewees.