Francisco Xavier Medina

Progressive population aging and the rise of single-person households have profoundly transformed the dynamics of daily commensality. This article presents a phenomenological mixed-methods study exploring the food practices, habits, and emotional meanings of older adults (aged 65 and over) living alone. Through in-depth interviews with 12 participants, combined with an assessment of their adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and a visual analysis of their home food environment, a restructuring of culinary and dietary routines is evidenced. The results reveal a functional simplification aimed at avoiding the effort of cooking for oneself, the abandonment of “social foods” due to a lack of companionship, and a moderate-to-low dietary adherence (6.75/14). The analysis indicates that even when the home food environment is health-promoting, the lack of commensality and culinary apathy disrupt dietary habits. In conclusion, eating in solitude threatens the sustainability of the Mediterranean diet pattern, highlighting the need for public health interventions focused on mitigating social isolation.

Gastronomy has acquired a central role in contemporary tourism where experiences centered around food are increasingly developed. Food tours have become a prominent urban tourism product due to their ability to connect tourists with local communities. These tours promote the exploration of local gastronomic culture beyond traditional tourist itineraries, encouraging the co-creation of experiences involving guides, producers, restaurateurs, and residents. This study adopts an exploratory comparative design based on ethnographically informed participant observation, conducted during four gastronomic tours based in different neighborhoods of the city of Barcelona between May and June 2026. Observational data were collected regarding food selection, gastronomic explanations, references to tradition and locality, interactions between guides and participants, and the cultural framing of the culinary experience. The analysis reveals that the depth and specificity of gastronomic representation are shaped less by price than by the guide’s expertise, territorial rootedness, and the scale of culinary imaginary a tour mobilizes; price operates as a contextual condition rather than as the principal explanatory factor. Whereas experiences that remain within a globally recognizable culinary imaginary tend to trivialize the discourse and representations surrounding local tourism heritage, tours led by specialized and territorially rooted guides more frequently offer articulations of food culture that are deeply embedded in local contexts, foregrounding traditional practices, regional products, and micro-local gastronomic identities.

La capital del estado mexicano de Yucatán, Mérida, se ha incorporado, en los últimos años, a los procesos internacionales de regeneración y patrimonialización de los centros históricos, una apuesta destinada, especialmente, al desarrollo turístico, y en la cual la gastronomía, en sus vertientes tanto tradicional como creativa e innovadora, se incluye en los discursos de promoción de ciudad marca. A través de una investigación cualitativa basada en trabajo de campo (observación participante y entrevistas abiertas semiestructuradas), este texto muestra la conjunción de distintos aspectos destinados a la intensificación de la promoción turística del centro histórico de la ciudad, en la que la apuesta por la cocina local y por la creativa se usan como motores del desarrollo. Una ratificación de procesos de diferenciación social a través de las posibilidades de consumo, que son coincidentes con la segregación socioespacial actual observada con el crecimiento de la mancha urbana de Mérida.

The transition to university is a critical life stage characterized by increased autonomy, identity exploration, and new social and environmental influences. During this period, university students often exhibit low adherence to dietary guidelines. Among the determinants influencing healthy eating, cooking self-efficacy, the central construct of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), is consistently associated with improved diet quality and is a frequent target of health interventions. However, no validated instrument exists to assess this construct among university students in Spain. Therefore, the goal was to develop and provide preliminary evidence of the Spanish Cooking Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SCSEQ), a concise SCT-based instrument tailored to Mediterranean university settings. A 32-item questionnaire was developed through a review of existing instruments assessing cooking self-efficacy. Face validity was evaluated with Spanish food and nutrition experts (n = 12) to assess the clarity and pertinence of the initial items. The revised Spanish Cooking Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SCSEQ) was then pilot-tested with Spanish university students (n = 73) from four Catalan universities. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted to identify the underlying factor structure and detect problematic items. Internal consistency reliability was assessed using McDonald’s ω, and test–retest reliability over a two-week interval was evaluated using Pearson correlations. Face validity indicated overall clarity and adequacy. Four items were excluded and recombined, two items were added, and nine items were rewritten based on experts’ feedback. After pilot testing, the questionnaire overall demonstrated high internal consistency (ω = 0.9). Items were reviewed based on factor loadings, item redundancy, theoretical relevance, and their contribution to scale-level internal consistency. EFA suggested a two-factor structure with good internal consistency (ω = 0.88 and ω = 0.82) and test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.91, 95% CI [0.80, 0.96]). Three items with weak loadings were excluded. The final version consisted of 25 items and 2 subscales. The SCSEQ showed favorable preliminary psychometric properties.

La alimentación se ha consolidado como un campo de estudio transversal que abarca múltiples dimensiones y desafíos. Lejos de limitarse a las cuestiones biomédicas clásicas vinculadas con la salud y la nutrición, la investigación y la enseñanza actuales integran también problemáticas relacionadas con la globalización, la sostenibilidad, la industrialización, la innovación o el cambio social. Esta ampliación ha promovido la incorporación de enfoques provenientes de diversas disciplinas, como la antropología, la sociología, la economía, los estudios ambientales y los denominados food studies, entre otros. Desde hace décadas, se ha subrayado la necesidad de una mirada holística que complemente el conocimiento fisiológico con una comprensión cultural y estructural de la alimentación. Organismos internacionales y redes académicas como la International Commission on the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition (ICAF) han promovido la cooperación interdisciplinaria para abordar los hábitos alimentarios como un fenómeno social total. El texto defiende, así, la importancia de marcos analíticos integradores que reconozcan la complejidad de la alimentación y fomenten colaboraciones entre saberes diversos para dar respuesta a los retos actuales en salud, cultura y sostenibilidad alimentaria.

Background/Objectives: The transition to university life brings significant social, psychological, and environmental changes, making it a critical period for establishing long-term dietary habits. However, many Mexican university students fail to meet national dietary guidelines, increasing their risk of non-communicable diseases. This study examines the determinants of healthy eating among university students in Oaxaca using a holistic, multi-level approach grounded in the Social Ecological Model (SEM) and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). Methods: A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating ethnography with a validated self-report questionnaire completed by 411 students at the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca (UABJO). The ethnographic data included observations, field notes, photographs, informal conversations, and 13 semi-structured interviews. Data triangulation provided a comprehensive understanding of dietary behaviors by capturing both self-reported patterns and real-world eating practices and the food environment, as captured through ethnographic methods. The analysis included descriptive statistics, normality tests, and parametric tests to assess significant differences. Results: The findings revealed a decline in diet quality, characterized by low fruit and vegetable intake, high snack consumption, and irregular meal patterns, particularly among students living independently. Key barriers included academic stress, time constraints, low cooking self-efficacy, limited nutritional knowledge, peer pressure, and negative social norms, which contributed to reliance on convenient, processed foods. The lack of healthy food options on campus and the high perceived cost of nutritious food further led students to prioritize cheap, calorie-dense foods over healthier choices. Conversely, enablers included structured university schedules; peer support; hands-on culinary interventions; and improved access to affordable, healthy food. Conclusions: Addressing these barriers requires multi-level interventions that enhance nutrition literacy, cooking self-efficacy, and peer-led strategies while improving the campus food environment. Future research should explore SCT-based initiatives leveraging social networks and culinary education to foster sustainable dietary behavior change in university settings and assess how these findings can be applied in other socioeconomic and cultural contexts.

“Cava”, a unique sparkling wine, is the most exported Spanish-protected “designation of origin” (DO) label, Spain being the fourth sparkling wine supplier in the Chinese market. According to data, the consumption of sparkling wines in China has gradually increased, with a special pick during the pandemic lockdown. We analyse the case of Codorniu DO “cava”, the first cava maker and the oldest wine-growing business in Spain, and its internationalisation process in China, with a particular focus on the main characteristics of the process, entry barriers, and marketing strategies. The method shows a case study design, with the following findings: the entry into the Chinese market gradually followed, starting with indirect exporting and later with a country-based commercial subsidiary managed by a Chinese CEO. Cultural differences, customers’ drinking habits and preferences, and market rivalry were some of the most challenging entry barriers. The 4Ps marketing-mix approach consisted of commercialising standardised products and brands, with little adaptations to the Chinese market; flexible pricing policy, with prices adapted to the perception of Codorníu, DO “cava” as a luxury drink in the local market; commercialisation through distribution channels managed by local intermediaries; and promotions via direct marketing in social media, blogs, and in-store promotions.

Ovaj će rad nastojati u kratkim crtama opisati konceptualne transformacije mediteranske prehrane od druge polovine 20. stoljeća do danas. Ovaj nesumnjivo popularni prehrambeni model, koji objedinjuje različite prehrambene kulture Sredozemlja, isprva je prepoznat kao zdravstveno blagotvoran, nudeći pomoć u prevenciji kardiovaskularnih bolesti. Početni impuls globalne popularnosti prehrambene kulture Sredozemlja, koji dolazi iz medicinskih i nutricionističkih znanosti, dugoročno je pripomogao pojednostavljenju složenih prehrambenih sustava Sredozemlja koji se od 2000-ih počinju prepoznavati kao homogeni kulinarski i kulturni obrazac. Nakon što je mediteranska prehrana 2010. godine upisana na UNESCO-ovu Reprezentativnu listu nematerijalne kulturne baštine čovječanstva, razumijevanje ove prehrambene kulture nesumnjivo se promijenilo. Danas mediteranska prehrana dobiva svoje nove artikulacije unutar politika održivog razvoja, očuvanja bioraznolikosti i ekosustava koje dugoročno nastoje razviti nove političke i ekonomske modele u okviru nužne transformacije trenutnih prehrambenih sustava prema zelenijim i održivijim rješenjima.