ABSTRACT
Relying on a socio-historical perspective supported by a review of literature besides qualitative and quantitative empirical data resulting from the authors’ research programs carried out since 1995, this chapter investigates the methods used to institutionalize food systems at the workplace and how technical solutions (e.g. catering types from enterprises and public authorities) devised by professional stakeholders take into account a ‘real meal’ or a ‘proper meal’ as Douglas would have put it. The chapter also analyses how these technical systems influence eating practices by allowing (or not) and facilitating (or not) a number of changes. Finally, it considers to what extent the technical systems might have impacted a higher or lower prevalence of obesity in France and in the United Kingdom. A massive amount of data is definitely emerging that tends to relate the development of obesity to food practices damaging socialization.
