Paper short abstract:

This paper addresses the sociomaterial ontology of nutrients and discusses how the scientific concept exists in multiple social forms. The presentation analyzes how obesity surgery patients and conscripts in military service make sense of and manage their eating through the concept of nutrients.

Paper long abstract:

This paper addresses the sociomaterial ontology of nutrients. It discusses how the scientific concept of nutrients exists in multiple social forms and often in processes which involve body, technology and discourse simultaneously.

Nutrients are the scientific objectification of food; a tool to scientifically identify and quantify metabolic processes and thereby measure them. In this definition, foods are made up by nutrients as bioactive and functional components which give energy and build tissue. They either provide the body with energy (macronutrients as carbohydrates, fat and protein) or regulate body processes and metabolic functions (micronutrients e.g. vitamins). Consequently nutrients are conceptualized as building blocks and food acquires a 'character of causality' producing specific effects in the body.

With the popularization of findings within nutritional research, this 'nutrition narrative' has become common knowledge and science terms like simple sugars, trace elements or omega-6 fatty acids have become household words. Although exactly what nutrients do is a mystery to many, the objective measurements acquire an ontological status. The concept of nutrients thus heavily influences how people think of their food and manage their eating. By translating the properties of food into numerical standards, food items are fitted into a classification system where specific qualities count and others do not. Depending on the social setting, these properties may acquire different meanings and uses.

The presentation seeks to answer how obesity surgery patients and conscripts in military service make sense of properties of food and manage their eating through the concept of nutrients.