Objective: An investigation of the discussion surrounding the relationship between food and exercise in one community of photography-based food blogs that past research has identified as exhibiting characteristics of dietary restraint.
Design: Forty-five blogs written by young adult women belonging to a food-blogging community were selected for study. All selected blogs had been publicly posted online.
Method: Using a qualitative approach of constant comparative analysis, two months of entries from food blogs created by young women were analyzed and coded for entries discussing food before, during and after exercise.
Results: Analysis revealed that bloggers discussed three themes, mainly prior to and following exercise: food as fuel, food restricted and worked off through exercise, and food intake as justified by exercise.
Conclusion: These findings provide insight into how a community of food bloggers views the relationship between food and exercise, suggest ways that women practising dietary restraint perceive food and exercise, and encourage further research on food blogging.
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