Between health and pleasure: perceptions of patients with cardiovascular disease following a nutritional intervention

The Brazilian Cardioprotective Nutritional Program (Balance)(f) consists of a nutritional counseling strategy aiming to prevent new cardiovascular events. This qualitative investigation is a case study of Balance aiming to understand the process of food choices related to the adherence of participants to the nutritional counseling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants and analyzed according to thematic content analysis. Patients reported incorporating nutritional advice and how they negotiate food choices to achieve a healthy diet while maintaining the consumption of pleasurable foods, some of them recommended avoiding. The continuous tensions and conflicts between healthy and pleasurable eating which permeate patients’ food choices should be addressed in nutritional counseling, enabling greater and long-lasting adherence to Balance.