Nutrition discourse and societal attitudes across time: a corpus-based analysis of the collocation “healthy food”

Understanding public perception of healthy eating is crucial for shaping contemporary nutrition discourse and guiding interventions that promote healthier lifestyles. This paper explores societal perceptions of healthy food through the analysis of linguistic corpora spanning from the 17th century to the present and proposes corpus linguistics as an effective method for investigating food attitudes. Our analysis reveals that the phrase “healthy food” has increased markedly in usage, with evolving collocational rankings reflecting changing public health concerns. Historically, the term referred to robust, calorie-dense sustenance essential for laborers and growing children, embodying notions of nourishment and moral virtue. In contrast, modern discourse increasingly associates “healthy food” with lighter, lower-calorie options that address issues such as metabolic health and overall wellness, while still imposing a moralizing perspective on food consumption that is closely tied to body image. Our examination further uncovers a transformation in connotation: early texts characterized healthy food as essential for sustaining robust physical vitality and as a cornerstone of disciplined, virtuous living, whereas later narratives often imbue it with negative associations of unpalatability and burdensomeness. Recently, however, a positive connotation emphasizing the hedonic dimension of healthy food has emerged, suggesting that taste and enjoyment are increasingly recognized as integral aspects of nutritional quality. Finally, our analysis demonstrates how cultural dimensions — such as social stratification, gendered expectations, and affordability concerns — influence the discourse surrounding healthy food.