Considerations for health and food choice in adolescents

Abstract

The aim of this review is to summarise the common barriers and motivations for healthy food choice among adolescents, with a specific focus on the Irish context where available. It will also discuss other concerns adolescents have, which may influence their food choices and eating habits. Adolescence represents a period of rapid physical, mental and social development, and many health-related habits developed during adolescence tend to persist into adulthood, making the teenage years an optimal time to encourage healthy eating and health-promoting behaviours. Adolescents are concerned about the health impact of their diet, but their understanding of health is often seen in the context of their physical appearance or body image. Body image concerns are prevalent in adolescents, and this can affect their food choices. Taste, price and convenience are commonly noted factors influencing adolescents' food choices, and as they grow, their level of independence increases and spending more time with their peers means that social desirability and social norms about food become increasingly important factors in adolescent food choice. However, their limited autonomy means their supporting food environment also plays an important role. When developing more targeted interventions in adolescent populations, information on adolescent nutrition needs, their concerns for health and body image, and the barriers and motivations for healthy eating and food choice should be considered. Such a holistic approach should help support healthy eating and the prevention of overweight and obesity in the population, whilst also supporting a healthy relationship with food and their bodies.

A school-based nutrition education programme effects on Mediterranean diet adherence and on the nutritional status in Azorean children and adolescents

“…One possible explanation may be that young children are more dependent on their parents or caregivers and do not make their own food choices (Pérez-Rodrigo and Aranceta, 2001). Furthermore, we can not exclude the possibility of food questionnaires being affected by a social desirability bias, which could be higher in adolescents since this period is characterized by a growing concern for normative rules and social acceptance (Barros et al, 2005;Daly et al, 2022).…”

“…Uma possível explicação pode dever-se ao facto de que as crianças são mais dependentes dos encarregados de educação e não realizam autonomamente as suas escolhas alimentares (Pérez-Rodrigo and Aranceta, 2001). Para além disso, não deve ser excluída a possibilidade do preenchimento dos questionários alimentares ter sido afetado por um viés de desejabilidade social, que pode ser maior nos adolescentes, uma vez que a adolescência é um período caracterizado por uma crescente preocupação com a aceitação social (Barros et al, 2005;Daly et al, 2022).…”

Motivations underlying healthy dietary adoption intentions: Evidence from university students in the Czech Republic

“…High-quality food products, sometimes healthy ones, generally have higher market prices. One way or another, this potentially dissuades consumers from purchasing healthy food products (Daly et al 2021;Van Doorn -Verhoef 2015). Meanwhile, another study revealed that customers are willing to pay higher prices for healthy food, thereby challenging the idea of the price motive being influential in healthy food choices (de-Magistris -Gracia 2016).…”

Attention to food cues following media multitasking is associated with cross-sectional BMI among adolescents

“…(Castellanos et al, 2009;Werthmann et al, 2011;Folkvord et al, 2015;Brand et al, 2020;Folkvord et al, 2020) The association between the amount of attention given to food cues and weight and consumption among adolescent is not well explicated. Adolescents may be at heightened risk for increased attention to food cues because the adolescent brain is in a sensitive period development (Fuhrmann et al, 2015;Daly et al, 2022) when reward seeking behaviors associated with cue reactivity may have particularly detrimental outcomes, disrupting brain development and increasing the likelihood that maladaptive behaviors persist into adulthood (Crews et al, 2007;Fuhrmann et al, 2015). However, attention to food cue studies among adolescents has been limited to comparisons of BMI between a special population and healthy weight controls, with mixed results.…”