Adolescents’ attitudes, preferences and perceived behaviours regarding healthy eating and whole grains from a gender and health interest perspective

Food & Nutrition Research · 4 authors, 4 centres

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TL;DR

A cross-sectional questionnaire study of 1,178 Swedish adolescents found that while willingness to eat healthier and consume more whole grain was high, actual whole grain consumption was low, with taste and availability of healthy products rated as the most important factors for dietary improvement.

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This cross-sectional questionnaire study assessed attitudes, preferences, and perceived behaviours regarding healthy eating and whole grains among 1,178 Swedish adolescents from 21 schools with broad geographical and socioeconomic spread. Results showed that adolescents generally held positive attitudes toward healthy eating, yet less than half felt they managed to eat healthily. Whole grain product consumption was low despite high willingness to eat healthier. Girls and adolescents with higher health interest reported greater whole grain consumption and willingness to consume more.

STUDY TYPE

cross-sectional

SPECIALTY

pediatrics

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ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10158873

Adolescents’ attitudes, preferences and perceived behaviours regarding healthy eating and whole grains from a gender and health interest perspective

Food & Nutrition Research

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ABSTRACT

Background A healthy diet is important not only for the growth and development of the human body but also for the prevention of chronic diseases. However, most Swedish adolescents do not follow dietary recommendations, especially the intake of whole grain is very low. To create targeted conditions for healthy food choices amongst adolescents, comprehensive knowledge of factors related to adolescents’ unhealthy and healthy eating is needed. Objective To investigate adolescents’ attitudes, preferences and perceived behaviours regarding healthy eating, with a specific focus on whole grains and to evaluate differences between genders and between adolescents with higher versus lower health interest. Design A total of 1,178 Swedish adolescents responded to a questionnaire about their attitudes, preferences and perceived behabviours towards healthy eating and whole grains, and their general interest in nutrition and health. Results of girls and boys were compared, as well as adolescents with a higher versus lower health interest. Results Displays information about healthy eating among adolescents and a comprehensive set of factors that may affect their ability to eat healthier. Overall, adolescents had a positive attitude towards food and health, but less than half felt that they managed to eat healthy. The consumption of different whole grain products was low, although the willingness to eat healthier and more whole grain was high. The most reported barrier to healthy eating, as well as increasing whole grain intake, was the unavailability of tasty healthy products, taste being even more important for adolescents with a low health interest than those with a high interest. Whole grain consumption and factors increasing the willingness of whole grain consumption were most prominent not only in adolescents with high health interest but also in girls compared with boys. Conclusion The results show good potential to improve dietary habits amongst adolescents. Taste and availability of healthy products were rated the most important, whilst knowledge about the products’ healthiness was rated the least important, especially amongst those with low health interest. By focusing on the attitudes and preferences of adolescents, the effectiveness may increase of initiatives to improve their dietary habits.

CITATION EXPORT

Anna Calvén, Karin Jonsson, Karin Wendin et al.. Adolescents’ attitudes, preferences and perceived behaviours regarding healthy eating and whole grains from a gender and health interest perspective. Food & Nutrition Research. (2023). https://doi.org/10.29219/fnr.v67.8988

AUTHORS

4 · 4 CENTRES

Anna Calvén, Karin Jonsson, Karin Wendin, Christel Larsson

1Department of Food and Meal Science, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden;
2Division of Food and Nutrition Science, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden;
3Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark;
4Department of Food and Nutrition, and Sport Science, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden