Food Choices and Diet Quality in the School Food Environment: A Qualitative Insight from the Perspective of Adolescents
- Author:
Suhaila Abdul Ghaffar
1
Author Information
1. Nutritional Science Programme, Faculty of Health Science, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
- Collective Name:Suhaila Abdul Ghaffar; Ruzita Abdul Talib; Norimah A Karim
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Qualitative study;
Adolescents;
Obesity;
School food environment;
Malaysia
- MeSH:
Obesity
- From:Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences
2019;15(SP1):16-24
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Introduction: Overweight and obesity among adolescents are not caused by a single factor, and evidence indicates that the food environment is one of the driving forces behind the current escalating obesity epidemic. Therefore, it is imperative to explore any perceived factors related to food choices and quality of food in the school food environment among adolescents. Methods: A qualitative study based on the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM) was conducted on a purposive, multi-ethnic sample of 51 adolescents from different localities. The semi-structured and in-depth interviews were fully transcribed and analyzed qualitatively using Atlas.Ti. The transcribed texts were coded into similar and related themes such as food choices, quality of food, social-peers’ influence, cost of food and self-awareness. Results: The findings revealed that there is a clustering of barriers to practising a healthy dietary intake within the school food environment. Accessibility to low cost snacks and fried foods, influence by parents and peers, as well as the autonomous character of informants in making their own purchases are the contributing factors to healthy eating practice among adolescents. Conclusions: The study highlights that the barriers to practicing healthy eating considerably outweighs the enabling factors. Therefore, the findings will help facilitate the construction of policy-driven environmental changes as well as strategies in designing effective and multilevel interventions that raise awareness in helping adolescents navigate healthy food in their school’s compound
- Full text:11.2019my0356.pdf
