Adolescents’ perceptions of their school food environment and the factors influencing their food choices

Background: Current efforts in secondary schools to stimulate healthy and sustainable diets primarily focus on increasing knowledge and food skills. Yet, it is widely acknowledged that food environments significantly influence dietary choices. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore a) adolescents’ perceptions and use of their food environment, and b) factors influencing their food choices within this environment.

Methods: A participatory study was conducted with 308 adolescents (aged 12-16 years) at four Dutch secondary schools in rural and urban areas. Participants completed a baseline questionnaire and a food environment mapping exercise. 50 focus groups were conducted with 5-8 participants each. Questionnaire and exercise data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Focus groups were analysed inductively through thematic analysis.

Findings: Of all possible food outlets, adolescents marked their home (n=307), the supermarket (n=269), and the school canteen (n=196) as the top three locations to obtain food during an average school week. The home and supermarket were indicated most as locations to get healthy and/or sustainable food. Adolescents perceived consuming healthy food as important (M=3.68 on a 1-5 scale), while they perceived the importance of sustainable food as neutral (M=2.76). Focus groups revealed factors underlying adolescents’ food choices including eating as a social activity, taste, convenience and price.

Discussion: Adolescents eat healthy and sustainably mostly at home, while food choices at other locations are influenced by other factors such as taste and price. Future research should explore, together with adolescents, how healthy and sustainable diets can be stimulated in out-of-home contexts.