Chantal C. Gilbert*1, Laurent Béghin2, Evangelia Grammatikaki3, Emma Patterson4, Sabine Dietrich5, Luis A. Moreno6 et al., on behalf of the HELENA study group
1 Campden BRI (United Kingdom)
2 CHRU & Université Lille 2 (France)
3 Harokopio University (Greece)
4 Karolinska Institutet (Sweden)
5 Medical University of Vienna (Austria)
6 Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain)
As part of the HELENA project (“Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence”), a purpose-built ‘Food Choices and Preferences’ questionnaire was developed and administered to 3202 adolescents in 11 European cities as part of a large cross-sectional study. Sampling of adolescents was done using a random cluster sampling procedure (Moreno et al., 2008).
Significant differences (p<0.05) between boys and girls were found for several attitude statements. Boys were more concerned with the taste of the food, and were more likely to agree that healthy foods tasted bad and did not fill them up. Girls were more likely to: be concerned about their weight, state that they would choose healthier options such as low fat or whole grain, and say that they enjoyed eating fruit and vegetables; despite this, the boys were more likely to say that their diet was healthy. The main reasons for snacking were hunger, boredom, needing energy, and craving something sweet. Girls were more likely to snack out of boredom, stressand sadness.
PCA revealed that snack foods that were disliked, such as meat-based snacks, oatmeal/porridge, dried fruits and pasta snack products, were correlated with a frequency of consumption of ‘never’; these were generally considered to be ‘neither healthy nor unhealthy’. Conversely, items that were liked and perceived to be healthy, such as fresh fruit, yoghurt and bread, were correlated with being eaten ‘often’, while items that were liked and perceived to be unhealthy, such as chocolate bars, crisps, sweets, French fries, hamburgers and biscuits, were correlated with being eaten ‘sometimes’.
Adolescents’ food choices are clearly driven by both the taste of the food and feelings of hunger. This unique study provides insights into the current health status of adolescents, which has never been evaluated at a European level using the same methodology in all countries.
References:
Moreno, L.A., De Henauw, S., González-Gross, M., Kersting, M., Molnár, D., Gottrand, F., et al. on behalf of the HELENA Study Group (2008) Design and implementation of the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence Cross-Sectional Study. International Journal of Obesity, Vol. 32, Suppl. 5, November 2008, S4- S11.
Key words: Cross-cultural research, adolescents, food choices and preferences, cross-sectional study
