The psychosocial aspects of food choices and dietary intake of adolescents: A review

In order to understand eating behaviour of adolescents, insight into determinants of intake is necessary. The development of effective strategies aimed at healthy lifestyle practices is thought to be hampered by the lack of understanding of which behavioral and environmental factors need to be modified. We conducted a review of the literature for potential psychosocial determinants of food intake in adolescents. RelevantPapers were identified from PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, NCBI and Medline by using all combinations of the search terms: “psychosocial aspects, dietary intake, obesity, underweight or adolescents”. Research studies examining psychosocial determinants of food intake among adolescents were included in the review process. Based on inclusion-exclusion criteria full text papers were reviewed. A large number of potential determinants have been studied among children and adolescents. However, for many presumed determinants convincing evidence is lacking, mostly because of paucity of studies. The determinants best supported by evidence are: familial environment, body image perception, eating behaviour of the adolescent, locus of control, behavioural and temperamental associations with food intake. Other important factors like gender, socio-economic status, peer group, individual preferences, parental intake, and home availability/accessibility also have a profound impact on an adolescent's food intake and are positively associated with intake. The determinants most consistently supported by evidence are familial environment, body image perception, eating behaviour of the adolescent, locus of control, behavioural and temperamental associations with food intake. There is a need for internationally comparative, longitudinal, theory-based and multi-level studies taking both personal and environmental factors into account.