Food Rules: Exploring eating behaviour and conception of household food rules within adolescent-parent dyads
By Susannah Tooze, MPH Student
Over recent decades, the worldwide prevalence of obesity has increased exponentially and the rising level of overweight and obesity among children is of particular concern. Obese children are at risk of remaining obese in adulthood and may develop obesity-related health complications at a much earlier age. Current policy in the United Kingdom advocates the use of family-based interventions to prevent and treat obesity in children, however the transitional period of adolescence (eleven to nineteen years old) presents unique challenges, which family-based interventions must accommodate if they are to be effective.
This will be a secondary research project that uses qualitative methodology to explore eating behaviour and conception of household food rules within adolescent-parent dyads, through analysis of existing interview data. I have sourced data from the UK Data Archive that comprises in-depth, face-to-face interviews with teenagers aged 13-15 years and (separately) their parents. Data will be analysed using the Framework Method because it is well-suited to analysis within adolescent-parent dyads.
Household food rules are a family-environmental determinant of eating behaviour and I propose that they will be significantly affected as young people develop greater nutritional autonomy. A thorough understanding of the family-environmental determinants that influence eating behaviour is fundamental to the development of family-based interventions, and there is a distinct lack of UK-based qualitative research in this area. Furthermore, it is crucial to understand the perspectives of adolescents and their parents so that existing and future interventions can be tailored to accommodate families with older children.
