“Do you think adolescents’ food intake is satisfactory?” – Views of Indian parents and teachers
Introduction
Over the last decade, India has witnessed a burgeoning prevalence of adolescent overweight and obesity (Ranjani et al., 2016). Overweight and obesity are identified as potential risk factors for the rising burden of non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and certain cancers (Lobstein et al., 2015). These health complications demonstrate that overweight and obesity prevention should be an urgent priority for the Indian Government and health agencies (Shetty, 2013).
Unhealthy food practices have largely contributed to the emerging obesity and the associated disease burden (National Institute of Nutrition, 2010). In the light of globalisation and urbanisation, the customary Indian dietary pattern has undergone a major transformation i.e. replacement of a whole-grain diet with ‘Western’ diets rich in saturated fat, refined cereals, sugar, and deficient in dietary fibre (Pingali, 2007). This dietary shift is predominant in urban Indian populations (National Institute of Nutrition, 2010) including adolescents (Rathi, Riddell, & Worsley, 2017b). In addition, many Indian adolescents frequently skip meals, particularly breakfast (Mithra et al., 2018) and snack on fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages (Gupta, Kapil, & Singh, 2018, Rathi et al., 2018e). This evolving dietary context presents an opportunity to explore the factors that are triggering the consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages among young people. The understanding of these causative factors will help to lay the foundation for future health and nutrition promotion programs aimed at improving the eating habits of young people.
Globally, school-based nutrition and health promotion programmes have been popular in encouraging healthy eating among young people (Worsley, 2008). In contrast, Indian schools, have often been criticized for inculcating unhealthy eating habits in students (Mehan, Munshi, Surabhi, Bhatt, & Kantharia, 2012; Rathi et al., 2016, 2017c). Therefore, the current investigation aimed to understand the views of parents and teachers regarding Indian adolescents’ dietary intake and their recommendations for schools in overcoming challenges associated with healthy eating. Both parents and teachers have been identified as key stakeholders in the education system and hence their views are vital for the development of effective school-based healthy eating interventions (Chaleunsouk et al., 2014).
Section snippets
Methods
The methodology for this study i.e. ‘School Food Landscape Survey’ has been described in detail previously (Rathi et al., 2018a, 2018c, 2019). A notable feature of this survey was the inclusion of the dietary data emerging from the Dietary and Lifestyle Survey (Rathi et al., 2017b) in its instrument. This allowed parents and teachers to comment on the current state of adolescents' food habits.
Response rate and demographics
In total, 312 respondents (280 parents and 32 teachers) completed the survey yielding an overall response rate of 91%. The majority of the sample were women (69%). The mean age was 41.9 years (SD 4.5 years). Hinduism was the most popular religion (80%) and nine out of ten respondents had attained a university degree. With regards to occupation, approximately half of the parents identified themselves as homemakers (49%).
Quantitative findings
The respondents reported mixed views about adolescents' dietary intake. Half
Discussion
The present survey explored parents' and teachers' views of Indian adolescents' dietary intake and the factors that may influence adolescents' food intake. The quantitative findings suggest that several stakeholders were not much aware of the healthy and unhealthy intakes in their adolescents, while, a consensus was that adolescents’ food intake was not satisfactory and detrimental to future health. The qualitative findings suggest that increased availability and palatability of fast food,
Authors contributions
N.R., L.R. and A.W. conceived the study and its original design. N.R. drafted the initial form and all revisions of this paper. N.R. collected and analysed the data. N.R., L.R., and A.W. reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Funding statement
NR was supported through a Victoria India Doctoral Scholarship; and internal funding was provided by the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University.
Ethical statement
Ethical approval for this study was obtained from Deakin University's Health Ethics Advisory Group (HEAH-H 127_2016). The procedures performed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the committee. Written informed consent was obtained from all respondents before commencement of the study.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this research article.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the school principals, teachers, and parents who generously took part in this study.
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This is N.R.‘s current affiliation. She is working as a Post Doctoral Fellow.