Going global: Indian adolescents’ eating patterns
In a newly published article in Public Health Nutrition, Solveig Argeseanu Cunningham and colleagues describe adolescents’ eating patterns of traditional, global/non-local and mixed foods, and the factors that may influence food consumption, access and preferences, in a globalizing city.
Abstract
Objective To describe adolescents’ eating patterns of traditional, global/non-local and mixed foods, and the factors that may influence food consumption, access and preferences, in a globalizing city.
Design A representative sample of school-going adolescents completed a crosssectional survey including an FFQ designed to identify traditional and global foods. Student’s t test and ordinal logistic regression were used to examine weekly food intake, including differences between boys and girls and between adolescents attending private and public schools.
Setting Vijayapura city, Karnataka State, India.
Subjects Adolescents (n 399) aged 13–16 years.
Results Compared with dietary guidelines, adolescents consumed fruit, green leafy vegetables, non-green leafy vegetables and dairy less frequently than recommended and consumed energy-dense foods more frequently than recommended. Traditional but expensive foods (fruits, dairy, homemade sweets and added fat) were more frequently consumed by private-school students, generally from wealthier, more connected families, than by public-school students; the latter more frequently consumed both traditional (tea, coffee, eggs) and mixed foods (snack and street foods; P≤0·05). Girls reported more frequent consumption of global/non-local packaged and ready-to-eat foods, non-green leafy vegetables and added fat than boys (P≤0·05). Boys reported more frequent consumption of eggs and street foods than girls (P ≤0·05).
Conclusions Adolescents’ eating patterns in a globalizing city reflect a combination of global/non-local and traditional foods, access and preferences. As global foods continue to appear in low- and middle-income countries, understanding dietary patterns and preferences can inform efforts to promote diversity and healthfulness of foods.
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