How Does the Family Influence Adolescent Eating Habits in Terms of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices? A Global Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies

Abstract

Promoting healthy eating habits can prevent adolescent obesity in which family may play a significant role. This review synthesized findings from qualitative studies to identify family barriers and facilitators of adolescent healthy eating in terms of knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). A literature search of four databases was completed on 31 July 2020; qualitative studies that explored family factors of adolescent (aged 10 to 19 years) eating habits were included. A total of 48 studies were identified, with the majority being from North America and sampled from a single source. Ten themes on how family influences adolescent dietary KAP were found: Knowledge—(1) parental education, (2) parenting style, and (3) family illness experience; Attitudes—(4) family health, (5) cultivation of preference, and (6) family motivation; Practices—(7) home meals and food availability, (8) time and cost, (9) parenting style, and (10) parental practical knowledge and attitudes. This review highlights five parental characteristics underlying food parenting practices which affect adolescents’ KAP on healthy eating. Adolescents with working parents and who are living in low-income families are more vulnerable to unhealthy eating. There is a need to explore cultural-specific family influences on adolescents’ KAP, especially regarding attitudes and food choices in Asian families.

The barriers of home environments for obesity prevention in Indonesian adolescents

“…One concern is whether such general information about a balanced diet is sufficiently granular or practical to help contemporary families make healthy choices in the context of current food availability and the rapidly rising prevalence of overweight and obesity. Rather than knowledge, consistent with a recent global qualitative review [12], family dietary practices were highly influenced by preference, convenience, availability and price.…”

“…Parent capabilities to provide enabling environments for children to develop a healthy lifestyle will reflect a variety of barriers and facilitators in homes as well as in communities. While we know 'what' family factors affect adolescent lifestyles, it is not entirely clear 'how' and 'why' these factors are, or are not, able to support adolescents in adopting healthy lifestyle practices, especially in Asia [12]. Certainly, there is scarce evidence about how Indonesian parents understand their role and what factors influence them around shaping healthy behaviors in their children.…”

Adolescent Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Healthy Eating: Findings of Qualitative Interviews among Hong Kong Families

“…The framework covers “Knowledge on dietary guidelines, health benefits/harms, healthy food choice and access; Attitudes in believing, accepting and complying with dietary guidelines for health benefits; and Practices of personal and family eating behaviors, including home food environment and family meals” ( Figure 1 ). A similar framework was shown to be applicable to exploring adolescents’ eating habits [ 32 ]. A semi-structured interview guide ( Supplementary Materials ) was developed based on the theoretical framework and the guidelines established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [ 33 ].…”

The transcultural adaptation and validation of the Chinese version of the Attitudes Toward Recognizing Early and Noticeable Deterioration scale

“…Rather than being innate, it is formed through learning ( Albarracín et al, 2014 ; Shim et al, 2016 ; Cao et al, 2022 ). Individuals’ attitudes reinforce their intentions and change their behavior, making reliable predictions about their likelihood of performing specific behaviors ( Medisauskaite et al, 2021 ; Liu K. S. N et al, 2021 ). An interview with ward nurses who experienced resuscitation shows that nurses’ attitudes toward identifying early and significant deterioration seriously affected their ability to recognize, interpret, and report changes in conditions ( Shearer et al, 2012 ; Chua et al, 2013 ).…”