Language of Health of Young Australian Adults: A Qualitative Exploration of Perceptions of Health, Wellbeing and Health Promotion via Online Conversations

Abstract

Young adults (YA) are in a critical stage of life for the encouragement of healthy behaviours such as healthy eating and exercising. This research explored Australian YA values and perceptions related to health, healthy behaviours and health promotion efforts. This qualitative analysis involved n = 166, Australian 18–24 year-olds recruited through a market research field house. Participants (63% currently studying at tertiary level) engaged in a facilitated in-depth online conversation around health and healthy eating over four weeks. LeximancerTM and manual inductive thematic coding were utilised for analysis via the lens of emerging adulthood and health communication theories. Health was seen as multi-faceted, with particular importance placed on mental health and exercise. Some participants focussed on physical appearance, often fuelled by comparison to others. Many believed that at their age and health status, adopting health-enhancing behaviours without short-term tangible benefits was not a priority. Participants did not prioritise health-enhancing behaviours due to barriers such as a perceived lack of money, knowledge and time often due to studying or working and perceived effort. Strategies they proposed to encourage healthy eating included: incentivising healthy food; quick and affordable healthy recipes; and communicating the short-term tangible benefits of healthy behaviours. There is a need for focussed health messaging that address the needs and desires of YA and directly address the barriers they face.

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“…In parallel to these findings, our Communicating Health project has provided an understanding of the need for nuanced messaging that avoids using the rhetoric of the 'good and 'bad' approach to food and health [61] and responds to how young adults describe health [62]. Thus, future studies should track whether the implementation of the provided recommendations resulted in increased engagement metrics on their platform.…”

Beyond Body Weight: Design and Validation of Psycho-Behavioural Living and Eating for Health Segments (LEHS) Profiles for Social Marketing

“…Although, of course, it is not known which of these comes first (the money or the choice). Our previous research has found that many young adults have limited financial resources and sometimes limited knowledge of budgeting their finances, so healthy eating is not always at the top of their priorities [38]. Scarcity of money and time have a negative impact on both physical activity and eating behaviours, including consumption of fruit and vegetables and energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods [49].…”

“…Baseline exploration of aspects of the online conversations related to the language of health [38] found that young adults had a holistic view of health and that competing demands hindered their ability to realise healthy behaviours. Current healthy eating messaging did not address their needs.…”

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“…These translation activities often ignore key differences in study design—i.e., methods and the population of interest (human vs. animal studies)—thus causing confusion and lack of trust when results are conflicting. Our work has shown that government translation of nutrition research (i.e., the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating) fails to capture the attention of young adults as it is not relevant and applicable to their lives, unlike content from SMIs [ 2 ].…”