McMaster University, 1280 Main Street W, HSC-3V51, Hamilton L8S 4K1, Ontario, Canada.
St. John's Research Institute, 100 Feet Road, John Nagar, Koramangala, Bangalore 560034, Karnataka, India.
Appetite. 2017 Sep 1;116:471-479. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.05.029. Epub 2017 May 18.
Dietary patterns have contributed to the rising prevalence of overweight and obesity among Indian adolescents. Yet there are limited studies on their perspectives on healthy eating. The purpose of this study was to understand perceptions and attitudes of Indian-origin adolescents in India and Canada that may contribute to healthy eating behaviour.
Qualitative data collection and analysis of 13 focus group discussions (FGD) was conducted among 34 boys and 39 girls (total number of participants: 73) of different weight and socioeconomic status (SES) in rural and urban India, and urban Canada aged 11-18 years.
All adolescents perceived homemade foods, and foods high in vitamins, minerals and fiber as healthy. Rural Indian adolescents also identified contaminant-free food as important. Opinions differed regarding the health value of consuming meat, and amongst Canadian adolescents, the health impact of Western versus Indian diets. Identified benefits of healthy eating included improved energy for Indians, and disease prevention for Canadians and urban Indians. Identified barriers across all settings included peers; and availability, access and affordability of unhealthy foods. Urban Indians and Canadian girls also reported academic stress and lack of time as barriers. Canadian girls reported limited parental supervision during mealtimes as an additional barrier. Facilitators to healthy eating included parents, friends and personal preferences for healthy foods.
This study suggests potential targets for family-based and school-based education programs and policies to improve dietary habits of Indian and Indo-Canadian adolescents which include, culturally focused nutrition education and guidelines, academic stress management strategies, parental education, food hygiene regulations and restriction on the sale and advertising of unhealthy foods.
饮食模式导致印度青少年超重和肥胖的比例不断上升。然而，关于他们对健康饮食的看法的研究有限。本研究的目的是了解印度和加拿大的印度裔青少年对健康饮食行为的看法和态度。
在印度农村和城市以及加拿大城市，对 34 名男孩和 39 名女孩（总参与者人数：73 人）进行了 13 次焦点小组讨论（FGD）的定性数据收集和分析，他们的体重和社会经济地位（SES）不同，年龄在 11-18 岁之间。
所有青少年都认为自制食品以及富含维生素、矿物质和纤维的食品是健康的。印度农村青少年还认为无污染的食物很重要。关于吃肉的健康价值，以及在加拿大青少年中，西方饮食和印度饮食对健康的影响，他们的看法存在差异。健康饮食的好处包括印度人提高能量，加拿大人和印度城市居民预防疾病。所有背景下的障碍都包括同龄人；以及不健康食品的可获得性、可及性和可负担性。印度城市居民和加拿大女孩还报告说，学业压力和缺乏时间是障碍。加拿大女孩还报告说，在用餐时间缺乏父母监督是一个额外的障碍。健康饮食的促进因素包括父母、朋友和对健康食品的个人偏好。
本研究表明，针对印度和印度裔加拿大青少年的家庭和学校教育计划和政策可能有潜在的目标，以改善他们的饮食习惯，包括文化为重点的营养教育和指导方针、学术压力管理策略、父母教育、食品卫生法规以及对不健康食品的销售和广告的限制。
