Health and nutrition beliefs and perceptions of Brisbane adolescents

Objective: To examine the health and nutrition beliefs and perceptions of Brisbane adolescents. Design and methods: Adolescents completed individual, semi‐structured, face‐to‐face qualitative interviews that were transcribed verbatim and analysed by thematic analysis. Subjects: Twenty‐nine boys and girls aged 13–15 years. Setting: All adolescents were residents of Brisbane city; interviews were conducted in their homes. Main outcome measures: Themes raised and the frequency of their occurrence in discussions about health and nutrition. Results: Health was perceived as being able to carry out daily physical tasks and was also seen as being a direct consequence of undertaking various ‘healthy’ behaviours (such as eating a good diet, undertaking physical activity and obtaining adequate sleep). Adolescents saw health as being an individual's responsibility (rather than a consequence of factors external to the individual). They identified a healthy diet as eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, being low in fat and balanced. Major barriers identified to healthy eating were taste and convenience. Conclusions: Adolescents are knowledgeable about behavioural risk factors that influence their health, consider their health as important and are well informed of the characteristics of a healthy diet. They regard health as their own responsibility. Therefore, health and nutrition promotion initiatives may be most effective if they attempt to improve adolescents’ perceptions of healthy eating in terms of taste and convenience, rather than just focusing on the provision of information.