Er, V. orcid.org/0000-0002-0649-1846, Crowder, M., Holding, E. orcid.org/0000-0002-4368-1462 et al. (5 more authors) (2024) Young people’s views and experience of diet-related inequalities in England (UK): a qualitative study. Health Promotion International, 39 (4). daae107. ISSN 0957-4824
Abstract
Inequalities in diets contribute to overall inequalities in health. Economic inequality and inequalities in access to healthy food are key drivers of poor diet and ill health among young people (YP). Despite mounting evidence of structural barriers to healthy eating, less is known about how YP view and experience these inequalities where they live, and how to address them. To explore YP’s perspectives on the drivers of diet-related health inequalities, we conducted three interlinked focus groups with YP aged 13–21 years from six youth groups across three geographical areas in England. We analysed the data inductively and deductively using reflexive thematic analysis and generated themes by examining how social structure, context and agency interact and impact YP’s diet. YP were aware of how inequalities in employment conditions impact their families’ income and ability to eat a healthy diet. They cited the high availability of hot food takeaways in their local areas as a significant barrier to healthy eating but did not support closing or restricting these outlets. They held strong views on policies to tackle diet inequality and showed a nuanced understanding of the strengths and limitations of universal and targeted approaches. Our study showed that YP have an awareness and understanding of food as important in relation to health, and of diet-related inequalities. However, further efforts are needed to shape and promote policies that resonate with YP and address both their health and wider social concerns.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2024. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | diet; food environment; health inequalities; qualitative study; young people; Humans; Adolescent; England; Female; Male; Qualitative Research; Focus Groups; Young Adult; Diet; Socioeconomic Factors; Diet, Healthy; Health Status Disparities |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > Health Sciences School (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Medicine and Population Health |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 09 Sep 2024 15:50 |
Last Modified: | 09 Sep 2024 15:50 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press (OUP) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/heapro/daae107 |
Related URLs: | |
Sustainable Development Goals: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:217015 |