Adolescents’ food choice patterns at school: A data driven approach

Diet quality is critical during adolescence, given the nutritional requirements and developmental changes. Foods that adolescents choose at school can contribute a considerable proportion to their dietary intake. This study's aim was to examine adolescents' food choice patterns in secondary school. Food selection data across an academic year for students (11-18 years) attending a secondary school in England were examined. Food choice profiles for students (n = 857) were derived, and cluster analysis was performed to determine food choice patterns. Associations between cluster membership and characteristics (sex, year group, free school meal status) were examined. Five clusters were differentiated based on adolescents' selection of foods and beverages. Clusters were characterised by dominant items: 'sandwich combo fans' (n = 340), 'break time snackers' (n = 196), 'traybake enthusiasts' (n = 161), 'pizza lovers' (n = 147) and 'healthy lunchers' (n = 13). The preponderance of a few items across clusters, specifically cookies and traybakes was notable, as was the relative size of the clusters. Significant associations were found between cluster membership and year group, free school meal status and sex, all with small effect sizes (φ_c = 0.19, 0.18 and 0.13, respectively). This study provides important insights into adolescents' food choice patterns during the school day, specifically the general dominance of cookies and traybakes, as well as the very small number of 'healthy lunchers'. Findings point to future work to examine the relative popularity of items, as well as targeted interventions to support adolescents' dietary health.