Perceptions of Nutrition in Adolescents

Abstract

Dietary choices may affect the risk of developing obesity and related health complications. There is insufficient evidence on how perceptions of nutrition in adolescents compare with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) MyPlate recommendations. This cross- sectional study compared the intake of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy that 14- to 16- year-old children thought they should be consuming in a 24-hour period with the USDA’s MyPlate recommendations. A convenience sample completed a plate drawing activity at a health care site in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, during which each participant was asked semi-structured, open- ended clarifying questions. The responses were sorted into the five MyPlate food groups and compared with the MyPlate recommendations by the principal investigator and a registered dietitian nutritionist. Of 13 adolescents who were approached, 11 (84.62%) met the inclusion criteria and enrolled in the study. Ten (90.91%) were male and 6 (54.55%) were 16 years old. Intake of fruits (Mdn = 80.00%, 95% CI [29.40%, 260.60%]), vegetables (Mdn = 40.57%, 95% CI [18.01%, 131.21%]), grains (Mdn = 70.00%, 95% CI [6.33%, 197.67%]), and protein (Mdn = 171.43%, 95% CI [93.19%, 301.31%]) varied when compared to the MyPlate recommendations. However, dairy intake (Mdn = 41.67%, 95% CI [14.17%, 80.25%]) fell below the recommendations. Adolescents tend to vary in their responses on intake. Further work on differentiating what adolescents think they should be eating from what they actually ate and want to eat needs to be done by nurses, dietitians, and health professionals.