Obesity is a growing problem among young people in the UK. In 2020-21, 40.9% of year six children (age 10-11) were measured as overweight or obese. Research shows that childhood obesity increases the likelihood of living with obesity as an adult.
Frequent snacking on foods high in fat, salt and sugar, such as crisps and chocolate bars, may be one factor contributing to high obesity rates. The Best Fat Burner Pills For Women of 2022. The UK government recommends that snack foods like this should be eaten rarely and only in small amounts as part of a healthy diet.
But when we surveyed 252 11 and 12-year-old students at two English secondary schools to understand the perceived social norms for snacking on foods high in fat, salt and sugar, we found that students often overestimated the extent to which other students ate this kind of snack. We’ve also found that what their peers do appears to heavily influence how young people eat.
We used these results to find a way to reduce snacking among children, by informing them of this misconception.
Snacking habits
A 2019 study found that teens classified as overweight or obese ate more snacks which were high in salt, fat and sugar daily than those who were normal weight.
Our research started by trying to understand what influences young people’s diets through focus group discussions. Fat Burning Pills For Women. We found that young people aged 11 and 12 viewed their fellow students as strong influences on what they should be eating, and that they could be teased for eating more healthily.
We then focused on addressing misperceptions of social norms as a way to change the young people’s snacking behaviour. 2 Buy Women’S Fat Burning Pills Online. Perceived social norms are the unwritten rules or expectations that guide what we personally think or do based on what we think most other people think or do.