Do adolescents accurately evaluate their diet quality? The HELENA study

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Adolescent Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Diet quality awareness is crucial for adolescent health.
• The Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) Study provides a large dataset on European adolescents.
• Understanding factors influencing diet quality perception is essential for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess diet quality awareness among European adolescents.
• To identify factors associated with diet quality awareness in this population.
• To examine the relationship between objective diet quality and self-perceived diet quality.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 3389 adolescents (aged 12.5-17.5 years) from the HELENA Study.
• Assessed diet quality using the Diet Quality Index for Adolescents (DQI-A) based on 24-hour recalls.
• Measured dietary awareness via a self-rated diet quality questionnaire.

Main Results:

• A positive association was found between DQI-A scores and perceived diet quality (p < 0.0001).
• Adolescents with high dietary awareness had significantly higher DQI-A scores than those with low awareness.
• The association between diet quality and awareness varied by nutritional status, with no significant link in obese adolescents.

Conclusions:

• European adolescents generally possess good diet quality awareness, irrespective of gender, pubertal status, or parental education.
• Obese adolescents demonstrated an inability to accurately assess their diet quality.
• Enhancing dietary awareness in obese adolescents could be a key strategy for promoting behavioral changes.