Food in my life: How Australian adolescents perceive and experience their foodscape

Food choice has long been recognized as an interaction between psychological, social, cultural, economic, and biological forces through life course events and experiences. Adolescence is a particularly sensitive life stage during which personal and external environments influence food decisions and attitudes that can have long-term implications. Young people represent future households, yet little is understood about their perspectives on, and experiences of, their foodscape. To address this, a photovoice study with thirty-two students was undertaken at three state high schools with differing foodscapes in South East Queensland (Australia). Adolescent perspectives on foodscapes highlighted the food in front of them (either common or favourite foods), food routines, their emotional relationship with food, and the important role that family has in shaping their relationship with food (in particular mothers). Adolescents demonstrated an astute awareness of healthy/good and unhealthy/bad foods in relation to ingredients, ways of eating and different types of foods. Yet they expressed noticeable confusion on this matter, referring to some foods as "healthy-ish", or describing a "balanced" diet as consuming something healthy followed by something unhealthy. We found that adolescents are inundated by discretionary foods on a daily basis, however, are not particularly cognisant of them. These findings have direct implications for preventative health messages targeting adolescents.