Community-based interventions to improve adolescent nutrition: a scoping review

Adolescents are an age group that is vulnerable to nutritional problems due to changes in eating patterns influenced by social, economic, and environmental factors. The trend of consuming fast food, sugary drinks, and low intake of fruits and vegetables has led to an increase in the prevalence of obesity and non-communicable diseases among adolescents. Various community-based interventions have been developed to address this problem by involving schools, families, and social environments as part of a behavior change strategy. This approach is considered more effective because it takes into account various factors that influence adolescent eating habits holistically.

To explore various community-based interventions to improve adolescents nutrition.

This scoping review was conducted by searching articles from three major databases, namely CINAHL, PubMed, and Scopus. Keywords used in the search included "adolescent nutrition," "community-based interventions," "school-based nutrition programs," and "healthy eating behaviors." The inclusion criteria applied included original research articles written in English, published in the period 2015-2025, and involving adolescent samples in the interventions studied. Data from articles that met the criteria were extracted using manual tables and analyzed descriptively qualitatively to identify patterns of interventions and factors influencing their effectiveness.

From 1,079 records, 12 studies met inclusion criteria (8 randomized/cluster-randomized trials, 2 quasi-experimental, 1 pre-post, 1 longitudinal survey). Four intervention categories emerged: school-based education, school food environment modifications, digital tools, and theory-driven behavior change (HBM/SCT/CBT). Multicomponent programs more consistently improved diet quality (e.g., higher fruit-vegetable intake; lower sugar-sweetened beverages) than single-component strategies; in longer follow-up, a reduction in waist circumference, but not BMI was observed. Comparative synthesis indicated that multicomponent programs integrating education, healthier food provisioning, and family or community engagement produced more consistent improvements in diet than single-component strategies. Digital tools were most effective when coupled with self-monitoring and caregiver involvement, while environment-only changes showed limited impact on intake and adiposity over short follow-up.

Community-based strategies are most effective when delivered as integrated packages that align education with supportive food environments and structured caregiver engagement, ideally over ≥ 6-12 months with monitoring/feedback. Selecting sensitive outcomes (e.g., waist circumference, diet quality indices) clarifies early effects, whereas BMI may remain unchanged over shorter horizons.