Doctoral Theses / Doktorsavhandlingar Institutionen för kost- och idrottsvetenskap

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://gupea-staging.ub.gu.se/handle/2077/22409

Browse

Browsing Doctoral Theses / Doktorsavhandlingar Institutionen för kost- och idrottsvetenskap by Subject "adolescents"

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Estimating added and free sugars intake in Swedish adolescents - methods, food sources, nutritional implications, and potential food label impact
    (2025-03-07) Wanselius, Julia
    Excessive intakes of added and free sugars are associated with several adverse health effects. However, due to an absence of objective or standardised methods to measure intake, there is limited knowledge about consumption, including in Swedish adolescents. Adolescence is a critical period for establishing healthy dietary habits, as food patterns formed during these years often persist into adulthood, influencing longterm health. Dietary habits of Swedish adolescents overall fail to meet dietary guidelines. The adolescent diet is generally low in vegetables and fruit, dietary fibre and wholegrains, alongside high in saturated fats, salt, and sugars. Despite these concerns, intake levels of added or free sugars have not previously been quantified in Swedish adolescents. The overarching aim of this doctoral thesis is to examine dietary intake in Swedish adolescents, emphasising added and free sugars intake. This includes refining methods for estimating intake, identifying contributing food sources, investigating contextual and dietary associations, as well as the potential nutritional impact of the Keyhole symbol in guiding healthier food choices. The thesis builds on the findings of four original papers, each addressing a specific research aim and contributing unique insights to the thesis. The thesis presents a systematic approach to quantifying added and free sugars intake, applied to the Swedish Food Agency’s nationally representative dietary survey Riksmaten Adolescents 2016-17. Main findings are that, on average, Swedish adolescents were over-consuming added and free sugars with respect to dietary guidelines; 45% respectively 30% had a lower daily intake of added respectively free sugars than the maximal recommended intake. Main sources of sugars were foods with low nutritional content, with major contributors in sugarsweetened beverages, sweets and chocolates. Intakes of added and free sugars were higher during weekends, and the sugars were mostly consumed outside of main meals, predominantly within the home environment. Furthermore, higher intakes of added and free sugars were observed to be associated with progressively less favourable dietary intakes. A shift to Keyhole alternatives for everyday foods would improve adolescents’ overall nutrient intakes, even with smaller exchanges. However, the impact on reducing sugars were limited as most contributing sources are not eligible for labelling. As a few nutritionally poor food groups are the primary sources of added and free sugars in the adolescent diet, refining dietary guidelines to target these specific foods rather than emphasising sugars reduction alone could enhance clarity and effectiveness in public health communication.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Vem och vad kan man lita på? Ungdomars förhållningssätt till budskap om mat och ätande utifrån ett forskarinitierat rollspel.
    (2018-09-12) Rendahl, Jenny
    In everyday life, adolescents are exposed to multiple messages about food. There is an abundance of information to process and handle, which can lead to confusion and anxiety. The overall aim with this thesis was to develop, analyse and problematize researcher-initiated role-play combined with a subsequent focus group interview resembling food contexts in adolescents’ everyday life, and through the adolescents’ participation in the role-play identify their approach to and negotiation about messages concerning food and eating. The empirical data built on role-playing and focus group interviews with 42 adolescents; boys (14) and girls (28), 15 to 17 years old. The findings revealed that role-playing in combination with subsequent focus group interviews is a suitable research method to study adolescents’ reflexivity regarding food and eating, as it promoted participation and reflections amongst the adolescents. Participation and reflection are crucial elements in Swedish schools, and therefore this method could serve as a pedagogical tool in Home and consumer studies. The results also show that the adolescents were reflexive concerning who to trust when it comes to food messages, bodily risks with food ingested, and food as an identity marker. The adolescents perceived agents who had knowledge or education concerning food and nutrition as well as agents with whom they had a close relationship to be trustworthy. On the other hand, messages conveyed with a commercial interest were less trusted by the adolescents. In addition, this thesis shows that food is much more than nutrients for adolescents; it is also a tool by which to express identity.