Development of Normal Eating Behaviour

This session will describe patterns of eating behaviour in young people and the factors that influence these patterns. A model derived from social and ecological psychology will be used to explain how adolescent eating behaviour can develop from four levels of influence: individual, social, environmental and cultural.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• List the major influences on eating behaviour in adolescence
• Describe the drivers of adolescent food choices at each of the four levels of influence
• Recognise the barriers to making healthy food choices during adolescence

What images come into your mind when you think of young peoples' eating patterns? You may think of packs of young people on the streets, gorging themselves on junk food. Or perhaps a family mealtime with a silent teenager sullenly rejecting the healthy food prepared by his loving but despairing parent.