Social influences around diet choice and eating behaviours in adolescents

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Adolescence (10-24 years) is a key period of biological, psychological and social change. Cognitive functioning continues to develop as adolescents gain greater levels of independence and stronger peer networks. Adolescents show greater susceptibility to social influence on behaviour, compared to children and adults. This is also a time of vulnerability to mental health problems, with most mental health disorders first emerging before the age of 24. Social changes, combined with psychological and biological development, can influence behaviour and lifestyle choices. For example, adolescence is associated with decreases in diet quality, with poorer diet being linked to mental health disorders, as well as increased morbidity and earlier mortality. Previous research has used epidemiological methods to examine the relationships between social exposure and diet in adolescence. Using a psychologically informed experimental approach, this project aims to understand the social and cognitive aspects of diet-related behaviours in adolescence and how this links to mental health. Undertaking an interdisciplinary approach, this will be combined with traditional epidemiological methods using existing data to understand the social environment surrounding adolescents in the real world and how these social exposures impact diet-related behaviour and mental health. Integrating these methods results in a more comprehensive and holistic understanding of how the social and cognitive development of young people can influence healthy lifestyle decisions and the bidirectional interaction with mental health. This project will add to work that helps to inform strategies aiming to protect the physical and mental health of young people.