How School Food Environments Influence Food Choices: Evidence from Citizen Science and Focus Groups

BACKGROUND: Adolescents, as lucrative targets of food producers, encounter high-choice school food environments that offer an excess of highly processed foods. However, there is limited data on the actual food supply inside and around Austrian schools, adolescents preferences, and how it affects their food choices. To bridge this gap, our study employs an innovative mixed-methods approach to explore adolescents’ food choices. METHODS: In Study 1, we conducted a citizen science study with students as volunteer scientists who categorized 953 food items from 144 food suppliers in and around their schools based on the Austrian food pyramid. Study 2 explored students’ food preferences in four focus groups with 25 students (11 male, 14 female) aged between 12 and 15, each conducted at a different school in Tyrol. We then correlated the results of individual preferences with the documented food supply. RESULTS: The results of Study 1 revealed that the food supply in the investigated schools was predominantly categorized as unhealthy. The students classified 46% of the items as ‘unhealthy,’ 32% as ‘intermediate,’ and only 22% as ‘healthy.’ In Study 2, we identified three influential factors in students’ food choices: 1) individual factors (such as taste and preferences), 2) social factors (such as interactions with peers), and 3) structural factors (such as physical environment and accessibility). CONCLUSIONS: The study indicates that current school food environments are dominated by unhealthy products, which cater to unhealthy preferences among adolescents. To address this issue, policies should aim to create accessible and fun spaces where food supplies are presented in an attractive way. This includes providing areas where students can mingle and express their identities. KEY MESSAGES: • Attractive presentation of healthy foods in locations, which cater to the social needs of adolescent students, are key to foster and consolidate healthy food choices. • Improve accessibility and supply of healthy food choices in school food environments.