IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i4p2160-d749343.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Adolescents’ Perspectives on the Drivers of Obesity Using a Group Model Building Approach: A South African Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Gaironeesa Hendricks

    (Research Centre for Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle & Sport, Division of Physio-Logical Sciences, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa)

  • Natalie Savona

    (Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Anaely Aguiar

    (System Dynamics Group, Department of Geography, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway)

  • Olufunke Alaba

    (Health Economics Division, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa)

  • Sharmilah Booley

    (Research Centre for Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle & Sport, Division of Physio-Logical Sciences, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa)

  • Sonia Malczyk

    (Research Centre for Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle & Sport, Division of Physio-Logical Sciences, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa)

  • Emmanuel Nwosu

    (Research Centre for Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle & Sport, Division of Physio-Logical Sciences, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa)

  • Cecile Knai

    (Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Harry Rutter

    (Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7PJ, UK)

  • Knut-Inge Klepp

    (Division of Mental and Physical Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, N-0316 Oslo, Norway)

  • Janetta Harbron

    (Research Centre for Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle & Sport, Division of Physio-Logical Sciences, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa)

Abstract

Overweight and obesity increase the risk of a range of poor physiological and psychosocial health outcomes. Previous work with well-defined cohorts has explored the determinants of obesity and employed various methods and measures; however, less is known on the broader societal drivers, beyond individual-level influences, using a systems framework with adolescents. The aim of this study was to explore the drivers of obesity from adolescents’ perspectives using a systems approach through group model building in four South African schools. Group model building was used to generate 4 causal loop diagrams with 62 adolescents aged 16–18 years. These maps were merged into one final map, and the main themes were identified: (i) physical activity and social media use; (ii) physical activity, health-related morbidity, and socio-economic status; (iii) accessibility of unhealthy food and energy intake/body weight; (iv) psychological distress, body weight, and weight-related bullying; and (v) parental involvement and unhealthy food intake. Our study identified meaningful policy-relevant insights into the drivers of adolescent obesity, as described by the young people themselves in a South African context. This approach, both the process of construction and the final visualization, provides a basis for taking a novel approach to prevention and intervention recommendations for adolescent obesity.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaironeesa Hendricks & Natalie Savona & Anaely Aguiar & Olufunke Alaba & Sharmilah Booley & Sonia Malczyk & Emmanuel Nwosu & Cecile Knai & Harry Rutter & Knut-Inge Klepp & Janetta Harbron, 2022. "Adolescents’ Perspectives on the Drivers of Obesity Using a Group Model Building Approach: A South African Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-15, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2160-:d:749343
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2160/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2160/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lin, Tracy Kuo & Teymourian, Yasmin & Tursini, Maitri Shila, 2018. "The effect of sugar and processed food imports on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 172 countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101053, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Paul D. Jensen & Caroline Orfila, 2021. "Correction to: Mapping the production-consumption gap of an urban food system: an empirical case study of food security and resilience," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(4), pages 1069-1069, August.
    3. Paul D. Jensen & Caroline Orfila, 2021. "Mapping the production-consumption gap of an urban food system: an empirical case study of food security and resilience," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(3), pages 551-570, June.
    4. Sally Dunlop & Becky Freeman & Sandra C. Jones, 2016. "Marketing to Youth in the Digital Age: The Promotion of Unhealthy Products and Health Promoting Behaviours on Social Media," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(3), pages 35-49.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pippa McKelvie-Sebileau & David Rees & David Tipene-Leach & Erica D’Souza & Boyd Swinburn & Sarah Gerritsen, 2022. "Community Co-Design of Regional Actions for Children’s Nutritional Health Combining Indigenous Knowledge and Systems Thinking," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-14, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Huidan Xue & Yujia Zhai & Wen-Hao Su & Ziling He, 2023. "Governance and Actions for Resilient Urban Food Systems in the Era of COVID-19: Lessons and Challenges in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-25, August.
    2. Cara A. Rockwell & Alex Crow & Érika R. Guimarães & Eduardo Recinos & Deborah La Belle, 2022. "Species Richness, Stem Density, and Canopy in Food Forests: Contributions to Ecosystem Services in an Urban Environment," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(2), pages 139-154.
    3. Gheorghe Hurduzeu & Radu Lucian Pânzaru & Dragoș Mihai Medelete & Andi Ciobanu & Constanța Enea, 2022. "The Development of Sustainable Agriculture in EU Countries and the Potential Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals Specific Targets (SDG 2)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-24, November.
    4. Rosário Oliveira, 2022. "FoodLink—A Network for Driving Food Transition in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-18, November.
    5. Ioannis Papachristos & Foivos Anastasiadis & Maria Kontopanou & Giannis T. Tsoulfas, 2024. "A Consumer-Centric Approach for a Sustainable Honey Supply Chain: The Case of Strawberry Tree Honey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-16, August.
    6. Daniel Romer, 2016. "Introduction to the Issue “Adolescents in the Digital Age: Effects on Health and Development”," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(3), pages 1-3.
    7. Saura, José Ramón & Palacios-Marqués, Daniel & Iturricha-Fernández, Agustín, 2021. "Ethical design in social media: Assessing the main performance measurements of user online behavior modification," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 271-281.
    8. Fabrizio Ferretti & Michele Mariani & Elena Sarti, 2022. "Does the Prevalence of Obesity Affect the Demand for Soft Drinks? Evidence from Cross-Country Panel Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-12, January.
    9. Mulenga Mary Mukanu & Anne Marie Thow & Peter Delobelle & Zandile June-Rose Mchiza, 2022. "School Food Environment in Urban Zambia: A Qualitative Analysis of Drivers of Adolescent Food Choices and Their Policy Implications," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-18, June.
    10. Christoph F. Wiedenroth & Verena Otter, 2022. "Can new healthy luxury food products accelerate short food supply chain formation via social media marketing in high-income countries?," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-30, December.
    11. Daniel Romer & Michael Rich, 2016. "Afterword to the Issue “Adolescents in the Digital Age: Effects on Health and Development”," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(3), pages 90-94.
    12. Anna Elizabeth Coates & Charlotte Alice Hardman & Jason Christian Grovenor Halford & Paul Christiansen & Emma Jane Boyland, 2020. "“It’s Just Addictive People That Make Addictive Videos” : Children’s Understanding of and Attitudes towards Influencer Marketing of Food and Beverages by YouTube Video Bloggers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-18, January.
    13. Chris Vogliano & Jessica E. Raneri & Jane Coad & Shane Tutua & Carol Wham & Carl Lachat & Barbara Burlingame, 2021. "Dietary agrobiodiversity for improved nutrition and health outcomes within a transitioning indigenous Solomon Island food system," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(4), pages 819-847, August.
    14. Daniel Romer & Michael Rich, 2016. "Afterword to the Issue “Adolescents in the Digital Age: Effects on Health and Development”," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(3), pages 90-94.
    15. Corazza, Ilaria & Pennucci, Francesca & De Rosis, Sabina, 2021. "Promoting healthy eating habits among youth according to their preferences: Indications from a discrete choice experiment in Tuscany," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(7), pages 947-955.
    16. Jose B. Rosales Chavez & Meg Bruening & Punam Ohri-Vachaspati & Rebecca E. Lee & Megan Jehn, 2021. "Street Food Stand Availability, Density, and Distribution Across Income Levels in Mexico City," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-17, April.
    17. Chatzaga, Anastasia & Metaxas, Theodore, 2023. "Social Media and European Youth: A Combined Qualitative Analysis of Finland and Spain," MPRA Paper 122468, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Luckstead, Jeff & Devadoss, Stephen, 2021. "The Effects of COVID-19-Induced Global Economic Recession on Processed Food Trade," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315856, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    19. Boris Chapoton & Véronique Régnier Denois & Mabrouk Nekaa & Franck Chauvin & Valentin Flaudias, 2020. "Social Networking Sites and Perceived Content Influence: An Exploratory Analysis from Focus Groups with French Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-27, September.
    20. Pippa McKelvie-Sebileau & David Rees & David Tipene-Leach & Erica D’Souza & Boyd Swinburn & Sarah Gerritsen, 2022. "Community Co-Design of Regional Actions for Children’s Nutritional Health Combining Indigenous Knowledge and Systems Thinking," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-14, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2160-:d:749343. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.