Doing dietary research with adolescents: The problems of data collection in the school setting

Abstract

Dietary intake is an important component of good health and may impact on current and future health. A number of studies have reported the dietary patterns of children, and the recent publication of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey of Young People highlights that inequalities in health start in childhood. What research is available has, unfortunately, not addressed the increasingly problematic nature of conducting dietary assessment in schools, which are under increasing pressure to deliver the national curriculum and sustain ‘credibility’ in the league tables. This paper points to and discusses some of the key difficulties which researchers face today in undertaking primary research with adolescents in schools, including time to recruit students and adequately explain what is being asked of them, sustaining high rates of participation and using appropriate methods of dietary assessment. Preliminary findings of a three-year action research project in South Staffordshire are discussed, assessing the dietary intake of children in one secondary school. The results show that conclusions would vary greatly depending upon whether criteria for validity are applied. A brief discussion of the project method is followed by a short discussion of the preliminary findings. The paper ends by focusing on the problems researchers face in this important area of research.