ArticlePublic health nutrition2025
Drivers and solutions to unhealthy food consumption by adolescents in urban slums, Kenya: a qualitative participatory study.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Environmental and Individual Influences on Adolescent Diets in an Urban Informal Settlement in Kenya: Perspectives from Adolescents and Influential Adults.Current developments in nutrition · 2026Article
- Adolescents' perspectives on socio-cultural influences on overweight and obesity in African countries: a systematic scoping review of qualitative studies.Current obesity reports · 2026Article
- "It's where I buy lunch or anything that I want to buy": a participatory photo elicitation study on adolescents' experience of food choice and environment in Kisumu, Kenya.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2026Article
- Perceived Challenges and Solutions to Adopting Healthy Diets Among Women and Children: A Photovoice Study in Urban Ethiopia.Maternal & child nutrition · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed food consumption, dietary behaviors, and marketing exposure among school adolescents in urban Ethiopia: a qualitative study.BMC nutrition · 2026Article
- Nutrition Labelling Practices and the Healthiness of Packaged Food and Beverage Products Available in Kenya.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Urban South African Adolescents' Perspectives on Healthy and Unhealthy Foods and the Drivers of Their Food Choices in Their School Food Environment: A Pilot Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
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7 authors.
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Abstract
objectiveTo explore the perceptions, drivers and potential solutions to the consumption of unhealthy, ultra-processed foods (UPF) and foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) and their contribution to the double burden of malnutrition among adolescents living in urban slums, Kenya.
designQualitative participatory research, through Photovoice, group discussions and community dialogues. Inductive, thematic analysis was undertaken.
settingThree major slums, Nairobi.
participantsAdolescents 10-19 years (
resultsUPF/HFSS consumption emerged as a predominant theme on foods commonly consumed by adolescents, and the causes of undernutrition and overweight/obesity. Adolescents described UPF/HFSS as junk, oily, sugary or foods with chemicals and associated UPF/HFSS consumption with undernutrition, obesity and non-communicable diseases. They perceived UPF/HFSS as modern, urban, classy and appealing to young people and minimally processed foods as boring and primitive, for older people, and those in rural areas. Individual-level drivers of UPF/HFSS consumption were organoleptic attributes (taste/aroma), body size/shape, illicit drug use, convenience and adolescents' autonomy. Social environment drivers were peer pressure and social status/aspirations. Physical environment drivers were UPF/HFSS availability and accessibility in the slums. Education on healthy eating and the adverse effects of consuming UPF/HFSS, through existing structures (youth groups, school, community health strategy), was proposed as a potential solution to UPF/HFSS consumption.
conclusionUPF/HFSS were perceived as associated with poor nutrition and health, yet were preferred over unprocessed/minimally processed foods. Interventions to promote healthy diets beyond raising awareness are important, while addressing the underlying perceptions and drivers of UPF/HFSS consumption at the individual level and in the social and physical food environments.
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