Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Factors Shaping Adolescent Nutritional Status in a Low-Income Neighborhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

This research project utilizes a biocultural anthropological approach to ask: what is the relationship between hypothesized sociocultural influences on adolescent diets and patterns of physical activity (school, family, peers, church, and the media) and nutritional status outcomes for adolescents living in a low-income neighborhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland? Belfast provides a unique location for a nutrition study in a low-income neighborhood because there is a persistent level of childhood poverty and malnutrition despite a wealth of community resources for young people, which alludes to the role of sociocultural factors in this neighborhood in shaping whether available resources are effectively utilized by young people. To understand the relationship between sociocultural influences on diet and exercise and nutritional status outcomes, both qualitative and quantitative data are collected, which provides a broad understanding of adolescent nutrition in this neighborhood. A self-administered questionnaire is used to determine what community adolescents are eating, the types of physical activity in which they are engaging, the strength of various sociocultural factors in shaping their diet and exercise choices, and demographic information about each adolescent. These questionnaires are used to look for similarities and differences in choices based on age and gender. Nutritional status will be measured in height, weight, waist circumference, and body mass index and compared to international reference populations to assess the health and well-being of children in this community. These quantitative data are contextualized using semi-structured interviews and participation in daily aspects of adolescent lives at school, home, church, and throughout the neighborhood. This research is significant because the nutrition of low-income adolescents remains a growing concern in urban, industrialized areas, and yet the specificities of local context are lacking in efforts to quell growing rates of adolescent malnutrition in urban regions. Using a biocultural approach allows elucidation of biological outcomes by examining the cultural context in which they are shaped, with the goal of providing viable solutions to adolescent malnutrition in Belfast. This research contributes ethnographic insights to efforts of reducing malnutrition among low-income adolescents. The project also fosters collaboration with Irish researchers and trains a female graduate student.