Healthfulness, Modernity, and Availability of Food and Beverages: Adolescents’ Perceptions in Southern India

ABSTRACT

This study uses freelists to document perceptions of healthfulness, modernity, and availability of foods and beverages among adolescents ages 13–18 years (n = 26) in urbanizing India. Among the 10 foods and beverages adolescents perceived as “new,” half were also seen as modern and unhealthy, 4 as traditional and unhealthy, and 3 as modern and healthy. Of those 10 “new” foods, 4 were reported as available only in supermarkets, 4 only in kiraana (local) stores, and 6 in both. Adolescents ascribed healthfulness and modernity to food and beverage items and were aware of their availability across stores.

KEYWORDS:

• adolescents
• availability
• food
• healthfulness
• modernity

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Chenyue Yang at Emory College of Arts and Science for her assistance with data cleaning and acknowledge the contributions made by study participants.

Funding

This work was supported by the Fogarty International Center at National Institutes of Health (award number 1-R25 TW009337-01). The funder played no role in the design, analysis, or writing of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fogarty International Center at National Institutes of Health (award number 1-R25 TW009337-01). The funder played no role in the design, analysis, or writing of this article.