"I eat to be happy, to be strong, and to live." perceptions of rural and urban adolescents in Cameroon, Africa.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate factors influencing rural and urban adolescents' food perceptions during a time of nutritional transition in Cameroon, Africa.


METHODS
Qualitative in-depth interviews.


METHODS
Yaoundé urban and Bandja rural areas.


METHODS
Fifteen adolescents 12 to 15 years old purposely selected from schools in urban and rural areas.


METHODS
Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using Grounded Theory method.


RESULTS
Factors influencing adolescents' food perceptions from the rural area were "to live" "health" and "poverty." Among adolescents from the urban poor area, "health," "beauty," and "not enough money" were factors. Among adolescents from the urban rich area, "pleasure" and "beauty" were factors. Rural girls liked "to be fat," whereas girls from the urban poor wanted "to be a little bit fat," and girls from the urban rich wanted "to be normal."


CONCLUSIONS
Food behavior is changing from a diet composed of traditional food in rural areas to a more westernized diet in urban areas. The relationship between socioeconomic factors and nutrition needs to be examined with a sufficiently large number of adolescents to investigate these factors in a quantitative survey. Healthful local food should be available at home and from vendors. Nutrition education about food and diet-related diseases is needed in school.
Dapi
Léonie N
LN
Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology and Public Health Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. leonie.dapi.nzefa@epiph.umu.se
Omoloko
Cécile
C
Janlert
Urban
U
Dahlgren
Lars
L
Håglin
Lena
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000208:ethnology / Q000502:physiology; D001828:Body Image; D002163:Cameroon; D002648:Child; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012649:Self Concept; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*