Challenging misconceptions
An approach based on social norms works by correcting these misperceptions between perceived and actual behaviour. Our research group has used this approach to address other health behaviour, such as attitudes towards vaccine uptake and understanding university students’ use of alcohol and other drugs. 2 Pills For Weight Loss For Female. No studies had yet used this approach to understand snacking behaviour in students starting secondary school.

Person selecting snack from vending machine
According to UK government advice, snacks high in salt, fat and sugar should be consumed rarely. Syda Productions/Shutterstock
We found that, on average, students aged 11 and 12 overestimated how many snacks high in salt, fat or sugar their peers ate by 3.2 snack portions a day. We then developed a campaign, based at a school, to challenge these assumptions.

Students designed posters for display in their school. These featured information from the survey data we collected, showing that the students consumed fewer snacks than the common perception. We developed the campaign together with students and teachers. Which Is The Best Supplements To Burn Lower Abdomen Fat. Based on their suggestions, we ran a competition where students voted for the best posters to be displayed around the school.

We found that the 163 students who took part in the campaign were less likely to overestimate their peers’ attitudes to snacking, compared with students at another school who formed a control group. After three months, students at the school where we ran the campaign ate fewer snacks high in fat, salt and sugar, and had less positive attitudes towards snacking on these foods, compared with the control group.

Understanding beliefs around social norms, as well as involving young people in tackling misperceptions, can offer one way to help tackle the growing problem of obesity in children and teenagers.The Best Female Weight Loss Pills.