Diet Quality and Its Associated Factors among Adolescents in High Schools of Rawalpindi and Islamabad

Fatima Falak¹Abdul Momin Rizwan Ahmad^2*Humaira Mahmood³Zoha Imtiaz Malik³Syed Hassan Bin Usman Shah⁴Juweria Abid¹Maryam Irfan¹

• ¹National University of Medical Sciences, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
• ²University of York, York, United Kingdom
• ³Health Services Academy, Islamabad, Pakistan
• ⁴University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Introduction: Adolescence is a critical developmental stage during which dietary behaviors have profound impacts on physical health, mental well-being, and academic performance. Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the associations between diet quality and academic performance, body image perceptions, and demographic factors. Methods: n = 281 adolescents aged 15–18 years from public and private high schools in Rawalpindi and Islamabad were selected for the study. A cross-sectional study design was incorporated and the data were gathered through the Diet Quality Questionnaire (DQQ), Kuppuswamy Socioeconomic Scale and Body Satisfaction and Image Questionnaire. Results: The analysis showed that 42.7 of % students possess a moderate diet and 57.3% possessed a poor diet. Diet quality was significantly associated with class grade, age, gender, socioeconomic status, body image and academic performance (p < 0.001). Students with a lower socioeconomic status, girls, senior grade students, and younger students were more likely to have poor eating habits. Conclusion: The findings present an urgent need for specific nutritional education and interventions in schools, in particular, among high-risk and vulnerable groups. Enhancing teenage diets can impact their psychological conditions, intellectual growth, and overall school performance.