Determinants of vegetable intake among urban socio-economically disadvantaged adolescents: a systematic review of quantitative studies

Objective: To investigate the determinants of vegetable intake in urban socio-economically disadvantaged adolescents to inform the development of an intervention programme. Design: A narrative systematic review was carried out by searching five electronic databases from 2013 to 2020. The descriptors used for the search strategy were vegetable intake, adolescents, determinants and correlates. Inclusion criteria were including a sample of socio-economically disadvantaged adolescents aged 12-18 years, evaluation of the association between vegetable intake and determinants of intake, and conducted in urban settings of high-income countries. Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Identified determinants of vegetable intake were reported according to the five levels of the socio-ecological model of health. Setting: Studies included in the review were conducted in four countries: USA (n 8), Australia (n 3), Ireland (n 1) and New Zealand (n 1). Participants: Adolescents aged 12-18 years from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds living in urban settings. Results: Thirty-nine determinants were identified. Nutrition knowledge was the only determinant consistently investigated in several independent samples which was not associated with vegetable intake in socio-economically disadvantaged adolescents. For the remaining potential determinants, it was not possible to examine the consistency of evidence as there were not enough studies investigating the same determinants. Most of the studies followed a cross-sectional design and were carried out in school settings. Conclusions: There is a need for further studies on the determinants of vegetable intake in this population preferably with longitudinal designs and beyond the school setting in different countries to guide the development of successful interventions.