The influence of peers' and siblings' on children's and adolescents' healthy eating behavior. A systematic literature review

Abstract

Objective: Peers and siblings are considered an important influence on children's and adolescents' food choice. However, there is a lack of studies examining how peer and sibling impact is related to children's and adolescents' eating behavior. The purpose of this study was to analyze peers' and siblings' impact on children's and adolescents' healthy eating behavior identified from a literature review, summarize the results, and discuss potential social factors that may predict these associations.

Method: A systematic literature review.

Results: Findings of the systematic literature review show that peers, and to a lesser extent siblings' influence on children's and adolescents' healthy eating behavior more often is negative than positive, although in some studies, no significant effect was found. However, empirical research of which social factors related to relationships with siblings and peers may explain and predict peers' and siblings' influence on children's and adolescents' healthy eating behavior is limited.

Conclusions: Peers' influence on children's and adolescents' healthy eating behavior is often found to be negative by the increase in consumption of energy-dense and low-nutrition value foods. However, in some cases, this influence can also be a positive one, and there is a need to find effective ways of how it could be used in encouraging healthy eating behavior of children and adolescents. Studies exploring siblings' impact on children's and adolescents' eating behavior are scarce. In addition, factors related to social interaction that may explain peers' and siblings' influence on children's and adolescents' healthy eating behavior are ambiguous. Therefore, more research in this area is needed.

Keywords: Adolescents; Children; Friend; Healthy eating; Peer; Sibling; Social influence; Social norms.