The research question being studied is “Does diet culture affect the eating habits and perceptions of food in American teenagers aged 13-18?”. This question has been developed to gain a new understanding of this topic. There is very little information on how diet culture affects teenagers specifically; this research paper will close that gap, using different studies and data. First, the paper gives background knowledge on the different topics being discussed: diet culture, eating disorders, body image, nutritional knowledge, and different American diets. Then, it delves deeper into different studies already done about these general topics, and it suggests ways in which they are all connected, backing it up with evidence. Then it proposes the new research that relates to teenagers specifically, which bridges that gap in evidence that was there before. Finally, the paper explains the conclusion, discussing the final results and data. It answers the research question in a way that hasn’t been done before. It talks about how diet culture does, in fact, affect how teenagers view themselves and food, but it also talks about other factors that can contribute to adolescent diets, such as nutritional knowledge, income, and home and school environment.
Research Paper by Sandhya Kumar. Grade 11, Broward, FL