Healthy food choices among youngsters

The Hague University of Applies Sciences researched how to stimulate healthy food choices among young secondary shool students by leveraging social norms, together with Codename Future and Waag.

Companies from the creative industry recognise a demand among clients from the MBO education to respond to the eating habits of young people within the context of the citizenship theme. Current teaching materials seem inadequate to stimulate healthy food choices in this target group. Creative entrepreneurs have insufficient knowledge of the causes of these unhealthy food choices and ways to stimulate healthy food choices among young people. However, this knowledge is needed to develop effective applications for their clients from the MBO education. They have asked the lectorate ‘Healthy Lifestyle in a Stimulating Environment’ of The Hague University of Applies Sciences what could work.

This research project focused on the question of how to apply a social standard in an appealing way to encourage young people to make healthy food choices. The outcome of the project was a paper prototype of a digital intervention to stimulate healthy eating behaviour among MBO students, taking social standards into account.