Table 1 Key Influences on Eating in Adolescents Ages 15–17 years (n = 14) in Periurban Lima, Peru

Individual

‘My friends don’t want to eat because they want to stay in shape; they don’t want to eat beans because they make them gain weight.’

‘Some friends don’t eat well because they don’t have a family, home, or money.’

‘Some friends don’t have money or they are alone, depressed and don’t want to eat.’

Social environmental

‘My grandmother and my mother tell me what is good for my health; I should stop eating the junk food that I buy on the street and eat fruit. I shouldn’t drink a lot of soda, and should drink water instead.’

‘During break at school, my classmates and I share a liter of soda and crackers.’

Physical environmental

‘Sometimes I bring fruit from home for the school break, and sometimes I buy chips.’

‘I buy my snack at school; there is a lady who prepares things like chicken with rice, fried rice, chicken soup, apple juice, oatmeal, and hot chocolate with milk.’

‘In the afternoon, when I’m out, I buy things like crackers, chips and soda.’

Macrosystem

‘I looked up information about a food I had never seen in Wikipedia. I believed the information, as Wikipedia is a credible source.’

‘I used Google to find information about bulimia, anorexia, and the food pyramid. With anorexia, you become thin and die little by little; it is contagious. I believed this because it was the same information my teacher presented.’