“I Eat to be Happy, to Be Strong, and to Live.” Perceptions of Rural and Urban Adolescents in Cameroon, Africa

ObjectiveTo investigate factors influencing rural and urban adolescents’ food perceptions during a time of nutritional transition in Cameroon, Africa.DesignQualitative in-depth interviews.SettingsYaoundé urban and Bandja rural areas.ParticipantsFifteen adolescents 12 to 15 years old purposely selected from schools in urban and rural areas.AnalysisInterviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using Grounded Theory method.FindingsFactors influencing adolescents’ food perceptions from the rural area were “to live” “health” and “poverty.” Among adolescents from the urban poor area, “health,” “beauty,” and “not enough money” were factors. Among adolescents from the urban rich area, “pleasure” and “beauty” were factors. Rural girls liked “to be fat,” whereas girls from the urban poor wanted “to be a little bit fat,” and girls from the urban rich wanted “to be normal.”Conclusions and ImplicationsFood behavior is changing from a diet composed of traditional food in rural areas to a more westernized diet in urban areas. The relationship between socioeconomic factors and nutrition needs to be examined with a sufficiently large number of adolescents to investigate these factors in a quantitative survey. Healthful local food should be available at home and from vendors. Nutrition education about food and diet-related diseases is needed in school.