Exploring sustainable Food-related Lifestyles in Youth: Dynamics, interplay and changes of capabilities, opportunities, motivation 

The present-day food system is a key driver of climate change and the decline of biodiversity, while also being a leading cause of morbidity and mortality due to health-related sustainability. The aim of the FLY (Food-related Lifestyles in Youth) project is to study how sustainable food-related lifestyles and underlying factors develop in early adolescence, particularly in youth from lower socio-economic positions, and how these spread in social networks. The FLY-project builds on the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model. The COM-B model proposes that behaviour is not only shaped by motivation (e.g., willingness, attitude), but also by people's capabilities (e.g., knowledge, self-efficacy) and opportunities (e.g., food environment and media environment). Applying this model is particularly relevant when studying youth in practical education because the necessary capabilities and opportunities to transition to more SFrL are likely distributed unequally across socio-economic groups. Furthermore, social networks play a crucial role in shaping behaviour and are fundamental for sharing knowledge, norms, values, and behaviours through social influence processes such as imitation, modelling, and conformity. The FLY-project zooms in on the role of social networks in the SFrL transition by studying how capabilities, opportunities, motivation and behaviour spread through networks of young people. 

A systematic review studies how capabilities, opportunities and motivation (COM-B) are associated with sustainable food behaviours in youth, and how they interrelate in determining sustainable food-related lifestyles (SFrL). Focus groups are conducted to explore the barriers and facilitators with respect to capabilities, opportunities, and motivations that youth with practical-level education experience to transition to more SFrL. Subsequently, a cohort survey study is conducted to track the dynamic interplay between capabilities, opportunities and motivation cross-sectionally and longitudinally, studying changes in specific sustainable food behaviours over time. As participants are nested in friend groups, which are nested in school classes, which in turn are nested in schools, multilevel analyses are conducted. Furthermore, social networks (including in-school, out-of-school, and social media environments) are mapped, showing how respondents are embedded within networks and identifying central group members within school classes. The development of social networks over time is also investigated. Combined with another research project from the FLY-project studying community-level intervention strategies, a multi-component intervention toolkit is developed. 

The mixed-method approach and innovative use of the COM-B model ensures a rich and in-depth understanding of the barriers and facilitators of the SFrL transition in youth and facilitate the development of effective interventions strategies. The project has the potential to empower young people to become agents of change in their communities and contribute to systemic change in the food system. By producing a multi-component toolkit for community-level interventions, the project can potentially influence young people with practical-educational backgrounds at a national level.