Does Better School adaptability Lead to Healthier Eating Behaviors?

The obesity risks associated with unhealthy diets and the critical role of early-life health interventions highlight the urgence to promote adolescents’ health eating behaviors. While prior researches largely focus on internal family influences, this paper examines the impact of school adaptability as an external family factor on adolescents’ eating behaviors. Using data from the China’s Database of Youth Health (DYH), we find that higher school adaptability significantly promotes healthier diets among adolescents, with particularly notable effects for rural and boarding students. Mechanism analysis reveals that school adaptability promotes adolescents’ health eating behaviors through emotion, eating habits, and media exposure. These findings offer a new perspective on enhancing adolescents’ dietary equality through school adaptability improvement.