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This study therefore explored girls\u2019 experiences and perceptions of healthy eating education and its impact on diet and body image. Forty girls aged 16\u201318 completed a qualitative survey, and data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were constructed: \u2018Good Food, Bad Food\u2019, reflecting perceptions of rigid food messaging; \u2018Moral Narratives in Health and Diet\u2019, highlighting perceptions that eating was framed as a matter of morality; \u2018The Healthy Eating Disconnect\u2019, capturing tensions between school guidance and structural barriers; and \u2018Modernising the Curriculum\u2019, reflecting calls for education on body image and eating disorders. Findings suggest healthy eating education may contribute to eating disorder risk, with benefits limited by structural barriers and insufficient attention to pupils\u2019 needs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/13591053261477741","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,22]],"date-time":"2026-08-22T09:35:31Z","timestamp":1787391331000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The impact of school-based healthy eating education on adolescent girls\u2019 diet and body image: A reflexive thematic analysis"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-2998-4768","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hannah","family":"Brighty","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Bath, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2256-6534","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jasmin","family":"Langdon-Daly","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Bath, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ahmad A Little M Piernas C et al. 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