scholarly journals A Systematic Review on Socioeconomic Differences in the Association between the Food Environment and Dietary Behaviors

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joreintje D. Mackenbach ◽  
Kyra G. M. Nelissen ◽  
S. Coosje Dijkstra ◽  
Maartje P. Poelman ◽  
Joost G. Daams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Dietary Behavior ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
Socioeconomic Differences ◽  
School Food ◽  
Food Stores ◽  
Adolescents And Adults ◽  
School Food Environment ◽  
Objectively Measured

Little is known about socioeconomic differences in the association between the food environment and dietary behavior. We systematically reviewed four databases for original studies conducted in adolescents and adults. Food environments were defined as all objective and perceived aspects of the physical and economic food environment outside the home. The 43 included studies were diverse in the measures used to define the food environment, socioeconomic position (SEP) and dietary behavior, as well as in their results. Based on studies investigating the economic (n = 6) and school food environment (n = 4), somewhat consistent evidence suggests that low SEP individuals are more responsive to changes in food prices and benefit more from healthy options in the school food environment. Evidence for different effects of availability of foods and objectively measured access, proximity and quality of food stores on dietary behavior across SEP groups was inconsistent. In conclusion, there was no clear evidence for socioeconomic differences in the association between food environments and dietary behavior, although a limited number of studies focusing on economic and school food environments generally observed stronger associations in low SEP populations. (Prospero registration: CRD42017073587)

Food procurement in English-language Canadian public schools: Opportunities and challenges

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-99
Author(s):  
Shawna Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
English Language ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
School Food ◽  
Provincial Level ◽  
School Food Environment

This paper examines the changes to procurement for school food environments in Canada as a response to changes to nutrition regulations at the provincial level. Interviews with those working in school food environments across Canada revealed how changes to the nutrition requirements of foods and beverages sold in schools presented opportunities to not only improve the nutrient content of the items made available in school food environments, but also to include local producers and/or school gardens in procuring for the school food environment. At the same time, some schools struggle to procure nutritionally compliant foods due to increased costs associated with transporting produce to rural, remote, or northern communities as well as logistic difficulties like spoilage. Although the nutrition regulations have facilitated improvements to food environments in some schools, others require more support to improve the overall nutritional quality of the foods and beverages available to students at school.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic Differences in the Association Between Competitive Food Laws and the School Food Environment

2015 ◽  
Vol 85 (9) ◽  
pp. 578-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Taber ◽  
Jamie F. Chriqui ◽  
Lisa M. Powell ◽  
Frank M. Perna ◽  
Whitney R. Robinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Socioeconomic Differences ◽  
School Food ◽  
School Food Environment

scholarly journals ‘It’s Hard to Make Good Choices and It Costs More’: Adolescents’ Perception of the External School Food Environment

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1043
Author(s):  
Colette Kelly ◽  
Mary Callaghan ◽  
Saoirse Nic Gabhainn
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Food Choice ◽  
Discussion Groups ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
School Food ◽  
Price Discounts ◽  
Food Outlets ◽  
School Food Environment ◽  
The Impact

Research on the impact of school and community food environments on adolescent food choice is heavily reliant on objective rather than subjective measures of food outlets around schools and homes. Gaining the perspective of adolescents and how they perceive and use food environments is needed. The aim of this study was to explore adolescent’s perception and use of the food environment surrounding their schools. Purposive sampling was used to recruit schools. Mapping exercises and discussion groups were facilitated with 95 adolescents from six schools. Thematic analysis showed that adolescents are not loyal to particular shops but are attracted to outlets with price discounts, those with ‘deli’ counters and sweets. Cost, convenience and choice are key factors influencing preference for food outlets and foods. Quality, variety and health were important factors for adolescents but these features, especially affordable healthy food, were hard to find. Social factors such as spending time with friends is also an important feature of food environments that deserves further attention. Adolescents’ perceptions of their food environment provide insights into features that can be manipulated to enable healthy choices.

scholarly journals Disparities in the Healthfulness of School Food Environments and the Nutritional Quality of School Lunches

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2375
Author(s):  
Sarah Bardin ◽  
Liana Washburn ◽  
Elizabeth Gearan
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Ethnic Composition ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
School Lunches ◽  
School Food ◽  
Competitive Foods ◽  
School Food Environment ◽  
Racial Ethnic

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), a public law in the United States passed in 2010, sought to improve the healthfulness of the school food environment by requiring updated nutrition standards for school meals and competitive foods. Studies conducted since the passage of the HHFKA indicate improvements in the food environment overall, but few studies have examined whether these improvements varied by the socioeconomic and racial/ethnic composition of students in schools. To better understand the extent of disparities in the school food environment after HHFKA, this paper examined differences in the healthfulness of school food environments and the nutritional quality of school lunches by the school poverty level and racial/ethnic composition of students using data from the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study. Results from chi-square analyses showed lower proportions of high poverty, majority black, and majority Hispanic schools had access to competitive foods, while higher proportions of these schools had a school wellness policy in addition to a district wellness policy. The overall nutritional quality of school lunches, as measured by total Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2010 scores, did not vary significantly across school types, although some HEI component scores did. From these findings, we concluded that there were disparities in the school food environment based on the socioeconomic and racial/ethnic composition of students in schools, but no significant disparities in the overall nutritional quality of school lunches were found.

scholarly journals Associations between School Food Environments, Body Mass Index and Dietary Intakes among Regional School Students in Victoria, Australia: A Cross-Sectional Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (16) ◽  
pp. 2916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Alston ◽  
Nicholas Crooks ◽  
Claudia Strugnell ◽  
Liliana Orellana ◽  
Steven Allender ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Dietary Intake ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
Dietary Intakes ◽  
Healthy Weight ◽  
School Students ◽  
School Food ◽  
School Food Environment ◽  
The Relationship

(1) Background: Childhood overweight and obesity is a significant and preventable problem worldwide. School environments have been suggested to be plausible targets for interventions seeking to improve the quality of children’s dietary intake. The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which the current characteristics of the school food environment were associated with primary school students’ dietary intake and Body Mass Index (BMI) z scores in a representative sample in regional Victoria. (2) Methods: This study included 53 schools, comprising a sample of 3,496 students in year levels two (aged 7–8 years), four (9–10 years) and six (11–12 years). Year four and six students completed dietary questionnaires. Principals from each school completed a survey on school food environment characteristics. Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between students’ dietary intake and school food environment scores, controlling for confounders such as socio-economic status, school size and sex. Food environment scores were also analysed against the odds of being healthy weight (defined as normal BMI z score). (3) Results: Mixed associations were found for the relationship between students’ dietary intake and food environment scores. Meeting the guidelines for vegetable intake was not associated with food environment scores, but students were more likely (OR: 1.68 95% CI 1.26, 2.24) to meet the guidelines if they attended a large school (>300 enrolments) and were female (OR: 1.28 95% CI: 1.02, 1.59). Healthy weight was not associated with school food environment scores, but being a healthy weight was significantly associated with less disadvantage (OR: 1.24 95% CI 1.05, 1.45). Conclusion: In this study, the measured characteristics of school food environments did not have strong associations with dietary intakes or BMI among students.

scholarly journals Is the school food environment conducive to healthy eating in poorly resourced South African schools?

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1214-1223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mieke Faber ◽  
Sunette Laurie ◽  
Mamokhele Maduna ◽  
Thokozile Magudulela ◽  
Ellen Muehlhoff
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
School Food ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
School Feeding ◽  
Large Scope ◽  
School Food Environment

AbstractObjectiveTo assess the school food environment in terms of breakfast consumption, school meals, learners’ lunch box, school vending and classroom activities related to nutrition.DesignCross-sectional survey.SettingNinety purposively selected poorly resourced schools in South Africa.SubjectsQuestionnaires were completed by school principals (n 85), school feeding coordinators (n 77), food handlers (n 84), educators (n 687), randomly selected grade 5 to 7 learners (n 2547) and a convenience sample of parents (n 731). The school menu (n 75), meal served on the survey day, and foods at tuck shops and food vendors (n 74) were recorded.ResultsTwenty-two per cent of learners had not eaten breakfast; 24 % brought a lunch box, mostly with bread. Vegetables (61 %) were more often on the school menu than fruit (28 %) and were served in 41 % of schools on the survey day compared with 4 % serving fruit. Fifty-seven per cent of learners brought money to school. Parents advised learners to buy fruit (37 %) and healthy foods (23 %). Tuck shops and vendors sold mostly unhealthy foods. Lack of money/poverty (74 %) and high food prices (68 %) were major challenges for healthy eating. Most (83 %) educators showed interest in nutrition, but only 15 % had received training in nutrition. Eighty-one per cent of educators taught nutrition as part of school subjects.ConclusionsThe school food environment has large scope for improvement towards promoting healthy eating. This includes increasing access to vegetables and fruit, encouraging learners to carry a healthy lunch box, and regulating foods sold through tuck shops and food vendors.

scholarly journals Beyond Health & Nutrition: Re-framing school food programs through integrated food pedagogies

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-71
Author(s):  
Barbara Parker ◽  
Mario Koeppel
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Food Access ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
School Food ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Food Literacy ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
School Food Environment ◽  
K 12

In this paper, we present findings from a community-based research project on school food environments in 50 elementary and high schools in a mid-sized city in Ontario, Canada. Our findings highlight that schools' privilege five intersecting domains in the school food environment: 1) health and nutrition; 2) food access; 3) education and food literacy; 4) environment and sustainability; and 5) the socio-cultural aspects of food. These results illustrate that the dominant discourses about school food mainly revolve around health, nutrition and food access, yet many of the K-12 principals also identified food literacy and learning about sustainable food systems and the environment, in addition to the relational or socio-cultural aspects of foods as important elements of their school food environments. This integrative approach to food extends our understanding of food beyond charity, and opens up conversations about food as a human right. Ouranalysis shows the need to go beyond a health or nutrition school food program and consider integrative food pedagogies which will promote social and environmental food justice in the school food environment.

The effect of changes to the school food environment on eating behaviours and/or body weight in children: A systematic review

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine E. Driessen ◽  
Adrian J. Cameron ◽  
Lukar E. Thornton ◽  
Samuel K. Lai ◽  
Lisa M. Barnett
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Eating Behaviours ◽  
School Food ◽  
School Food Environment
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document