Food and beverage promotions in Vancouver schools: A study of the prevalence and characteristics of in-school advertising, messaging, and signage

The purpose of this study was to provide a descriptive profile of food-related advertising, messaging, and signage in Vancouver schools and to examine differences in the prevalence and characteristics of promotions between elementary and secondary schools. All food-related promotions were photographed in 23 diverse Vancouver public schools between November 2012 and April 2013. Key attributes, including the location, size, and main purpose of each promotion, as well as the type of food and/or beverage advertised and compliance with provincial school nutrition guidelines, were coded. Descriptive statistics assessed the prevalence and characteristics of promotions. Cross-tabulations examined whether the promotional landscape differed between elementary and secondary schools. All secondary and 80% of elementary schools contained food or beverage promotions (median = 17, range = 0–57 promotions per school). Of the 493 promotions documented, approximately 25% depicted “choose least” or “not recommended” items, prohibited for sale by provincial school nutrition guidelines. Nearly 1/3 of promotions advertised commercial items (e.g., brand name beverages such as Pepsi), in violation of the Board of Education's advertising policies and only 13% conveyed nutrition education messages. Close to half of all promotions were created by students for class projects, many of which marketed minimally nutritious items. In Vancouver schools, food-related promotions are common and are more prevalent in secondary than elementary schools. Students are regularly exposed to messaging for nutritionally poor items that are not in compliance with provincial school nutrition guidelines and which violate school board advertising policies. Stronger oversight of food-related promotional materials is needed to ensure that schools provide health promoting food environments

Food and Beverage Marketing in Schools: A Review of the Evidence

Despite growing interest from government agencies, non-governmental organizations and school boards in restricting or regulating unhealthy food and beverage marketing to children, limited research has examined the emerging knowledge base regarding school-based food and beverage marketing in high-income countries. This review examined current approaches for measuring school food and beverage marketing practices, and evidence regarding the extent of exposure and hypothesized associations with children’s diet-related outcomes. Five databases (MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, Embase, and PsycINFO) and six grey literature sources were searched for papers that explicitly examined school-based food and beverage marketing policies or practices. Twenty-seven papers, across four high-income countries including Canada (n = 2), Ireland (n = 1), Poland (n = 1) and United States (n = 23) were identified and reviewed. Results showed that three main methodological approaches have been used: direct observation, self-report surveys, and in-person/telephone interviews, but few studies reported on the validity or reliability of measures. Findings suggest that students in the U.S. are commonly exposed to a broad array of food and beverage marketing approaches including direct and indirect advertising, although the extent of exposure varies widely across studies. More pervasive marketing exposure was found among secondary or high schools compared with elementary/middle schools and among schools with lower compared with higher socio-economic status. Three of five studies examining diet-related outcomes found that exposure to school-based food and beverage marketing was associated with food purchasing or consumption, particularly for minimally nutritious items. There remains a need for a core set of standard and universal measures that are sufficiently rigorous and comprehensive to assess the totality of school food and beverage marketing practices that can be used to compare exposure between study contexts and over time. Future research should examine the validity of school food and beverage marketing assessments and the impacts of exposure (and emerging policies that reduce exposure) on children’s purchasing and diet-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviors in school settings.Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofNon UBCReviewedFacult

Associations between socio-economic status and school-day dietary intake in a sample of grade 5–8 students in Vancouver, Canada

Objective: To examine associations between students’ socio-economic status (SES) and school-day dietary intake, and the roles of parents and peers in shaping these associations. Design: A cross-sectional survey measured school-day intake of vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk, packaged snack foods and sugar-sweetened beverages. Logistic regression models examined associations between SES (parental education and food insecurity status) and dietary outcomes during or en route to or from school, and examined whether peer modelling or parental norms potentially mediated the associations between SES and dietary outcomes. Setting: Twenty-six public schools in Vancouver, Canada in 2012. Subjects: Nine hundred and fifty students in grades 5–8. Results: Students whose parents completed some college, compared with those completing high school or less, were significantly more likely to consume vegetables daily (unadjusted OR = 1⋅85; 95 % CI 1⋅06, 3⋅22) and students whose parents completed college or university were significantly less likely to consume sugarsweetened beverages daily (unadjusted OR = 0⋅67; 95 % CI 0⋅47, 0⋅94). Food secure students were also significantly less likely to consume sugar-sweetened beverages daily compared with food insecure students (unadjusted OR = 0⋅52; 95 % CI 0⋅29, 0⋅92). Parental norms, but not peer modelling, emerged as a potential mediator of the association between SES and vegetable intake. SES was not significantly associated with the remaining dietary outcomes. Conclusions: Higher SES was significantly associated with two of five school-day dietary outcomes and predicted higher likelihood of daily nutritious food choices at school. The study suggests that there is room for improvement in school-day dietary quality for students from all SES backgrounds in Vancouver.Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofReviewedFacultyGraduat

A Comparison of Dietary Practices At or En Route to School between Elementary and Secondary School Students in Vancouver, Canada

Background: There is evidence that dietary quality declines as children age in North America, but few studies have explored whether food environment exposures in secondary schools as opposed to elementary schools are associated with changes in students’ school-day food choices. Methods: This study examined differences in dietary practices (at or en route to and/or from school) between students in their last years of elementary school (grades 5-7) and first year of secondary school (grade 8) in Vancouver, Canada, controlling for socio-demographic characteristics and school-level socio-economic status. Demographic characteristics and dietary data were collected through a cross-sectional survey (n=950 from 26 schools) and combined with school-level socioeconomic data derived from the 2006 Canadian Census. Results: Multi-level logistic regression analyses indicated that secondary school students were significantly more likely to report daily consumption of fast foods (Odds Ratio (OR)=1.92; 95% Confidence Interval (CI)=1.18-3.12) and minimally nutritious packaged snacks (e.g., candy or chocolate bars) (OR=1.60; CI=1.05-2.45), and to report regular purchases from off-campus retailers (OR=1.63; CI=1.10-2.42). Gender, food insecurity, lower acculturation to Canada, and access to more weekly spending money were associated with nutritionally-poor practices. Students attending schools drawing from lower income neighborhoods were also significantly more likely to consume fast foods and packaged snacks daily. The majority of students sampled did not report consuming healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables daily at or en route to and/or from school. Intake of fruit, vegetables and low fat milk did not differ significantly between elementary and secondary school students. Conclusions: Findings suggest that research and intervention strategies should address modifiable school-level exposures and policies to improve dietary practices for both elementary and secondary school-aged youth, while at the same time, addressing socio-cultural factors associated with eating behavior.Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofNon UBCReviewedFacult

Food and beverage marketing in primary and secondary schools in Canada

Abstract Background Unhealthy food marketing is considered a contributor to childhood obesity. In Canada, food marketing in schools is mostly self-regulated by industry though it is sometimes restricted through provincial school policies. The purpose of this study was to document the type of food marketing activities occurring in Canadian schools and examine differences by school characteristics. Methods An online survey was sent to public primary and secondary schools from 27 school boards in Ontario, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia and was completed by 154 Principals in spring 2016. This survey queried the type of food marketing occurring in schools including advertisements, food product displays, fundraising, exclusive marketing agreements, and incentive programs, among others. The occurrence of food marketing was described using frequencies, medians, and ranges. Chi-square and Fisher Exact tests were conducted to assess school-level differences in the frequency of marketing activities by school type (primary versus secondary), province (Ontario versus British Columbia), and the socio-economic status of most students (low versus middle/high income). The significance level was set at α < 0.05 for all tests. Results Overall, 84% of schools reported at least one type of food marketing and the median number of distinct types of marketing per school was 1 (range 0–6). The most frequently reported forms of marketing were the sale of branded food, particularly chocolate, pizza, and other fast food, for fundraising (64% of schools); food advertisements on school property (26%), and participation in incentive programs (18%). Primary schools (n = 108) were more likely to report participating in incentive programs (25%) and selling branded food items (72%) compared to secondary schools (n = 46; 2 and 43% respectively; p < 0.01). Conversely, secondary schools were more likely to report food advertising on school property (56%), exclusive marketing arrangements with food companies (43%), and food product displays (19%) than primary schools (13, 5 and 2%, respectively; p < 0.01). Conclusion The presence of food marketing in most participating schools suggests that the current patchwork of policies that restrict food marketing in Canadian schools is inadequate. Comprehensive restrictions should be mandated by government in both primary and secondary schools to protect children and youth from this marketing

Sustainability and Public Health Nutrition at school : assessing the integration of healthy and environmentally sustainable food initiatives in Vancouver Schools

Objective: To describe the development and application of the School Food Environment Assessment Tools and a novel scoring system to assess the integration of healthy and environmentally sustainable food initiatives in elementary and secondary schools. Design: This cross-sectional study included direct observations of physical food environments and interviews with key school personnel regarding food-related programs and policies. A five-point scoring system was then developed to assess actions across six domains: 1) food gardens 2) composting systems 3) food preparation activities 4) food-related teaching and learning activities, and availability of 5) healthy food and 6) environmentally sustainable food. Setting: Vancouver, Canada Subjects: A purposive sample of public schools (n=33), from all six sectors of the Vancouver Board of Education. Results: Schools scored highest in the areas of food garden and compost system development and use. Regular integration of food-related teaching and learning activities and hands-on food preparation experiences were also commonly reported. Most schools demonstrated rudimentary efforts to make healthy and environmentally sustainable food choices available, but in general, scored lowest on these two domains. Moreover, no schools reported widespread initiatives fully supporting availability or integration of healthy or environmentally sustainable food across campus. Conclusions: More work is needed in all areas to fully integrate programs and policies that support healthy, environmentally sustainable food systems in Vancouver schools. The assessment tools and proposed indicators offer a practical approach for researchers, policy makers and school stakeholders to assess school food system environments, identify priority areas for intervention and track relevant changes over time.Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofNon UBCReviewedFacult