School Food Environment Promotion Program: Applying the Socio-ecological Approach

Background Despite of healthy nutrition recommendations have been offered in recent decades, researches show an increasing rate of unhealthy junk food consumption among primary school children. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of health promotion intervention on the school food b...

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Main Authors: Fatemeh Bakhtari Aghdam, Heidar Nadrian, Malihe Sheikhsamani, Mohammad Asghari Jafarabadi, Hamed Rezakhani moghaddam, Mahdieh Abasalizad Farhangi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences 2018-01-01
Series:International Journal of Pediatrics
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ijp.mums.ac.ir/article_8776_0cf19c441ac0d79ca6c370728eef824e.pdf
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author Fatemeh Bakhtari Aghdam
Heidar Nadrian
Malihe Sheikhsamani
Mohammad Asghari Jafarabadi
Hamed Rezakhani moghaddam
Mahdieh Abasalizad Farhangi
author_facet Fatemeh Bakhtari Aghdam
Heidar Nadrian
Malihe Sheikhsamani
Mohammad Asghari Jafarabadi
Hamed Rezakhani moghaddam
Mahdieh Abasalizad Farhangi
author_sort Fatemeh Bakhtari Aghdam
collection DOAJ
description Background Despite of healthy nutrition recommendations have been offered in recent decades, researches show an increasing rate of unhealthy junk food consumption among primary school children. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of health promotion intervention on the school food buffets and the changes in nutritional behaviors of the students. Materials and Methods In this Quasi-interventional study, eight schools agreed to participate in Tabriz city, Iran. The schools were randomly selected and divided into an intervention and a control group, and a pretest was given to both groups. A four weeks interventional program was conducted in eight randomly selected schools of the city based on the socio-ecological model. A check list was designed for the assessment of food items available at the schools’ buffets, a 60-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess the rate of food consumption and energy intake. Results evaluation and practice were analyzed using the Wilcoxon, Mann Whitney-U and Chi-square tests. Results The findings revealed reduction in the intervention group between before and after intervention with regard the range of junk food consumption, except for the sweets consumption. The number of junk foods provided in the schools buffets reduced in the intervention group. After the intervention on the intervention group significant decreases were found in the intake of energy, fat and saturated fatty acids compared to the control group (p = 0.00).   Conclusion In order to design effective school food environment promotion programs, school healthcare providers should consider multifaceted approaches.
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spelling doaj.art-fb443eb5dca34a22a6fd9c321dd41de72022-12-22T04:00:32ZengMashhad University of Medical SciencesInternational Journal of Pediatrics2345-50472345-50552018-01-01616878689010.22038/ijp.2017.23870.20188776School Food Environment Promotion Program: Applying the Socio-ecological ApproachFatemeh Bakhtari Aghdam0Heidar Nadrian1Malihe Sheikhsamani2Mohammad Asghari Jafarabadi3Hamed Rezakhani moghaddam4Mahdieh Abasalizad Farhangi5Assistant Professor in Health Education and Promotion, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Tabriz, Iran.Assistant Professor in Health Education and Promotion, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Tabriz, Iran.MSc Health Education and Health Promotion, Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, School of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.Road Traffic Injury Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.PhD Candidate of Health Education and Health Promotion, Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, School of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IranAssistant Professor of Nutrition, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.Background Despite of healthy nutrition recommendations have been offered in recent decades, researches show an increasing rate of unhealthy junk food consumption among primary school children. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of health promotion intervention on the school food buffets and the changes in nutritional behaviors of the students. Materials and Methods In this Quasi-interventional study, eight schools agreed to participate in Tabriz city, Iran. The schools were randomly selected and divided into an intervention and a control group, and a pretest was given to both groups. A four weeks interventional program was conducted in eight randomly selected schools of the city based on the socio-ecological model. A check list was designed for the assessment of food items available at the schools’ buffets, a 60-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess the rate of food consumption and energy intake. Results evaluation and practice were analyzed using the Wilcoxon, Mann Whitney-U and Chi-square tests. Results The findings revealed reduction in the intervention group between before and after intervention with regard the range of junk food consumption, except for the sweets consumption. The number of junk foods provided in the schools buffets reduced in the intervention group. After the intervention on the intervention group significant decreases were found in the intake of energy, fat and saturated fatty acids compared to the control group (p = 0.00).   Conclusion In order to design effective school food environment promotion programs, school healthcare providers should consider multifaceted approaches.http://ijp.mums.ac.ir/article_8776_0cf19c441ac0d79ca6c370728eef824e.pdfHealthy eatingschool healthStudentsSnacks
spellingShingle Fatemeh Bakhtari Aghdam
Heidar Nadrian
Malihe Sheikhsamani
Mohammad Asghari Jafarabadi
Hamed Rezakhani moghaddam
Mahdieh Abasalizad Farhangi
School Food Environment Promotion Program: Applying the Socio-ecological Approach
International Journal of Pediatrics
Healthy eating
school health
Students
Snacks
title School Food Environment Promotion Program: Applying the Socio-ecological Approach
title_full School Food Environment Promotion Program: Applying the Socio-ecological Approach
title_fullStr School Food Environment Promotion Program: Applying the Socio-ecological Approach
title_full_unstemmed School Food Environment Promotion Program: Applying the Socio-ecological Approach
title_short School Food Environment Promotion Program: Applying the Socio-ecological Approach
title_sort school food environment promotion program applying the socio ecological approach
topic Healthy eating
school health
Students
Snacks
url http://ijp.mums.ac.ir/article_8776_0cf19c441ac0d79ca6c370728eef824e.pdf
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