Are closed campus policies associated with adolescent eating behaviours?

Understanding Free or Reduced-Price School Meal Stigma: A Qualitative Analysis of Parent Perspectives

BACKGROUND

Receiving free or reduced-price meals (FRPM) at school benefits resource-constrained families financially and nutritionally. However, many families in the United States do not apply for FRPM, and many eligible students do not eat school meals, possibly due to stigma.

METHODS

This study is a secondary qualitative analysis derived from a mixed-methods study. Interviews were conducted with 66 parents in California and Maine during the 2021-2022 school year when school meals were free for all students nationwide through a universal free school meals (UFSM) policy. Approximately half (56%) of parents had children who previously qualified for FRPM based on household income and completed a school meal application or were directly certified for free school meals in prior school years. Interviews examined parents' self-reported FRPM application stigma, perceived child school meal stigma, and opinions on UFSM. Thematic analysis was used to systematically code and analyze all qualitative data.

RESULTS

Major themes included parent stigma associated with school meal applications, parents' perception of child stigma when participating in school meals, and UFSM's ability to reduce stigma for parents and children.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL HEALTH POLICY, PRACTICE, AND EQUITY

Statewide and federal UFSM policies may reduce stigma for both parents and children.

CONCLUSIONS

While not all parents reported feeling stigmatized when completing FRPM applications, most parents perceived that children experience school meal stigma. Parents believed that UFSM policies reduced stigma for families and children.

Promoting healthy school food environments and nutrition in Canada: a systematic review of interventions, policies, and programs

CONTEXT

The school food environment is a critical interface for child and adolescent nutrition, and there is a need to understand existing literature on Canadian school food environments to identify equity gaps and opportunities, and empower decision-makers to plan for future action.

OBJECTIVE

Literature on Canadian school food and nutrition interventions, policies, programs, and their effects on diets and nutritional status are synthesized and appraised in this systematic review.

DATA SOURCES

A search strategy was developed for each database used (Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC, Cochrane Collaboration, Canadian Electronic Library, BiblioMap), with a combination of free text and controlled vocabulary, for articles published from 1990 to 2021. Unpublished data and grey literature were also searched.

DATA EXTRACTION

Quantitative and qualitative studies with an observational or intervention study design, reviews, or program evaluations conducted in Canadian schools with participants aged 5-19.9 years were included. Key study characteristics and risk of bias were extracted independently by 2 investigators using a standardized tool.

DATA ANALYSIS

A total of 298 articles were included (n = 192 peer reviewed and 106 from the grey literature), which were mostly conducted in Ontario (n = 52), British Columbia (n = 43), and Nova Scotia (n = 28). Twenty-four interventions, 5 nonevaluated programs, and 1 policy involved Indigenous populations. Overall, 86 articles measured and reported on effectiveness outcomes, including dietary intake; anthropometry; knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and physical activity. The literature remains largely heterogenous and primarily focused on nutrition education programs that use subjective assessments to infer changes in nutrition. A key facilitator to implementation and sustainability was community engagement, whereas key barriers were staff capacity, access to resources and funding, and consistent leadership.

CONCLUSIONS

This review provides insight into Canadian school food and nutrition interventions, programs, and policies and uncovers important evidence gaps that require careful examination for future evaluations. Governments must create supportive environments that optimize nutrition for children and adolescents through equitable policies and programs.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO registration no. CRD42022303255.

Effects of Sports Drinks on Weight Loss Control and Lipid Metabolism in Overweight Students

In order to explore how sports drinks can achieve weight loss control and lipid metabolism in college students, the author proposes an experiment based on weight loss control and lipid metabolism in college students. This experiment recommends key technical problems and solutions based on information represented by college students’ weight loss control, a study exploring how sports drinks can achieve weight loss control in college students. Research has shown that Jupu sports drink is more suitable than 87% of sports drinks on the market for college students to lose weight. Sports drinks have a positive effect on maintaining a high blood sugar level during exercise and have a certain antifatigue effect in mass fitness. Jupu sports drink not only has the effect of other sports drinks but also has a certain effect on weight loss control.

Culture of Healthy Eating and Food Environments, Policies, and Practices in Regional New Zealand Schools

The school food environment plays an important role in shaping students' dietary choices, which often influence future dietary behaviours. We surveyed primary and secondary schools in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, to measure the comprehensiveness and strength of food policies, describe the culture of food provision, and identify barriers to improving school food environments. Fifty-one schools were included in the final analysis, with 58.8% having a food policy, most of which used a generic template. Schools with food policies and those participating in the free and healthy lunch programme were more likely to have a strong culture around healthy eating. Common barriers to healthy eating were food outlets near school and resistance from students. Secondary schools reported facing more barriers to implementing healthy eating cultures, were more likely to use food as classroom rewards and to sell food to students, most of which was unhealthy. Hawke's Bay schools participating in food provision programmes are successfully improving their food environments through improved culture and delivery of healthy food; however, more action is needed to strengthen the wording and guidance in food policies and reduce the provision of unhealthy food in schools before effective change can be achieved.