THE ISSUE
• Schools are an ideal setting to establish and promote healthy eating amongst children and youth.
• Well-nourished children and adolescents are more likely to be better prepared to learn, be active, and maintain their health as adults.
• In the past 25 years there has been a dramatic increase in the percentage of Canadian adolescents who are overweight or obese. Overweight/obesity in adolescence often persists into adulthood.
• Both fast food consumption and food portion sizes have increased significantly in the past 20 years.
FOOD INTAKE
• Students were asked how many times they ate a list of different foods on the day before the survey. The median number of times students at your school consumed each food group, by gender, is below:
Males Females
- Vegetables & Fruit 4 4
- Grain Products 2 2
- Milk & Alternatives 3 3
- Meat & Alternatives 3 2
• Intake of Vegetables & Fruit:
- 38% of all students reported eating fruit and vegetables at least 6 times the day before the survey.
• Intake of Milk & Alternatives:
- 60% of respondents consumed milk and alternatives at least 3 times in the day before the survey.
• Other Foods:
- 80% of students reported eating candy, chocolate, or sweets and 60% report drinking sweetened nonnutritious beverages at least once the previous day.
STUDENT EATING BEHAVIOUR
• Breakfast Consumption:
- At your school, 32% of boys and 34% of girls reported eating
• Eating at School:
- Students at your school report doing the following 3-6 times in the week before the survey:
- 8% bought lunch at school
- 4% ate lunch at home
- 53% brought lunch to school
- 7% bought lunch at a restaurant
- 10% did not eat lunch at all
• Social Influences for Healthy Eating:
- 79% of students reported eating lunch with friends.
- Family meals are perceived positively by both adolescents and parents.
- 31% of students at your school reported eating at least one meal with their parent, step-parent or guardian on the previous day.
- 86% of those who ate dinner with their parent(s) on the day preceding the survey reported eating vegetables and fruit 3 or more times; compared to 70% of those who did not eat dinner with their parent(s).
LEARNING ABOUT HEALTHY EATING
• Schools are ideal settings for teaching students about healthy eating. Students at your school reported they had learned about the following healthy eating topics at school in the last 12 months:
- Benefits of healthy eating (57%)
- Illness related to unhealthy eating (47%)
- Influence of families on healthy eating (25%)
- Influence of the media on healthy eating (39%)
- Influence of friends on healthy eating (27%)
- How to make healthy food choices (62%)
• 49% of students at your school agreed with the statement “Students who eat healthy do better at school”; 24% disagreed; and 28% don’t know.
SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
• At your school, 82% of students felt they have a clean and pleasant place to eat their lunch.
• 63% of students said that they have enough time to eat their lunch at school.
• 21% of students said that there is enough variety of foods offered at school.
• Students reported noticing the following changes at school in the last 12 months:
- Healthier foods offered at the cafeteria or hot lunch program (57%)
- Healthier foods in vending machines/canteens (66%)
- Lower prices for healthier foods (3%)
- Healthier or non-food items sold for fundraising (7%)
- Healthier foods sold at sporting events or other special events (8%)
- Information in your cafeteria about how to make healthier food choices (13%)
Schools Can Make a Difference…
Please refer to the full version of your school’s Feedback Report to see more detailed results. Your school’s Feedback Report contains innovative examples for how to involve youth, community members, parents, and staff members in healthy eating initiatives.
For additional information, visit: www.unbf.ca/education/herg
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