Food for Thought: Schools and Nutrition

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This document was prepared in collaboration with the Canadian Association of Principles and the Canadian Association for School Health.

Table of Contents

Schools, Students and Nutrition

Some Facts

Canada's Nutrition Agenda

The Role of the School

Why Schools?

Readiness to Learn

Use a Comprehensive Approach

School-Based Leadership

Instruction

Services

Social Support

Healthy Physical Environment

INTERNET Information Sites

References

Schools, Students and Nutrition

Nutrition is fundamental to a sense of well-being, and to meet the growth, development and activity needs of children and youth. Communities, schools and parents can work together to help students develop attitudes and skills for healthy eating. By creating supportive environments and encouraging children and youth to make informed choices, we can help them establish patterns for healthy living that they'll carry into adulthood.

The school principal, as the education leader and primary link to the community, is well-placed to facilitate action and change to help students.

The Canadian Association of Principals, the Canadian Association for School Health and Health Canada have collaborated to suggest a checklist of school-community actions to promote healthy eating.

Some Facts

While most Canadian children and youth enjoy good health, nutrition-related concerns do exist:

• Poor eating patterns contribute to chronic health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and osteoporosis, later in life.¹
• Obesity in children is increasing and appears to be related to inadequate physical activity.¹
• 25% of children and youth are sedentary.²
• Unhealthy body images contribute to disordered eating patterns. Among teens and young adults, 1-2% suffer from anorexia nervosa and 3-5% from bulimia.³
• 27% of girls age 12 to 14, and 38% age 15 to 19 say they are trying to lose weight.⁴
• Economic disparities are a growing concern. In 1995, 2.4 million Canadians - including 900,000 children - used food banks.¹
• Low birth weight rates among certain subpopulations of the very poor living in the inner city are comparable to those in developing countries.¹
• Inadequate nutrition affects the long term development of the child.⁵
• The number of life-threatening allergies is increasing, including among children and youth.⁶

Canada's Nutrition Agenda

Nutrition for Health: An Agenda for Action*, the result of a multi-sectoral Canada-wide process, is a national plan to create momentum for promoting nutrition.¹ The four strategies on which schools can take action include:

• Reinforce healthy eating practices by providing nutrition education, by including quality daily physical education, by emphasizing practical skill development, by training service providers and by working with the media to promote nutrition initiatives.
• Support nutritionally vulnerable populations by participating in data collection to better define vulnerable populations and their food and nutrition issues, by supporting broader access to prenatal nutrition education and by supporting community-based policies and programs that assist vulnerable families.
• Enhance the availability of foods that support healthy eating through food policies that influence food choices available at school cafeterias, vending machines, special events and fundraisers, by discussing food safety, quality and new technologies with students and by working with the food service sector.
• Support nutrition research by participating in the monitoring of school and community indicators and participating in making the data available to decision makers in the education, health, recreation and social services sectors.

As part of both physical and social environments for students and staff, schools play an important role in influencing food choices and health behaviours, thus contributing to the health of children and youth.

The Role of the School

As part of community efforts, the school can play a key role in promoting healthy eating by⁷:

• Teaching students about nutrition, body image and physical activity with age-appropriate knowledge and skill development within a K-12 health curriculum.
• Training teachers to teach nutrition and to use active learning methods as well as to recognize disordered eating patterns and neglect.
• Involving parents in take-home learning activities, offering nutrition education in parent/school activities and mobilizing parents as advocates for policies and services.
• Adopting food and nutrition policies.
• Working with public health and voluntary organizations in comprehensive, school-community programs.
• Encouraging peer/student leadership.
• Encouraging staff wellness activities.

Why Schools?

Schools are important in promoting health because:

• All children and youth can be reached.
• A large number of students eat at least one of their meals at school.
• Eating is a socially learned behaviour that is influenced by education, social support and services at school.
• School-based instruction can improve the eating behaviours of youth.⁸
• Role models, like teachers, coaches and group leaders have a powerful effect on children through the examples they set.
• Preventive and other health services delivered at schools allow for early identification of problems, referrals and effective health services.
• Almost one-fifth of the Canadian workforce works in education and can be reached through schools.
• All parents can be reached through schools.

Readiness to Learn

Readiness to learn is enhanced when children and youth are well-nourished.

Being hungry in school can have a negative impact on student performance. It can lead to irritability, disinterest in the learning situation and an inability to concentrate.⁸

A good breakfast to start the school day is important. It breaks the overnight fast and can contribute substantially to total daily intake of energy and nutrients. Well-scheduled meals and snacks throughout the day are important too. They help students meet their nutritional needs, give them energy to be active, and promote readiness to learn.

Poor body image can lead to unsafe weight loss methods, including restricted eating, smoking and use of diet pills, and may even lead to eating disorders.⁵ These behaviours put children and youth at increased risk for inadequate dietary intakes necessary for growth, development, activity, and learning.

Girls as young as 12 years report they are trying to lose weight.² Their iron status may be of concern if they practice unsafe weight loss methods, menstruate, or exercise excessively.⁵ Signs of iron deficiency anemia - fatigue, shortened attention span, reduced resistance to infection and impaired intellectual performance¹⁰ - should be watched for.

Use a Comprehensive Approach

Researchers have identified innovative, comprehensive strategies for communities and schools:¹¹

• Position healthy eating in the broader context of healthy living.
• Build skills and empower students to make decisions for themselves.
• Involve students and parents in identifying their needs and issues.
• Create supportive environments through food and nutrition policies.
• Address the needs of vulnerable children and youth.

The Canadian Association for School Health¹² and several other national organizations support a comprehensive, school-related approach (Comprehensive School Health) that links parents, school and community. This approach includes:

• instruction about health issues
• social support from the media, policy-makers, the community and within the schools
• support services for children and families
• a healthy physical environment in schools.

School-Based Leadership

Examples of school-based leadership in promoting healthy eating include:¹³

• Students at Dr. J. Edgar Davey School in Hamilton developed nutrition activities for the classrooms and home with support from parents, public health nurses, teachers, a nutritionist and food inspector.
• The Catholic School Board of Montreal uses the mascot Ravigote to promote healthy breakfasts and lunches, supermarket tours, ecological practices and other activities. Special focus is placed on promoting Nutrition Month every March.
• An after-school Kids Cooking Club was started in a Winnipeg inner-city school with the support of a local church, school and public health staff. Media coverage created interest in other neighbourhoods.
• Dene children in the Northwest Territories (NWT) worked with community elders to integrate nutrition education with traditional spiritual values. This was supported by the NWT Education Ministry and the federal government.
• The Canadian Living Foundation provides seed funding, posters, games and planning guides to local communities to organize breakfast programs for children.
• Several Vancouver-area health units funded a Group Counselling/Information Guide for young women to help them avoid eating disorders and unhealthy preoccupations with weight.
• A comprehensive approach to heart health is taken in two school communities in Calgary. Students, school staff and parents are encouraged to organize activities focusing on nutrition, tobacco use, physical activity and self-esteem.
• The British Columbia Dairy Foundation offers nutrition education workshops to teachers and health professionals working with students in all grades. These promote innovative approaches such as integrating physical activity, nutrition and environmental awareness.
• The Central Region Health Board in Nova Scotia implements a Brown Bag Olympics Activity to promote a healthy school environment. Parents and students are encouraged to discuss and pack 'Olympic' lunches and snacks. This activity also challenges the types of foods sold at school.

Instruction

• Update health, family studies and physical education curricula and materials; ensure they are culturally appropriate.
• Develop students' skills in decision making and food selection and preparation.
• Offer inservices by nutritionists to teachers.
• Involve parents in take-home learning activities.
• Offer quality daily physical education programs.
• Use Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating¹⁴, and companion resources to promote healthy eating.

Services

• Train guidance counsellors and teachers to recognize disordered eating patterns and refer students.
• Address disordered eating in peer helper programs.
• Together with community organizations and parents, consider actions that support nutritionally vulnerable students (e.g., appropriate referrals, meal and snack programs, other community-based initiatives).
• Publicize community sources of health information.
• Involve nutritionists in school committees.

Social Support

• Encourage student leadership and action on health issues.
• Partner with public health to offer parent information meetings and mailings.
• Add nutrition activities to parent nights and special activities at school.
• Ask local media to cooperate, cover school events and write supportive editorials to promote healthy eating.

Healthy Physical Environment

• Create food and nutrition policies for cafeterias, vending machines, special events and fundraisers.
• Ensure that lunches and snacks at school are well- scheduled and provide a pleasant environment, supervision and adequate time to eat.
• Implement policies for life-threatening allergies⁶.
• Include nutrition and body image issues in staff wellness programs.

INTERNET Information Sites

Health Canada (Nutrition)

Health Canada (Comprehensive School Health)

National Institute of Nutrition

Dietitians of Canada

Canadian Association for School Health

AskERIC Info Guide

References

1. Joint Steering Committee Responsible for Development of a National Nutrition Plan for Canada (1996). Nutrition for Health: An Agenda for Action. Ottawa, ON.

2. Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute (1997). Adherence to youth guidelines. Progress in Prevention, Bulletin no.13. Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute: Ottawa, ON.

3. National Eating Disorder Information Centre (1997). Personal Communication.

4. Health Canada (1996). Report on the 1994 - 1995 National Population Health Survey: Nutrition Component (Unpublished report prepared for the Nutrition Programs Unit).

5. Canadian Dietetic Association (1994). Nourishing Our Children's Future. Canadian Dietetic Association: Ottawa, ON.

6. Canadian School Boards Association, Health Canada (1996). Anaphylaxis: A Handbook for School Boards. Minister of Supply and Services Canada: Ottawa, ON. (Available from Canadian School Boards Association.)

7. Centers for Disease Control (1997). Guidelines for school health programs to promote lifelong healthy eating. Journal of School Health, 67(1):9-26.

8. Contento IR, Manning AD, Shannon B (1992). Research perspective on school-based nutrition education. Journal of Nutrition Education. 24(5):247-260.

9. School Child Nourishment Task Force (1994). Final Report. The Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth: Hamilton. ON.

10. Public Health Service (1988). The Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Washington, DC.

11. Gillis DG (1995). Promoting healthy eating to children. Rapport. 10(4):1-6. National Institute of Nutrition: Ottawa, ON.

12. Canadian Association for School Health (1991). Comprehensive School Health: A Consensus Statement. Canadian Association for School Health: Surrey, BC.

13. Health Canada (1997). Promoting Healthy Eating to School-Aged Children and Youth: Examples of Innovative Strategies Across Canada, 1997. Minister of Supply and Services Canada: Ottawa, ON.

14. Health Canada (1992). Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating. Minister of Supply and Services Canada: Ottawa, ON.

* To Find Out More:
For more information and resources, contact nutritionists/dietitians through community health centres, public health units or provincial / territorial departments of health. Health Canada resources are also available from Publications, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0K9.