(An item from ISHN Member information service) Last month we learned that if McDonald's gives out toys with healthier foods, consumption grows. In Issue #4, 2012 of Preventive Medicine, a small study of elementary students reports that if the schools used attractive names for vegetable choices on the menu, student consumption increased. Anybody for X-Ray Carrots? Read more.

(An item from ISHN Member information service) An article in the October 2012 issue of the Journal of School Health reports on the dissemination and administrator awareness of guidelines promoting the sale of healthier snacks in elementary schools in the US between 2006-07 and 2009-10. The Alliance for a Healthier Generation launched the Healthy Schools Program in 2006 to encourage schools to create healthier food environments, including the adoption of nutritional guidelines for competitive beverages and foods. This study examines nationwide awareness and implementation of the guidelines in US public elementary schools. From 2006-2007 to 2009-2010, awareness of the Alliance's beverage guidelines increased from 35.0% to 51.8% among school administrators (p < .01); awareness of the food guidelines increased from 29.4% to 40.2% (p < .01). By 2009-2010, almost one third of the schools that sold competitive beverages and foods reported having implemented or being in the process of implementing the guidelines. As noted, the awareness and use of the guidelines is increasing but, also, as the results show, the challenges of dissemination in a large country like the USA are considerable.  Read more. 

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service)  An article in August 2012 Issue of the International Journal for Equity in Health examines the "healthy living" strategies in tow Canadian provinces using several policy documents for the analysis. The authors report that " Initiatives active between January 1, 2006 and September 1, 2011 were found using provincial policy documents, web searches, health organization and government websites, and databases of initiatives that attempted to influence to nutrition and physical activity in order to prevent chronic diseases or improve overall health. Initiatives were reviewed, analyzed and grouped using the descriptive codes: lifestyle-based, environment-based or structure-based. Initiatives were also classified according to the mechanism by which they were administered: as direct programs (e.g. directly delivered), blueprints (or frameworks to tailor developed programs), and building blocks (resources to develop programs) 60 initiatives were identified in Ontario and 61 were identified in British Columbia. In British Columbia, 11.5 % of initiatives were structure-based. In Ontario, of 60 provincial initiatives identified, 15 % were structure-based (ie addressed social determinants). Ontario had a higher proportion of direct interventions than British Columbia for all intervention types. However, in both provinces, as the intervention became more upstream and attempted to target the social determinants of health more directly, the level of direct support for the intervention lessened. Read more..

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service) As with many other behaviours, healthy eating is a social construction that is built differently by different people. As we design education and information campaigns, we need to address those different understandings and perceptions. An article in Issue #4, 2012 of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior draws from several qualittative research sources to describe how people perceive and act upon the idea of healthy eating.  The researchers found studies emphasized a social constructionist approach, and most used focus groups and/or individual, in-depth interviews to collect data. Study participants explained healthy eating in terms of food, food components, food production methods, physical outcomes, psychosocial outcomes, standards, personal goals, and as requiring restriction. Researchers described meanings as specific to life stages and different life experiences, such as parenting and disease onset. Identity (self-concept), social settings, resources, food availability, and conflicting considerations were themes in participants’ explanations for not eating according to their ideals for healthy eating. The researchers noted that the implications of these findings are that people interpret healthy eating in complex and diverse ways that reflect their personal, social, and cultural experiences, as well as their environments. Their meanings include but are broader than the food composition and health outcomes considered by scientists. The rich descriptions and concepts generated by qualitative research can help practitioners and researchers think beyond their own experiences and be open to audience members’ perspectives as they seek to promote healthy ways of eating. Read more.. 

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service)  Several articles in August 2012 Issue of Public Health Nutrition critically examine national policy-making on nutrition and healthy eating. One article examines the eventual policy options selected by the New Zealand government and found that government policy favoured the food industry position (vs the public health position in all realms except when it came to schools, where sales were regulated. Another article noted the absence of research on how food is sold and marketed to children in sports venues. A third article documents how television food commercials target children in Germany, despite an industry pledge to the contrary. A fourth article suggested that a 20% tax on the sales of sugar-sweetened beverages would affect consumer purchasing practices. Another paper suggests that advocates need to address underlying social norms, as was done in regard to cigarettes, if public policy on beverage sales is to change. Finally, an analysis of national healthy eating policies and strategies in Europe notes that of the 107 strategies, only 27 were being evaluated for an effect on consumption, only 16 on the basis of improved health status and only three were using a cost-benefit analysis. The authors also noted the lack of comparability of these European evaluations. Read more..