(From Politico) First lady Michelle Obama and school lunch ladies used to be on the same team, but now they’re locked in a political war against each other. For the first three years of Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign, the School Nutrition Association, a powerful group that represents 55,000 cafeteria professionals, was a close ally in the White House push to get kids to eat healthier. Fast-forward to today: SNA is standing shoulder to shoulder with House Republicans, pushing to grant schools waivers from the requirements if they are losing money and aiming to relax the standards when the law is reauthorized next year. The story behind the school lunch flip-flop is a complicated web of lobbying change-ups, industry influence and partisan posturing inside the Beltway. It also casts a spotlight on how difficult it is to make the economics of school meals work — and just how much resistance there can be to Washington directing nationwide change. Read more
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(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in the February 2014 issue of Infant, Child, Adolescent Nutrition summarizes the recent position adopted by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics on pediatric obesity. The authors recommended a multisystem approach to effectively address pediatric obesity. They identified the following 6 key recommendations: (1) Integrate education with supportive environmental change. (2) Include both nutrition education and physical education.(3) Build in parent engagement for younger children. (4) Promote community engagement in schools and child care. (5) Policies that limit food availability show promise. (6) Dose and continuity is important. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in the February 2014 issue of Public Health Nutrition reports on the use of the RE-AIM implementation model was used to monitorreach, effect, implementation and maintenance of two different streams of an elementary school nutrition education program. Most noteworthy is that "Thirty-seven per cent of third-grade teachers in the dissemination sample reordered SMC materials during the subsequent school year thereby reporting on the likely maintenance of the program after the trial. The authors also noted that "Results In the evaluation sample, differences between the control and intervention groups were observed for nutrition knowledge, self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and intakes of vegetables, fruit (girls only), soda, and low-nutrient high-energy foods from pre- to post-survey. Group differences in change in knowledge, outcome expectancies and vegetable intake were sustained through the 3-month follow-up (efficacy). One hundred per cent of intervention teachers in the evaluation sample implemented all of the lessons (implementation). The dissemination sample represented 42 % of third-grade students (reach) and 39 % of third-grade classrooms in public elementary schools in California during 2010–2011 (adoption)." The value of this RE-AIM framework is that it provides an indication of likely ongoing uptake of this program without any specific funding or technical support. Consequently, the authors conclude that the program demonstrates a moderate to high potential impact. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An articles in the January 2014 issue of the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition & Physical Activity reviewed several reviews and studies to determine the clustering among diet, physical activity and sedentary behavior. The authors report that "Eighteen studies (62% of potential studies) were identified that met the inclusion criteria, of which eight examined the clustering of PA and sedentary behavior and eight examined diet, PA and sedentary behavior. Studies were mostly cross-sectional and conducted in older children and adolescents (≥9 years). Findings from the review suggest that obesogenic cluster patterns are complex with a mixed PA/sedentary behavior cluster observed most frequently, but healthy and unhealthy patterning of all three behaviors was also reported. Cluster membership was found to differ according to age, gender and socio-economic status (SES). The tendency for older children/adolescents, particularly females, to comprise clusters defined by low PA was the most robust finding. Findings to support an association between obesogenic cluster patterns and overweight and obesity were inconclusive, with longitudinal research in this area limited." Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) Two articles in December 2013 Issue of Public Health Nutrition report on small scale studies of actual student choices about healthier food when thery are offered in school cafeterias. The first study of two large secondary schools found that "Despite the availability of nutritionally valuable dishes of the day, the most popular food items were sandwiches, pizza and desserts. FSM )free school meals) students were slightly more likely to choose the more nutritionally valuable dish of the day" The suthors suggest that ". School food standards should be reassessed in light of students’ preferences". The second artticle reported on a study in elementary schools where fruit was placed on student trays automatically to encourage their consumption. The authors report that "Requiring that fruits and vegetables be placed on each child's tray increased the fraction of children who ate a serving of fruits or vegetables by 8 percentage points (P < 0·01) but led to an extra 0·7 servings being thrown away per lunch served (P < 0·01). The default option approach cost $US 1·72 to get one additional child to eat one serving of fruits and vegetables for 1 d." They suggest the "default option, as a stand-alone programme, had only a limited impact on fruit and vegetable consumption but was much less cost-effective than other approaches". Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #2, 2013 of Nutrition Research Reviews presents the case that social norms can likely influence eating habits and may have an impact on the effectiveness of various interventions. Although it is possible unfair to comment on this conclusion without reading the full article, our immediate reaction is dismay. Surely this analysis is not new. There is a wide and deep body of knowledge on social influences that affect our behaviours...peers, close friends, the media, parents, social norms and so on. We also know that modifying normative beliefs is an important part of educational programs, including efforts to change the beliefs of students and the teachers. Surely we can move beyond this simple, endless analysis and produce research studying which interventions are more effective in counter-acting or strengthening which influences. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #2, 2013 of Nutrition Research Reviews offers a unique macro-analysis of how food intake and physical activity have both declined in the UK. The attiocle suggests that both have declined, but the levels of food intake have not declined as much as activity levels, thereby creating the obesity/overweight trend. However, the provocative wording of the article also caught our attention in as much it shows how easily we can revert to stigmatizing attitudes and terminology. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) An article in October, 2013 Issue of BMC Public Health describes the weight status of German kindergarten teachers and suggests that their health is at greater risk than that of the general population and that they may offer an unhealthy role model for their students. The researchers report that "Kindergarten teachers aged 18–62 years (n = 313) were invited to complete a self-reported questionnaire. Their obesity status, health risk behaviors (i.e., habitual physical activity, screen time activities, eating behavior patterns, smoking), and their general ability to identify overweight children and the associated health risks of overweight and obesity based on special age- and sex-specific silhouettes were analyzed. Data regarding kindergarten teachers’ weight status and smoking behavior were compared with nationally representative data from the 2009 Microcensus (n = 371310) using the Mann–Whitney U-test. The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were 41.2% and 17.9%, respectively. The prevalence of obesity was significantly higher in kindergarten teachers (p < 0.001) compared to national Microcensus data. Only 44.6% of teachers were able to identify overweight children correctly. The fact that being overweight is associated with physical and mental health risks was only reported by 40.1% and 21.2% of teachers, respectively. Older kindergarten teachers were more likely to misclassify the overweight silhouettes, while younger, normal-weight, and overweight kindergarten teachers were more likely to underestimate the associated health risks. Obese kindergarten teachers reported spending more time in front of computer and television screens than their normal-weight counterparts, especially on weekends. In addition, obese kindergarten teachers reported eating less often with their families and more frequently reported watching television during meals. Read more>>
(An item from the ISHN Member information service) We have been tracking the absence of effect on physical activity programs on obesity/overweight in this web site. (PA has many other benefits but apparently not reductions in weight). However, it appears that a focus on mental health and friendships may hold greater promise. An article in the September issue of the Journal of School Health reports on the aboriginal adaptation of the Healthy Buddies program. The authors note that: "There was a significant decrease in zBMI (1.10 to 1.04, p = .028) and WC (77.1 to 75.0 cm, p < .0001) in the HB group (N = 118) compared with an increase in zBMI (1.14 to 1.23, p = .046) and a minimal WC change in the control group (N = 61). Prevalence of elevated BP did not change in the HB group, but increased from 16.7% to 31.7% in the control group (p = .026). General linear model analysis revealed a significant interaction between time, group, and zBMI (p = .001), weight status (p = .014), nutritious beverage knowledge (p = .018), and healthy living and self-esteem score (p = .005). The HB program is a promising school-based strategy for addressing obesity and self-esteem in Aboriginal children." Read More>>
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