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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2010 Jul 1;101(Suppl 2):S14–S18. doi: 10.1007/BF03405619

Policy Options to Support Healthy Eating in Schools

Politiques visant à favoriser une saine alimentation dans les écoles

Mary L McKenna 1,✉
PMCID: PMC6974221  PMID: 21133196

Abstract

Objectives: School nutrition policies offer a promising avenue by which to promote healthy eating and reduce the risk of chronic disease. This article reviews policy components that could support healthy eating, examines their evidence base and suggests directions for future research.

Method: Information was drawn from research and other literature written in English between 1994 and 2008. Guided by recommendations from the World Health Organization, evidence pertaining to five potential components of policies was identified and reviewed: foods available, the food environment, health education, health services and counselling, and family and community outreach.

Results: A limited number of evaluations have examined the impact of school nutrition standards and have shown a positive impact on food availability and student nutrient intake. Results have shown that behaviourally focused nutrition education, especially when combined with food services and other initiatives, may affect students’ eating habits positively but may not decrease obesity levels. Evidence pertaining to other potential policy subcomponents, such as limiting food marketing in schools, coordinating all food services and providing nutrition-related health services, is limited or lacking.

Conclusion: Conceptually, comprehensive school nutrition policies comprising all five policy components offer an integrated and holistic approach to school nutrition. They could provide an umbrella to guide all school actions pertaining to nutrition and serve as a framework for accountability. Does conceptualization match reality? Further research is needed to determine how policy components affect implementation and outcomes.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.1007/BF03405619 and is accessible for authorized users.

Key words: Public health, education, health promotion, nutrition, policy, schools

French language version/Version en Français

41997_2010_BF03405619_MOESM1_ESM.pdf (158.5KB, pdf)

Politiques visant à favoriser une saine alimentation dans les écoles

Footnotes

Conflict of Interest: None to declare.

Conflit d’intérêts: Aucun à déclarer.

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