Food items consumed by students attending schools in different socioeconomic areas in Cape Town, South Africa

Temple, Norman J.; Steyn, Nelia P.; Myburgh, Neil; Nel, Johanna H.

doi:10.1016/j.nut.2005.07.013

Cited by 75 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…Previous studies have shown that learners who attended schools of high socio-economic status were twice as likely to bring food to school (13) and that learners from rural and disadvantaged settings were less likely to bring a lunch box to school because of a lack of food available at home (24) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is the school food environment conducive to healthy eating in poorly resourced South African schools?

Faber

Laurie

Maduna³

et al. 2013

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: To assess the school food environment in terms of breakfast consumption, school meals, learners' lunch box, school vending and classroom activities related to nutrition. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Ninety purposively selected poorly resourced schools in South Africa. Subjects: Questionnaires were completed by school principals (n 85), school feeding coordinators (n 77), food handlers (n 84), educators (n 687), randomly selected grade 5 to 7 learners (n 2547) and a convenience sample of parents (n 731). The school menu (n 75), meal served on the survey day, and foods at tuck shops and food vendors (n 74) were recorded. Results: Twenty-two per cent of learners had not eaten breakfast; 24 % brought a lunch box, mostly with bread. Vegetables (61 %) were more often on the school menu than fruit (28 %) and were served in 41 % of schools on the survey day compared with 4 % serving fruit. Fifty-seven per cent of learners brought money to school. Parents advised learners to buy fruit (37 %) and healthy foods (23 %). Tuck shops and vendors sold mostly unhealthy foods. Lack of money/poverty (74 %) and high food prices (68 %) were major challenges for healthy eating. Most (83 %) educators showed interest in nutrition, but only 15 % had received training in nutrition. Eighty-one per cent of educators taught nutrition as part of school subjects. Conclusions: The school food environment has large scope for improvement towards promoting healthy eating. This includes increasing access to vegetables and fruit, encouraging learners to carry a healthy lunch box, and regulating foods sold through tuck shops and food vendors. Keywords School food vendorsSchool tuck shop Lunch box School feeding South AfricaSouth Africa experiences the double burden of undernutrition and overweight. A national survey showed that 20?7 % of 1-to 9-year-old children were stunted, 8?1 % were underweight, 5?8 % were wasted, and 14?0 % were either overweight or obese (1) . Overweight/obesity increases progressively as children become older (2) , and the second national youth risk behaviour survey showed that 20 % of secondary-school learners were overweight and 5 % were obese (3) . Overweight/obesity is even more prevalent during adulthood and, in 2003, 54?9 % of adult women and 29?8 % of adult men were either overweight or obese (4) .

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is the school food environment conducive to healthy eating in poorly resourced South African schools?

Faber

Laurie

Maduna³

et al. 2013

Public Health Nutr.

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“…Various local studies show that most foods purchased at schools came from the tuck shop and were classified as unhealthy items (32)(33)(34) . Changing school tuck shops to healthier ones would provide learners with the opportunity to make healthier food choices.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The feasibility of implementing food-based dietary guidelines in the South African primary-school curriculum

Nguyen

Villiers

Fourie

et al. 2013

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: To explore the perceptions of educators from the Western Cape Province about the feasibility of implementing South African food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) in the national curriculum of primary schools. Design: Combined quantitative and qualitative methods. We report on the quantitative component. Setting: Twelve public primary schools of different socio-economic status in three education districts of the Western Cape: Metro Central, Metro East and Cape Winelands. Subjects: Educators (n 256) participated in the self-completed questionnaire survey. Results: Educators assessed that FBDG were appropriate to South African schoolchildren (94%), could be used as an education tool (97%) and fill gaps in the current curriculum about healthy dietary habits (91%). Besides Life Orientation, FBDG could be taught in other learning areas from grades 3 to 7 (9-13 years old). Important barriers to implementing FBDG in the curriculum were educators' workload (61%), insufficient time (46%), learners' disadvantaged background (43%) and educators' lack of knowledge (33%). Other approaches to teach children about FBDG included linking these to the National School Nutrition Programme (82%), school tuck shops (79%), parent meetings (75%), school nutrition policy (73%) and school assembly (57%). Educators in high-income schools perceived that learners' lifestyle was significantly worse (P , 0?001) and that tuck shops and the school assembly were the best means to teach pupils about FBDG (P , 0?001 and P , 0?05). Conclusions: Implementing FBDG in the national school curriculum is seen as important together with optimizing the school physical environment. Key factors required for successful implementation in the curriculum are sufficient educational materials, adequate time allocation and appropriate educator training. Keywords Primary-school curriculum Nutrition education Dietary guidelines South AfricaImplementing food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) in the school curriculum is recommended worldwide as a cost-effective intervention in preventing the development of non-communicable diseases and the consequences of malnutrition (1)(2)(3) . Non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes were high on the agenda at the WHO Global Forum and the UN meeting in 2011. These diseases caused 36 million deaths in 2008 and were the leading causes of mortality globally. A third of these deaths occurred before age 60 years, mainly in developing countries (4) . The WHO projects that by 2030, noncommunicable diseases will account for 77% of deaths worldwide (5) .A major factor contributing to non-communicable diseases is the increasing rate of overweight and obesity. In the South African Demographic and Health Survey, the Department of Health found that nearly two-thirds of women and half of men older than 35 years were overweight or obese in 2003 (6) . Rising overweight and obesity rates among schoolchildren are of concern according to a number of studies which show the c...

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“…Individuals in peri-urban settlements in South Africa follow problematic diet regimes that consist of an excessive intake of saturated fats, calories, salt, sugar, and animal proteins, and the insufficient intake of fibre and essential vitamins and minerals − caused by minimal fruit, vegetable, and dairy consumption (MacIntyre, Kruger, Venter, & Vorster, 2002;Mungai-Singh, 2012;Sacks et al, 2001;Steyn, Katzenellenbogen, Lombard, & Bourne, 1997;Temple, Steyn, Myburgh, & Nel, 2006). This diet directly opposes the nutrition guidelines provided by The South African Hypertension Guideline (2011), which 1 immediately adjoining an urban area usually comprising of low income housing and mixed formal and informal settlements emphasises the adoption of a diet that is low in total and saturated fat, caffeine, salt, and sugar, and high in fibre, low-fat dairy products, vitamins, and minerals (Appel et al, 1997;Seedat & Rayner, 2011).…”

Section: Dietary Patterns In Peri-urban South African Settlementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological Intervention to Address Hypertension in South Africa’s Peri-Urban Settlements

Witten¹,

Vuuren²,

Learmonth³

2013

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

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Food items consumed by students attending schools in different socioeconomic areas in Cape Town, South Africa

Cited by 75 publications

References 20 publications

Is the school food environment conducive to healthy eating in poorly resourced South African schools?

Is the school food environment conducive to healthy eating in poorly resourced South African schools?

The feasibility of implementing food-based dietary guidelines in the South African primary-school curriculum

Psychological Intervention to Address Hypertension in South Africa’s Peri-Urban Settlements

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