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Prevalence of current school-level nutrition policies and practices of secondary schools in NSW, Australia
journal contribution
posted on 2023-02-16, 04:02 authored by JY Ooi, Serene YoongSerene Yoong, R Sutherland, J Wrigley, C Lecathelinais, K Reilly, L Janssen, N Nathan, L WolfendenIssue addressed: Lowering the rates of adolescent overweight and obesity is a public health priority. The implementation of nutrition policies and practices in schools is recommended by various health organisations, but there is little information on the extent of their implementation. The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence of the implementation of recommended school-level nutrition policies and practices in secondary schools in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, and reported barriers and facilitators to the adoption of such policies and practices in school plans. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken with school principals and canteen managers. All eligible secondary schools in NSW were approached to participate in a telephone survey (n = 440). Descriptive statistics were used to describe prevalence, and associations between school characteristics and implementation were examined using univariate statistics. Results: A total of 137 school principals and 80 canteen managers completed the survey. The implementation of practices on drinking water during class, healthy food and beverage marketing and learning opportunities regarding healthy eating was high (>90% of participating schools). The implementation of practices regarding the restriction of unhealthy drinks in school canteens, healthy school fundraisers and staff training related to healthy eating was reported in under 25% of participating schools. There were no significant differences in implementation by school sector, socio-economic status and geographic location. The main barrier to inclusion of nutrition policies and practices in the school plan was having other priorities and commitments (28.5%), and the main facilitator was support from stakeholders, the staff, students and their parents (37.2%). Conclusions: There is opportunity to improve the implementation of nutrition policies and practices in NSW secondary schools. So What?: Strategies are needed for targeting barriers. These include: gaining support from school staff, students and parents, provision of resources and funding and staff training.
History
Journal
Health Promotion Journal of AustraliaVolume
32Pagination
216-226Location
AustraliaPublisher DOI
ISSN
1036-1073eISSN
2201-1617Language
enPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalIssue
2Publisher
WileyUsage metrics
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Keywords
adolescentshealth policyhealth promoting schoolsnutritionobesityAdolescentAustraliaCross-Sectional StudiesFood ServicesHealth PromotionHumansNew South WalesNutrition PolicyPrevalenceSchoolsNutrition3.1 Primary prevention interventions to modify behaviours or promote wellbeing3 Prevention of disease and conditions, and promotion of well-beingStrokeCardiovascularOral and gastrointestinal4 Quality EducationPublic Health and Health Services not elsewhere classified
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