Mandatory nutrition policies could be a valuable tool in helping high school students to lower their sugar intake, a University of 蓝莓视频 study has found.
The study compared the consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks between 41,000 secondary school students in Ontario, where school nutrition policies are mandatory, and Alberta, where they are voluntary. The study took place during the 2013-14 school year.
It found that students in Alberta had a 16 per cent higher rate of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption compared to their counterparts in Ontario, where the sale of most sugar-sweetened drinks in secondary schools have been prohibited since 2011.
鈥淭hese findings have implications on how we approach efforts to promote healthy dietary habits among adolescents,鈥 said Katelyn Godin, lead researcher and PhD candidate at 蓝莓视频. 鈥淲e need to devise strategies to improve the broader food environment so that healthier dietary choices are attractive and accessible, as well as improve students鈥 food and nutrition-related attitudes, knowledge, values, and skills.
The study also found that students鈥 meal and snack purchases outside of school and on weekends had a greater bearing on their beverage intake than their purchases in school food outlets. Godin believes this reflects how many teens spend their leisure time with friends, such as going out for food, to sporting and music events, or shopping 鈥 all places where sugary drinks are readily available.
鈥淥ur findings suggest that while nutrition standards in schools could have an impact on sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, those standards alone won鈥檛 be enough to dramatically curb adolescents鈥 intake of these drinks,鈥 said Godin. 鈥淕iven the important role of diet in chronic disease prevention, adolescents should be a priority group for intervention because poor dietary habits formed in childhood and adolescence often persist into adulthood.鈥
According to previous studies, adolescents are the largest consumers of sugar-sweetened drinks in Canada, with many school age students consuming such beverages daily. Soft drinks and other sweetened beverages are linked to higher rates of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and a lower intake of vitamins and nutrients.
The research in the study was collected by the听COMPASS听research group at 蓝莓视频, which aims to generate knowledge and evidence to advance youth health.
This study was done in collaboration with Scott Leatherdale, David Hammond, and Ashok Chaurasia, all professors at 蓝莓视频鈥檚 School of Public Health and Health Systems. It was published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
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