This study qualitatively explored how students, parents and school staff perceived the role that the school food environment played in student eating behaviour, how the Food and Nutrition Policy for Nova Scotia Public Schools impacted the food environment. This study looked at one public elementary school from Nova Scotia through a focus group with 6 grade five students, and individual interviews with 6 parents and 11 school staff members. Under the constructivist paradigm, the methodology chosen was social constructionism using constant comparative analysis. Significant themes that emerged from the data included: schools have a role in children’s eating habits; school culture is important for supporting a healthy food environment; and the food brought from home is the unhealthiest part of the school food environment. This research contributes to knowledge on the school’s impact on student eating behaviour, effectiveness of the policy, and the development of future research.

The school food environment has the ability to increase the consumption of fruit and vegetables in rural adolescents. This study used a survey to allow adolescents in seven rural counties to self-report their fruit and vegetable intake as well as utilizing the USDA Mathematica tool and the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study audits to evaluate what food and beverage products were actually available to adolescents. By using these two measures, associations between fruit and vegetable intake and availability of healthy and unhealthy foods were determined. The availability of healthy snacks and beverages was found to be associated with sugar-sweetened beverage intake in adolescents (p < 0.001); the availability of unhealthy snacks and beverages was associated with fruit and vegetable intake in adolescents (p < 0.001); the school marketing of water bottle stations and/or water dispenser availability was associated with sugar- sweetened beverage intake in adolescents (p < 0.001). Increasing the availability and school marketing of healthy foods and beverages in rural schools may be an effective way to improve fruit and vegetable consumption in adolescents.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-05-11T13:35:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 mariaalvimleite.pdf: 4859167 bytes, checksum: 142fc39fa9cb7da06ba1766afd1170c0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-05-17T15:10:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 mariaalvimleite.pdf: 4859167 bytes, checksum: 142fc39fa9cb7da06ba1766afd1170c0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-17T15:10:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 mariaalvimleite.pdf: 4859167 bytes, checksum: 142fc39fa9cb7da06ba1766afd1170c0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-21 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Discussões recentes sobre a epidemia da obesidade têm considerado o papel do ambiente no aumento do consumo de alimentos não saudáveis e na diminuição dos gastos energéticos. A distribuição espacial dos estabelecimentos de venda de alimentos e fatores socioeconômicos ambientais influenciam no ganho de peso. A disposição dos comércios de alimentos ao redor das escolas influencia no ganho de peso de crianças e adolescentes. O estudo teve como objetivo examinar espacialmente o ambiente alimentar e as características socioeconômicas nas Regiões Urbanas (RU) e no entorno das escolas de Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais. Foi feito um estudo ecológico que investigou o ambiente alimentar do município, considerando regiões de diferentes níveis de privação social. Mapas temáticos e clusters de bairros foram desenvolvidos. Foram estudados buffers de 500 m ao redor das escolas e uma auditoria em supermercados foi realizada. As funções K uni e bivariada foram utilizadas para testar a significância das aglomerações de estabelecimentos. Em relação à privação social, 25 bairros (30,86%) apresentaram alta ou muito alta vulnerabilidade. Estabelecimentos alimentares não saudáveis apresentaram maiores frequências (52,73%) em relação às demais categorias. O centro do município apresentou maiores aglomerações de estabelecimentos. Regiões de maior vulnerabilidade se assemelharam a desertos alimentares. Notou-se maior estímulo à compra e ao consumo de alimentos saudáveis por supermercados localizados em regiões de menor privação social. Buffers ao redor das escolas revelaram padrão de baixas densidades de todos estabelecimentos em regiões de maior vulnerabilidade. Maiores densidades de estabelecimentos não saudáveis em relação aos demais foram encontradas ao redor de todas as escolas. A função K bivariada demonstrou o potencial das escolas em atraírem a instalação de comércios de alimentos. A baixa qualidade do ambiente alimentar ao redor das escolas indica uma urgência de regulamentação. Iniquidades ambientais reforçam a necessidade da implantação de políticas que promovam um ambiente alimentar saudável por todo o espaço urbano das cidades. / Recent approaches to the obesity epidemic have considered the role of the environment in increasing consumption of unhealthy foods and reducing physical activity. The aim of this study has been to examine how the distribution of food stores and other environmental and socioeconomic factors may affect obesogenicity, with special attention to the distribution of food traders around schools. The study examined the food environment and socioeconomic characteristics in the urban regions and the areas surrounding schools in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. An ecological study was used to investigate the city’s food environment. Thematic maps and neighborhood clusters were developed. An audit of supermarkets and hypermarkets mas made. 500 meters surrounding schools areas buffers were examined. Univariate and bivariate K functions were used to evaluate the food stores’ distribution. In 25 (30.86%) socio-economically deprived neighborhoods unhealthy establishments were much more common. The centre of the city was most concentrated in all types of establishment, whereas the most deprived areas resembled food deserts. There was more opportunity to buy and consume healthy foods in supermarkets and hypermarkets located in regions of higher socio-economic status. Examination of the areas around schools showed a pattern of low densities of all types of food establishments in regions of low socio-economic status and high densities in regions of high socio-economic status, but, higher densities of establishments selling unhealthy food were found around all schools. This indicates that schools attract food stores in their surroundings. The low quality of food environments around schools in Juiz de Fora shows an urgent need to regulate these spaces, to enable and encourage stores selling healthy food. Socio-economic and environmental inequities reinforce the need to implement public policies that promote a healthy food environment throughout the city and its urban areas.