Childhood Obesity and Foods with Low Nutritional Value
Obesity is an ongoing problem in developed countries that affects adults and children alike. The prevalence of obesity in children as showed through a survey in Mississippi reveals that 23.9% of children within the state are classified as obese, while 18.5% of children are overweight. These staggering statistics lead researchers into developing ways to analyze the rates of obesity in children and the underlying causes that make this nutritional issue a growing problem. In the Child and Youth Prevalence of Obesity Surveys that were performed in Mississippi pertain to this article as they show the prevalence of obesity in elementary school children being 24.1%. School aged children typically consume half of their daily nourishment at school which can have a significant impact on eating patterns and living a healthy lifestyle through food choices. This research article aims to investigate elementary school teachers’ behaviors towards allowing foods with low nutritional value into the classroom. This research was carried out using the Theory of Planned Behavior as researchers looked into the attitudes and intentions regarding the use of foods with low nutritional value (LNV) in the classrooms. This theory is used in order to predict and further explain the attitudes of teachers based on the fact that individual’s intentions are a good indication of how likely they are to perform that activity.
As school lunch programs and nutrition in schools was greater brought to attention by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, there was little attention paid to the foods that were allowed inside the classroom. Although school lunch programs are improving, there have been findings that foods and treats that are consumed inside the classroom as incentives, rewards, and during celebrations are negatively affecting childrens’ nutritional intake. Research has shown that teachers believe in cultivating a healthy school food environment, but still provide candy as incentives and rewards to children in the classroom. This study is extremely relevant as teachers and schools provide a unique opportunity to influence healthy behavior in students that will positively impact their lives. Learning from the example that schools set out can encourage students to create healthier habits outside of the classroom and increase their awareness of certain nutritonal behaviors. This study aims to develop understanding of the teachers agreement with their beliefs regarding allowing LNV foods into the classrooms by students, and as use for rewards and incentives. It also aims to determine if any theoretical determinants of behavior are significantly influencing teachers behavior towards the use of LNV foods in the classroom.
The study was carried out using a survey method pertaining to the Theory of Belief Model to measure the theoretical determinants of behavioral intentions. There were a total of 46 items on the survey used to measure these intentions including behavioral beliefs, behavioral outcomes, normative beliefs, motivation to comply, perceived power, and actual behavior. This research was performed on 10 elementary schools from three different school districts in Northern Mississippi. Surveys were distributed during teacher in-services or through their mailboxes which resulted in 260 complete surveys for a final analysis of 96%. The survey consisted of questions with a Likert-type scale from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). All three determinants in the Theory of Belief Model; Attitude Towards the Behavior, Subjective Norms, and Percieved Behavior Control together were statistically significant predictors of behavior. The results of this study were overall unanimous with the belief that teachers allowed LNV foods in the classrooms as rewards, incentives and during celebrations as shown through 93% of the recorded responses. An underwhelming <30% of teachers believed that the use of LNV foods in the classroom encourages poor eating habits and hinders on the health of the students environment. The study also suggested through the results that the majority of teachers are influenced by their peers and specifically the principal’s belief on the matter when determining whether to allow the consumption of these foods in the classroom. Other beliefs are that other teachers, parents, and students want LNV foods to be used in the classrooms and therefore influence the actual behavior of the teachers.
In conclusion, this study showed significant results in determining that allowing foods with low nutritional value in the classroom is a common practice within elementary schools and teachers believe that it does not affect the students health or the school nutrition environment. The three primary beliefs used in the Theory of Belief Model which include behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and control beliefs were all contributors for allowing the use of LNV foods in the classroom, therefore this model was successful in reference to these results. Although results from this study are based off of the beliefs and behaviors of the teachers, there have been studies to show that this behavior of allowing LNV foods into the classroom has the potential to lead children to associate these foods with celebrations outside the classroom. Teachers’ normative beliefs reflect expectations from the school environment, their peers, principals and parents which explains why this behavior is hard to change on a large scale. In order for this study to be more effective, further investigations behind other factors and influences contributing to teachers actions should be researched in order to propose guidance and training methods for teachers and school health professionals to develop a more nutritious school food environment.This research is valuable as it has proved the Theory of Belief Model can work in this experiment, but a more diverse group of teachers from different areas is needed to determine better implications of how to develop new behaviors in teachers and schools.
Terms
- Pairwise: Occurring in pairs, or two at a time
- Cronbach’s (Alpha): Used in statistics as a lower bound estimate of the reliability of a psychometric test.
- Sharpio-Wilk Test: The Shapiro–Wilk test utilizes the null hypothesis principle to check whether a sample x1, … xn came from a normally distributed population.
- Regression Model: Linear regression uses one independent variable to explain or predict the outcome of the dependent variable Y, while multiple regressions uses two or more independent variables to predict the outcome.
- Stata: A general-purpose statistical software package.
Summary 1:
Consumption of Low Nutrient, Energy-Dense Foods and Beverages at School, Home, and Other Locations among School Lunch Participants and Nonparticipants
This article takes a look at determining the patterns associated with consuming low nutrient, energy dense foods and beverages at schools among those participating in the National School Lunch programs, as well as schools not participating. The article relates the access to certain “empty calorie” foods during school to the prevalence of poor diet quality, and risk of obesity. This article is relevant to the research behind the original article because it relates back to the fact that students receive almost half of their daily nutrients in school, and it ultimately leads to poor nutrition behaviors outside of the school environment. This article is used as background information to support the issue of allowing foods with low nutritional value inside the classroom as having negative effects on the health of elementary school children. Although this article deals with school lunches, it promptly describes the relationship between food consumed in a school setting and the effects that it has on the diet of children outside of the school.
Summary 2:
Prevalence and trends in obesity among Mississippi public school students, 2005-2009.
An important underlying factor that takes place in this research is childhood obesity and the prevalence among elementary students. This article provides research-based analysis on obesity trends seen in students of elementary school age in Mississippi between 2005 and 2009. This article is extremely relevant as background to the issue that is being researched in the original article because it gives statistics on the specific geographic area, which is being studied. The rates of obesity are an important factor and the rates were fairly unchanged from 2005 to 2009. As rates of obesity remained stagnant, the research performed in the original article was aimed at identifying behaviors that would ultimately change this rate for a more positive outcome. This article is an important staple background article that is used as a reference of why the research in the original article was conducted.
References
Briefel RR, Wilson A, Gleason PM. Consumption of low-nutrient, energy- dense foods and beverages at school, home, and other locations among school lunch participants and nonparticipants. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009;109:S79-S90.
Isoldi KK, Dalton S, Rodriguez DP, Nestle M. Classroom ‘‘cupcake’’ cele- brations: observations of foods offered and consumed. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2012;44:71-75.
Lambert LG, Chang Y, Varner J, Monroe A. Allowing and Using Foods of Low Nutritional Value in Elementary School Classrooms: The Implications of Teachers’ Beliefs. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2015;48:86-92.