Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Concern about childhood obesity has intensified interest in the role schools play in influencing the eating habits of children. In the school environment, thoughtful food policy has the potential to alter school culture to foster and support health-promoting attitudes and behaviours. Released in 2008, the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth are intended to form the basis for school food policies. The purpose of this study is two-fold; first, we will evaluate the awareness, intent-to-use, and early adoption of the guidelines within Alberta schools; and next we will conduct the first ever longitudinal assessment of impact and effectiveness of school nutrition policies in Canada. The Policy Cycle Stages will be the overarching framework used to address our research questions. In the first phase we will administer a survey to all school boards in Alberta. Having identified early-adopter schools through the survey, we will use a multiple case study design to understand how the guidelines function in different school environments. In the second phase we will study only junior high schools who have established nutrition policies. The purpose of this assessment will be to determine which processes were effective/ineffective in developing school nutrition policies, to identify barriers, to describe the perceptions and attitudes of students, parents, teachers, and school administrators toward the nutrition policies, and to measure consequent changes in dietary behaviours, dietary intake, body mass index, and nutrition knowledge. Qualitative and quantitative outcomes will be assessed through interviews, in-school observation, physical measurements (height, weight), and completion of a web-based nutrition survey. This research will provide the first robust assessment of impact and effectiveness of school nutrition guidelines and policies in Canada, and will inform further development of effective nutrition policies in Canadian schools.