The provision of healthy food in a school tuck shop : does it influence primary-school students’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards healthy eating?
Date
2017
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Abstract
Objective: To investigate students’ tuck shop buying behaviour, choices of
lunchbox items and healthy eating perceptions and attitudes at a school with
a nutritionally regulated tuck shop and a school with a conventional tuck shop.
Design: Mixed-methods research comprising a cross-sectional survey and
focus groups.
Setting: Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Subjects: Randomly selected grade 2 to 7 students from a school with
a nutritionally regulated tuck shop (school A; n 116) and a school with
a conventional tuck shop (school B; n 141) completed a self-administered
questionnaire about perceptions, attitudes, buying behaviours and lunchbox
content. Six students per grade (n 72) in each school took part in focus group
discussions to further explore concepts pertaining to healthy eating.
Results: In school A, older students had a negative attitude towards their ‘healthy’
tuck shop, while younger students were more positive. School B students were
positive towards their conventional tuck shop. In both schools students wanted
their tuck shop to allow them to choose from healthy and unhealthy items. School
A students mostly bought slushies, iced lollies and baked samoosas, while school
B students mostly bought sweets and crisps. The lunchboxes of school A students
contained significantly (P<0·05) more healthy items but also significantly more
unhealthy items.
Conclusions: A single intervention such as having a nutritionally regulated tuck
shop at a primary school cannot advance the healthy school food environment in
its totality. A multi-pronged approach is recommended and awareness must be
created among all role players, including parents who are responsible for
preparing lunchboxes.
Description
CITATION: Bekker, F., Marais, M. & Koen, N. 2017. The provision of healthy food in a school tuck shop: does it influence primary-school students’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards healthy eating?. Public Health Nutrition, 20(7):1257-1266, doi:10.1017/S1368980016003487.
The original publication is available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition
The original publication is available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition
Keywords
School lunchrooms, cafeterias, etc. -- Purchasing, Primary school students -- Nutrition, School children -- Food
Citation
Bekker, F., Marais, M. & Koen, N. 2017. The provision of healthy food in a school tuck shop: does it influence primary-school students’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards healthy eating?. Public Health Nutrition, 20(7):1257-1266, doi:10.1017/S1368980016003487