Rising food costs combined with busy back-to-school schedules can make eating well challenging. However, a little planning goes a long way, say Brock researchers.<\/p>\n
Wendy Ward, Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, William Gittings, Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, and Michelle Vine, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences, agree that while elementary, secondary and post-secondary students all face slightly different barriers to eating well, good information and planning can make positive differences.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people are out of the house, they have far less control than when they are at home,\u201d says Ward. \u201cHaving some planning in place, including bringing food with you and knowing what services are available and where, can help students transition back to school and campus.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gittings, who packs lunches for his two young children, is all too familiar with foods restrictions in classrooms, such as nuts and products containing allergens.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs parents, we need to make sure our children are getting nutritious options even with restrictions in place,\u201d he says. \u201cHowever, food alternatives are not necessarily nutritionally equal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gittings prefers whole foods as opposed to processed, opting for fruits and vegetables that contribute to hydration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhole foods provide me with a way of knowing what ingredients my children are eating and controlling what is entering the classroom,\u201d says Gittings.<\/p>\n
According to Vine, secondary school environments pose separate challenges because once students get there, they are often limited in terms of what they can do to support healthy eating.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if a parent makes their teenager\u2019s lunch, they aren\u2019t necessarily eating it,\u201d says Vine, whose research looks at the relationship between health and the implementation of Ontario\u2019s school food and beverage policy<\/a>, which applies to the food for sale in schools.<\/p>\n Cafeterias and vending machines are a source of revenue for schools. Vine\u2019s research found that school cafeterias aligned with the policy of providing healthy food were closing because students were not buying due to limited resources to spend on lunch. Instead, they go off school property to buy from nearby fast food or convenience stores.<\/p>\n \u201cThe intentions are there but schools are constrained,\u201d says Vine. \u201cUnless the school has a food and nutrition teacher who can work with the cafeteria in-house, the policy is having the opposite effect than what is intended.\u201d<\/p>\n