PurposeThere is a strong need for nutrition education strategies that foster healthy eating from a young age in Mauritius, as the island has one of the highest rates of diet‐related diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardio‐vascular diseases in the world. In order to be effective, the strategies should focus on current eating habits of adolescents. However, there is limited up‐to‐date information on the eating habits of Mauritian adolescents. This study, thus, aims to provide up‐to‐date data on the dietary habits of Mauritian adolescents.Design/methodology/approachA cross‐sectional study on the dietary habits of school adolescents (13‐16 years old) was conducted in 2003/2004. Stratified random sampling was used to select study participants (n = 315) from 12 secondary schools across the island. Data were collected using a self‐administered questionnaire.FindingsFoods that are high in fats, sugar or salt and low in dietary fibre were commonly consumed by adolescents. The most popular sources of nutrition information were parents, the Science and Home Economics teachers and print materials. More than half of the adolescents (54 per cent) regularly gave dietary advice to their friends and relatives, and 41.2 per cent prepared foods at home on their own. The majority of adolescents (81.2 per cent) expressed their interest in learning more about nutrition at school.Practical implicationsFindings should provide a sound basis for local nutrition educators to identify priority areas, and thereafter develop appropriate health promotion strategies in collaboration with health and education authorities.Originality/valueThis study provides up‐to‐date baseline data on the eating habits of young adolescents in Mauritius. Moreover, it is the first study of its kind to focus on the food skills of Mauritian adolescents.

Purpose ± The snacking habits of children can be a cause for concern. Little research has been undertaken on the snacking habits of Mauritian schoolchildren. This study was conducted to identify the popular snacks upper primary schoolchildren (8-12 year old) buy at school. It also aimed at determining the factors that influenced children's purchase of snacks. Design/methodology/approach ± Twelve primary schools were selected using stratified random sampling. Thirty children from each school were involved. Data collection methods included an interviewer-administered questionnaire and observation of schoolchildren's snacking habits during lunch-time. Canteen sellers were also interviewed to gather information about the most popular snacks and their cost. Findings ± Findings revealed that most of the popular snacks were high in sugar, fat, energy or salt. Snacking habit of schoolchildren was significantly associated with age and gender ( p < 0.05). Children's snacking habit seemed to be largely influenced by the cost of snacks, their taste and availability, and the amount of pocket money. Originality/value ± Previous studies on snacking habits have focused on lower primary schoolchildren (5-7 year old) and adolescents, while this study has focused on the upper primary schoolchildren (8-12 year old). The findings provide a sound basis for health and education authorities to develop a national policy on the sale of nutritious foods in primary school canteens.

The importance of school-based Sexuality Education (SE) programs is widely recognized. Effective implementation of such programs require that due consideration be given to sociocultural factors that can constitute enablers and potential barriers. Numerous research studies on these aspects have been conducted in developed countries. However, there is a lack of such studies in developing countries, especially studies involving school-aged adolescents from a multicultural context and from socioeconomically deprived areas. Therefore, this small-scale study uses a qualitative approach to research conducted in Mauritius, a developing country with a significantly multicultural population, and where SE is addressed in a fragmented manner within the school curriculum, despite changes noted in the sexual behaviors of the country's adolescents. The aim of the study was to explore parents' and teachers' perspectives of sociocultural factors that can act as enabling factors or potential barriers. The study involved semi-structured interviews of two parents and two teachers selected through purposive sampling at a secondary school which has students from diverse cultural backgrounds and mostly from socioeconomically deprived areas. Analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that the enabling factors were perceived as the importance of school-based SE by parents and teachers, contribution of external organizations, and a two-way communication process with adolescents. The potential barriers were perceived as a resistance from some teachers and students, the gender of the parent, and religion. Generation gap and ICT were found to be both enablers and barriers. The findings have implications for the design and implementation of school-based SE within a multicultural context and pave the way for similar studies on a larger scale.

In Mauritius, the school curriculum does not support the need to develop sound nutrition knowledge and food skills to combat the rising incidence of non-communicable diseases. This study looks at whether adolescents who had been taught Home Economics had better nutrition knowledge than children who had not. Selfadministered questionnaires were used to collect data from adolescents, Science teachers and Home Economics teachers, randomly selected from 12 co-educational secondary schools. It was found that the overall nutrition knowledge did not differ significantly. However, Home Economics teaching was associated with better food skills, especially among boys, and was found to be the main source of nutrition-related information. Opines that active learning methods and Home Economics should become compulsory in all secondary schools. This was the first study of its kind conducted in Mauritius. Findings would be of most value to teachers and policy-makers in the field of education.

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