Child-centered food systems: Reorienting food systems towards healthy diets for children

Hawkes, Corinna; Fox, Elizabeth; Downs, Shauna; Fanzo, Jessica; Neve, Kimberley

doi:10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100414

Cited by 40 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…However, better insight into what drives poor diet and activity behaviours in children and adolescents, and how best to target boys and girls as they age, across diverse contexts, is critical in order to ensure that the barriers that exist to making healthy dietary choices are addressed. This will require a food systems approach to make nutritious, safe, affordable and sustainable diets available, appealing and aspirational, while contributing to long-term environmental sustainability and planetary health (76,77) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional status of school-age children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries across seven global regions: a synthesis of scoping reviews

Wrottesley¹,

Mates²,

Brennan³

et al. 2022

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: To summarise available evidence on the nutritional status of school-age children and adolescents (5–19 years) from seven global regions, and on interventions implemented to improve malnutrition in this population. Design: Findings were compiled from seven scoping literature reviews, including data from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) within the following UNICEF-defined global regions: East Asia and Pacific (EAP); Europe and Central Asia (ECA); South Asia (SA); West and Central Africa (WCA); Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA); Middle East and North Africa (MENA); and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Results: A double burden of malnutrition was evident across the world regions reviewed: stunting, thinness, anaemia and other micronutrient deficiencies persisted, alongside rising overweight and obesity prevalence. Transitions towards diets increasingly high in energy-dense, processed and micronutrient-poor foods were observed. Evidence from intervention studies was limited, but suggested that providing multiple micronutrient-fortified foods or beverages at school may effectively target micronutrient deficiencies and facilitate weight gain in undernourished populations. Interventions to prevent or manage overweight and obesity were even more limited. There was minimal evidence of using novel technological approaches to engage school-age children and adolescents, or of involving them in designing interventions. Conclusion: The limited data available on nutrition of school-age children and adolescents is neither standardised nor comparable. Consensus on methods for assessing nutritional status and its determinants for this age group is urgently needed to set targets and monitor progress. Additionally, strategies are required to ensure that nutritious, safe and sustainable diets are available, affordable and appealing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional status of school-age children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries across seven global regions: a synthesis of scoping reviews

Wrottesley¹,

Mates²,

Brennan³

et al. 2022

Public Health Nutr.

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“…Changes in the food environment are necessary to guide children towards healthier diets (Hawkes et al, 2020). Policies are needed to create food environments that discourage consumption of foods with excessive content of nutrients associated with NCDs and create opportunities to easily achieve healthy diets .…”

Section: The Need For Comprehensive Packaging Regulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of food packaging on children's diet: Insights for the design of comprehensive regulations to encourage healthier eating habits in childhood and beyond

Ares

Velázquez

Vidal

et al. 2022

Food Quality and Preference

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Food packaging design has become a key component of the marketing mix of companies to ensure the long-term success of their products, and to convey information that set apart their products from competitors. The aim of this review is to critically discuss the role of food packaging on children's diet. Food package design plays a key role in attracting children and parents' attention, shaping product associations, and influencing their purchase decisions. Packaging elements attracting children's attention and misleading health-related visual and textual cues may encourage children and their parents to choose energy-dense food products with excessive content of sugar, fat, and sodium. Results from this review suggest that comprehensive packaging regulations are necessary to protect children's health and encourage healthier eating habits from early years. Such regulations should go beyond products targeted at children, making informed decisions easier to encourage healthier choices, and including restrictions on the use of health-related cues on all products, as they ultimately influence the diet and the food available in the household.

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“…Food environments can be defined as the spaces where individuals interact with the food system and encompass availability, promotion, quality, convenience and physical and economic access (2). Availability and cost influence adolescents' dietary behaviors, as well as their appeal and aspirational association (3). Food environments are changing globally due to expanding urbanization, technology, trade and labor markets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Influencing Adolescents' Dietary Behaviors in the School and Home Environment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Trübswasser

Talsma

Ekubay

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundMalnutrition affects many adolescents in Ethiopia. Over one-third of adolescent girls and two-thirds of boys are thin. Overweight and obesity in Ethiopia is mostly a concern in urban populations of higher wealth quintiles. Urbanization and globalization of diets is shifting food environments. The objective of this study was to assess whether food environments in and around schools in urban Ethiopia influence dietary diversity, quality, BMI status or perceptions of adolescents.MethodsTwelve high schools were selected in Addis Ababa (private/government). From each school, 20 pupils aged 15–19 years were randomly selected (n = 217) and interviewed about assets in their households, their diets (categorized into 10 food groups of the Minimum Dietary Diversity, the Global Dietary Recommendations scores and four categories of the NOVA classification based on level of processing) and their use of pocket money. In addition, food environment audits were conducted within the school compound and a 0.5 km radius around each school and types of food outlets.ResultsOn average there were 436 food outlets and 246 food or drink advertisements around each school. The majority of the advertisements (89.9%) were of ultra-processed foods, mostly sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Most were positioned on food outlets (89.1%). SSBs or sweets were visibly on display in 26.3% of the outlets and fresh fruits and vegetables in 17.9% of outlets. Dietary diversity of adolescents was poor with an average of 3.6 food groups out of 10 consumed in the last 24 h. Ultra-processed foods and beverages were consumed by 23.5% of adolescents. The majority of adolescents spent their pocket money on SSBs, sweets or fried foods. Our analysis found that higher assets in adolescents' households were associated with higher dietary diversity and consumption of healthy food groups. We found no association between the food environment and dietary indicators or the BMI-z-score.ConclusionWhile the school food environments investigated were not conducive with promoting healthy dietary behaviors, we cannot conclude that these environmental factors directly influence adolescents' diets. The pervasive advertising and availability of unhealthy foods and beverages requires policy action for healthy school food environments.

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Child-centered food systems: Reorienting food systems towards healthy diets for children

Cited by 40 publications

References 85 publications

Nutritional status of school-age children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries across seven global regions: a synthesis of scoping reviews

Nutritional status of school-age children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries across seven global regions: a synthesis of scoping reviews

The role of food packaging on children's diet: Insights for the design of comprehensive regulations to encourage healthier eating habits in childhood and beyond

Factors Influencing Adolescents' Dietary Behaviors in the School and Home Environment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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