A province-wide school nutrition policy and food consumption in elementary school children in Prince Edward Island.

Objective: Although the majority of Canadian provinces have indicated that they have adopted new school nutrition policies, there have been few if any systematic evaluations of these policies. In Prince Edward Island, a nutrition policy for elementary schools was adopted province-wide in 2006. In the present study, we assessed the nutritional benefits of the new policy by examining changes in student food consumption prior to and one year following implementation of the policy.

Predictors of physical activity, healthy eating and being smoke-free in teens: a theory of planned behaviour approach.

This paper elicited context specific underlying beliefs for physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption and smoke-free behaviour from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and then determined whether the TPB explained significant variation in intentions and behaviour over a 1 month period in a sample of grade 7-9 (age 12-16 years) adolescents. Eighteen individual interviews and one focus group were used to elicit student beliefs. Analyses of this data produced behavioural, normative and control beliefs which were put into a TPB questionnaire completed by 183 students at time 1 and time 2.

The socialization of dietetic students: influence of the preceptor role.

This paper describes the influence of the preceptor on the evolving professional socialization of dietetic students. The study was conducted with Canadian dietetic students and interns and was designed to explore factors causing student stress. Students were asked to identify a series of common potentially stressful situations, to comment on what it is like to be a student today and to identify changes that preceptors had made that helped them reduce the stress in their lives.

Widespread micronutrient inadequacies among adults in prince edward island.

Purpose: The prevalence of micronutrient inadequacies was assessed among adult residents of Prince Edward Island (PEI) in the PEI Nutrition Survey.

Methods: A peer-reviewed protocol was used in this cross-sectional survey, in which 24-hour recalls were administered during in-home interviews. A stratified random sample of 1,995 adults aged 18 to 74 participated.

Dietitians' opinions and experiences of client-centred nutrition counselling.

Purpose: The concept of "client-centredness" was explored within a nutrition counselling relationship.

Methods: A two-round reactive Delphi survey was used. The first survey was sent to 65 Dietitians of Canada members who indicated in the member database that they had advanced counselling skills.

Fruit and vegetable consumption: benefits and barriers.

Few people on Prince Edward Island meet the goal of consuming five or more servings of vegetables and fruit a day. The main objective of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of the nutritional benefits and barriers to vegetable and fruit intake among adult women in Prince Edward Island. Participants were 40 women aged 20-49, with or without children at home, who were or were not currently meeting the objective of eating five or more fruit and vegetable servings a day.

Measured weights in PEI adults reveal higher than expected obesity rates.

Background: The increasing prevalence of obesity and overweight in Canada is a significant health concern. Unfortunately, we know very little about the actual weight status and associated health risks in our population since most surveys use only self-reported body weights and heights and typically do not include a measure of body fat distribution. This paper summarizes the findings of the Prince Edward Island Nutrition Survey.

Client-centred nutrition counselling: do we know what this means?

In Canada, professional standards mandate that dietitians should use a client-centred approach to provide nutrition counselling services. Although most dietitians would probably agree that this is an important standard, how this mandate is translated into our daily practice is not always clear. The purpose of this paper is to explore the origins of the "client-centred approach" used in dietetic counselling.