Food and beverage promotions in Vancouver schools: A study of the prevalence and characteristics of in-school advertising, messaging, and signage.

The purpose of this study was to provide a descriptive profile of food-related advertising, messaging, and signage in Vancouver schools and to examine differences in the prevalence and characteristics of promotions between elementary and secondary schools. All food-related promotions were photographed in 23 diverse Vancouver public schools between November 2012 and April 2013. Key attributes, including the location, size, and main purpose of each promotion, as well as the type of food and/or beverage advertised and compliance with provincial school nutrition guidelines, were coded.

A Comparison of Dietary Practices at or En Route to School between Elementary and Secondary School Students in Vancouver, Canada.

Background: There is evidence that dietary quality declines as children age in North America, but few studies have explored whether food environment exposures in secondary schools as opposed to elementary schools are associated with changes in students' school-day food choices.

Methods: This study examined differences in dietary practices (at or en route to and/or from school) between students in their last years of elementary school (grades 5 to 7) and first year of secondary school (grade 8) in Vancouver, Canada, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and school-level socioeconomic status. Demographic characteristics and dietary data were collected through a cross-sectional survey (n=950 from 26 schools) and combined with school-level socioeconomic data derived from the 2006 Canadian Census.

Sustainability and public health nutrition at school: assessing the integration of healthy and environmentally sustainable food initiatives in Vancouver schools.

Objective: To describe the development and application of the School Food Environment Assessment Tools and a novel scoring system to assess the integration of healthy and environmentally sustainable food initiatives in elementary and secondary schools.

Design: The cross-sectional study included direct observations of physical food environments and interviews with key school personnel regarding food-related programmes and policies. A five-point scoring system was then developed to assess actions across six domains: (i) food gardens; (ii) composting systems; (iii) food preparation activities; (iv) food-related teaching and learning activities; and availability of (v) healthy food; and (vi) environmentally sustainable food.

Associations between socio-economic status and school-day dietary intake in a sample of grade 5-8 students in Vancouver, Canada.

Objective: To examine associations between students' socio-economic status (SES) and school-day dietary intake, and the roles of parents and peers in shaping these associations.

Design: A cross-sectional survey measured school-day intake of vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk, packaged snack foods and sugar-sweetened beverages. Logistic regression models examined associations between SES (parental education and food insecurity status) and dietary outcomes during or en route to or from school, and examined whether peer modelling or parental norms potentially mediated the associations between SES and dietary outcomes.