Bringing Policy and Practice To the Table: Young Women’s Nutritional Experiences In An Ontario Secondary School

Sarah Gray

doi:10.26522/brocked.v24i2.425

Abstract

In recent years, media, health organizations and researchers have raised concern over the health of Canadian children and adolescents. Stakeholders have called on the government to confront the problem. Schools are seen as an ideal site for developing and implementing large-scale interventions because of the ease of access to large groups of children and adolescents. Within Ontario, new nutrition policies, such as the School Food and Beverage Policy (2011) have been implemented in an attempt to change the current health status of children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine the eating behaviours and nutrition knowledge of young women in an Ontario secondary school. Semi-structured interviews were used to examine the reproduction, negotiation and resistance to the nutrition messages received by young women within the school environment. The interviews revealed the influence of parents, the inability of apply learned knowledge and the ineffectiveness of the school environment.

Highlights

In recent years, the media, politicians, government agencies and researchers have raised concerns over the current health and body shapes of children and adolescents (Active Healthy Kids, 2012; CBC News, 2009; Hodgson, 2012)
The influence of parents on the nutrition knowledge and eating behaviours of the participants was evident in their responses
Policies that solely target the adolescents within the school environment and do not recognize the roles played by parents may have limited impact

Summary

Introduction

The media, politicians, government agencies and researchers have raised concerns over the current health and body shapes of children and adolescents (Active Healthy Kids, 2012; CBC News, 2009; Hodgson, 2012). Data used for documenting the ‘obesity epidemic’ is over 30 years old, concern over the ‘epidemic’ is a relatively new phenomenon and corresponds to neoliberal discourses of monitoring and self-regulation (Gard & Wright, 2005). Media and health professionals often refer to past generations as being more active and eating well This forms the foundation for their arguments that ‘modernity’ and current ‘Western lifestyles’ are making people ‘fat’ (Gard & Wright, 2005). Youth are often considered unable to monitor their behaviours the responsibility shifts towards the parents and schools (Kirk & Spiller, 1994)

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Conclusion