Food & Health Alliance

Sallis, J. F.; McKenzie, T. L.; Conway, T. L.; Elder, J. P.; Prochaska, J. J.; Brown, M.; Zive, M. M.; Marshall, S. J. & Alcaraz, J. E.  Department of Psychology, Department of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University and Department of Pediatrics, University of California.  (2003).  

The study evaluates the effect of an environmental and policy intervention on eating habits and physical activity of students in American schools. The intervention aimed to increase low-fat food choices and physical activity opportunities, promoting healthy lifestyle choices. 

The intervention was designed to change school policies and environments, such as providing healthy food choice and physical activity opportunities.  Leisure time was targeted in order to allow students to make choices to participate in physical activity, by increasing supervision, equipment and organized activities at free time in the school day. 

Administrators, faculty, staff, parents and students were consulted in order to change school policy, school goals were printed on posters and progress on goals was monitored.  Student health committees were formed, parental education was delivered, and school incentives were also provided in order to improve kitchen and physical activity equipment. 

Methods:  24 schools were recruited for the study, 12 schools were involved in the intervention.  Baseline measures were taken in spring 1997, and interventions were carried out between 1997-98 and 1998-99.  Observations of physical activity and bag lunches were made on randomly selected days. 

Activity levels were observed over a number of P.E. sessions during leisure times.  Measures were taken of consumption of food with >1 gram of total fat per serving by food servers.  Self-reported BMI was also recorded.

Findings:  The interventions were effective in terms of increasing physical activity levels (for boys only), but not at reducing unhealthy food intake.  There was no effect of the intervention on behaviour was outside of school.  There was significant effect on boys BMI levels, suggesting that the increase in physical activity was sufficient to change boys physiological makeup.

Increasing availability of activities throughout the day was successful in some schools; however some schools found it difficult to recruit volunteers to run activity groups. 

The change in availability of healthy food was perhaps too limited and too variable, mainly due to influential financial barriers.  Training for food preparation staff was not sufficiently adhered to.  Support for policy change throughout schools was probably not sufficient to expect significant change. 

The use of media (e.g. posters, parental newsletters, etc) was not sufficient to counteract the effect of preexisting marketing programmes that promoted unhealthy food choices. 

Implications:  Concurrent with previous research influencing females physical activity levels was noted as being more difficult than influencing males behaviour, even though typical barriers to female participation had been addressed.  Therefore additional research should be conducted in order to further tailor interventions to reach at-risk females.  Although some effect of the changes was reported, further research is required to improve the impact of interventions.

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