Abstract:
The food environment in school neighborhoods plays a crucial role in manipulating the food choices of schoolchildren. This study investigated the relationship between the food environment in neighborhoods and the dietary practices of government school students in a low socioeconomic setting in Sri Lanka. This cross-sectional study surveyed the neighborhood food environment of selected schools (n = 30) in the Monaragala District, Sri Lanka, using geographical information system (GIS) data and collected dietary information from a representative sample of schoolchildren (n = 603). Chi-square and Spearman correlation tests were performed using SPSS version 23.0 to estimate the associations between the food environment and BMI, while ArcGIS 10.4.1 was used to analyze the GIS data. The majority of the students (35.5%) were 15 years old, and approximately 51% were females. The mean BMI of the study participants was 18.14 (±3.28). More than 90% of outlets within proximity sold unhealthy foods. Consumption of confectionaries was 72.3% of the students, whereas healthy food choices ranged from 5% to 12%. A positive correlation between consuming unhealthy food and distance to outlets from school was observed (p<0.05). The risk of consuming low-nutrition food doubled (OR = 2.47, 95% CI: 1.52-3.89) among the students studying in schools where a larger proportion of energy-dense food was sold in closer proximity. In conclusion, the density and proximity of outlets that sell food with low nutrients in the school neighborhood environment were positively associated with students\' unhealthy food item choices.
摘要:
学校社区的食物环境在操纵学童的食物选择中起着至关重要的作用。这项研究调查了斯里兰卡低社会经济环境中社区的饮食环境与政府学校学生的饮食习惯之间的关系。这项横断面研究调查了Monaragala区某些学校(n=30)的邻里饮食环境,斯里兰卡,使用地理信息系统(GIS)数据,并从代表性的学童样本(n=603)中收集饮食信息。使用SPSS23.0版进行卡方和Spearman相关性检验,以估计食物环境与BMI之间的关联。而ArcGIS10.4.1用于分析GIS数据。大多数学生(35.5%)为15岁,大约51%是女性。研究参与者的平均BMI为18.14(±3.28)。附近90%以上的商店出售不健康的食品。糖果消费占学生的72.3%,而健康的食物选择范围从5%到12%。观察到食用不健康食品与学校距离之间存在正相关(p<0.05)。在学校学习的学生中,食用低营养食品的风险增加了一倍(OR=2.47,95%CI:1.52-3.89),在学校中,较大比例的高能量食品在附近出售。总之,在学校邻里环境中,出售低营养食品的商店的密度和附近与学生的不健康食品选择呈正相关。