Canteen purchasing practices of year 1-6 primary school children and association with SES and weight status.
OBJECTIVE
To identify sources of food eaten during the school day, the types of foods and frequency of purchases from the canteen and association with SES and weight status in primary school-aged children.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Primary schools were randomly selected from a list of government schools and 5,206 students in years 1-6 from the 16 participating schools were invited to participate in the study.


RESULTS
Findings show the majority of children in the study bring their recess snack and lunch from home. However, the majority of children do use the school canteen and less healthy foods and high-sugar drinks are commonly purchased.


CONCLUSIONS
This study confirms the relevance of the school canteen as a means of affecting children's eating habits.


CONCLUSIONS
Improvement in the foods sold through schools provides an important contribution to model supportive environments for healthy food choices. Strategies should also be directed towards affecting the content of lunchboxes and the home environment.
Finch
Meghan
M
Hunter Population Health, New South Wales.
Sutherland
Rachel
R
Harrison
Michelle
M
Collins
Clare
C
D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005522:Food Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*