title: Where are the schools? Children, families and food practices.
abstract: Reducing childhood obesity is an international priority and children's diets, food knowledge and practices have come under intense scrutiny in both policy and popular discourse. Notwithstanding evidence that health interventions which resonate with children's own views are the most effective, there is still relatively little research which mobilises children's everyday perspectives on food to inform public health policy. We report key findings from a qualitative study with 53 children aged 9-10, attending two socio-economically contrasting schools in the UK. The study explored children's understandings of food in everyday life and their ideas about the relationship between food and health. Throughout the study, despite recent attempts to position schools as key sites for public health interventions, children consistently emphasised families as the locus for enduring food practices. The research highlights the value of listening to children and applying our understanding of their perspectives to ensure that public health initiatives work with the important influences on their diet and health that they themselves identify.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2LA, UK. Electronic address: h.fairbrother@sheffield.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fairbrother
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2LA, UK. Electronic address: p.a.curtis@sheffield.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Penny
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Curtis
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DA, UK. Electronic address: e.goyder@sheffield.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Goyder
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009753:Nutritive Value; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012574:Schools; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Children; Families; Food practices; Schools