Investigation of the food environment surrounding primary schools in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics
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Date
2024
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Massey University
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Abstract
Background: Childhood obesity is a prominent issue in New Zealand (NZ). Children's daily exposure to their food environment significantly influences their health, dietary patterns, and preferences. With children spending a substantial portion of their time on school grounds, the quality of the food environment within and around schools emerges as a crucial factor. Efforts have been made to enhance the food environment within schools. However, limited action has been taken to improve the food environment surrounding schools. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the food environment surrounding schools, encompassing both advertisements and stores and exploring correlations with internal food environments, is needed. This knowledge is paramount for informing policymakers and catalysing targeted actions to address childhood obesity comprehensively. Aims: To investigate food and beverage advertising and stores surrounding NZ primary schools and to explore correlations between the external food environment (food and beverage advertisements) and the internal food environment (Healthy Active Learning food menu and policy data) for these schools. Methods: Food and beverage advertisements (n=479) and stores (n=215) within 800 m of 18 primary schools were collected via Google Street View in August 2023. Advertisement and store characteristics were compared across different school deciles (low, medium and high). To determine the healthiness of the advisement, food and beverage advertisements were separated into ‘core’ and ‘non-core’ depending on whether they are considered part of the everyday diet. Results: ‘Non-core’ advertisements (n=426, 89.0%) outnumbered ‘core’ advertisements (n=53, 11.0%), with sugar-sweetened beverages (n=192, 40.1%) the most common category, and Coca-Cola the most common brand (n=158, 33.0%). The majority of advertisements were found near low (n=406, 43.0%) and medium (n=208, 43.4%) decile schools, with low decile schools having more nearby (0-400 m) advertisements (n=111, 57.5%). Advisement characteristics varied by school decile including; distance from school, brand and secondary marketing classifications. The number of advertisements strongly correlated with the number of stores (rs=0.879, n=18, p<0.001), with most advertisements (97.1%) located on food stores. The most common food and beverage stores near schools were local fast-food restaurants (44.7%) and convenience stores (24.2%). Low and medium-decile schools have more convenience stores, fast food outlets and bakeries within 800 m, while high-decile schools have more supermarkets and cafés. Conclusions: ‘Non-core’ food and beverage advertising, fast food stores, and convenience stores are highly prevalent surrounding primary schools, particularly surrounding low and medium-decile schools.
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Food advertising, food stores, Google Street View, child obesity, Healthy Active Learning initiative