Temple Norman J, Steyn Nelia P, Myburgh Neil G, Nel Johanna H
Centre for Science, Athabasca University, Athabasca, Alberta, Canada.
Nutrition. 2006 Mar;22(3):252-8. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2005.07.013.
We investigated the food consumption patterns of adolescent students at schools. Our findings are intended to reveal the overall nutritional quality of foods eaten by students at school, including foods brought to school and foods purchased at school.
A questionnaire was completed by 476 students, mostly from grades 7 and 10, from 14 schools in Cape Town, South Africa. The schools were representative of the various ethnic groups and socioeconomic strata of the population. The questionnaire requested information on eating habits at school, foods brought to school and food purchases, and breakfast consumption before school. We also tested whether students knew which foods are healthy and which are less healthy choices.
The students were mostly 12 to 16 y of age (mean age 14.5 y). The large majority had breakfast before school (77.8%) and ate at school (79.7%). Food was brought to school by 41% to 56%, whereas 69.3% purchased food at school, mainly at the school store (tuck shop). Predefined "unhealthy" foods brought to school outnumbered "healthy" ones by 2 to 1. Among students who purchased food at school, 70.0% purchased no healthy items, whereas 73.2% purchased two or more unhealthy items. With six foods 84% of students correctly stated whether they were healthy or unhealthy; however, with cola drinks, samoosas (deep-fried pastry with spicy filling), and pies, only 47% to 61% knew that these were less healthy choices. Students' scores on this question were unrelated to whether they purchased healthy or unhealthy foods. Students who attended schools of high socioeconomic status were twice as likely to bring food to school (64.7% versus 31.0%, P<0.001), scored higher marks on the quiz of healthy versus unhealthy foods (P<0.01), but were no more likely to purchase healthy food.
The large majority of food eaten by adolescent students in Cape Town is classified as being unhealthy choices. This applies to foods brought to school and food purchases. Consideration needs to be given to policy measures to improve this situation and to improve education of students and their parents.
我们调查了在校青少年学生的食物消费模式。我们的研究结果旨在揭示学生在校所吃食物的总体营养质量，包括带到学校的食物和在学校购买的食物。
来自南非开普敦14所学校的476名学生（大多为7年级和10年级）完成了一份调查问卷。这些学校代表了当地不同的种族群体和社会经济阶层。问卷要求提供有关在校饮食习惯、带到学校的食物和购买的食物以及上学前早餐消费的信息。我们还测试了学生是否知道哪些食物健康，哪些是不太健康的选择。
学生大多为12至16岁（平均年龄14.5岁）。绝大多数人上学前吃早餐（77.8%）且在学校用餐（79.7%）。41%至56%的学生自带食物到学校，而69.3%的学生在学校购买食物，主要是在学校商店（小卖部）。带到学校的预先定义的“不健康”食物数量是“健康”食物的两倍。在学校购买食物的学生中，70.0%没有购买健康食品，而73.2%购买了两种或更多不健康食品。对于六种食物，84%的学生能正确说出它们是否健康；然而，对于可乐饮料、萨莫萨三角饺（夹有辣味馅料的油炸糕点）和派，只有47%至61%的学生知道这些是不太健康的选择。学生在这个问题上的得分与他们购买健康或不健康食物无关。社会经济地位高的学校的学生自带食物到学校的可能性是其他学校学生的两倍（64.7%对31.0%，P<0.001），在健康与不健康食物测验中得分更高（P<0.01），但购买健康食品的可能性并没有更高。
开普敦青少年学生所吃的绝大多数食物被归类为不健康选择。这适用于带到学校的食物和购买的食物。需要考虑采取政策措施来改善这种情况，并加强对学生及其家长的教育。
