Department of Health Promotion, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
PLoS One. 2024 Aug 13;19(8):e0291893. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291893. eCollection 2024.
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.
学校周边的食物环境在操纵学童的食物选择方面起着至关重要的作用。本研究调查了斯里兰卡一个低收入社会经济环境中，社区食物环境与政府学校学生饮食实践之间的关系。这项横断面研究使用地理信息系统 (GIS) 数据调查了斯里兰卡莫拉拉格勒地区选定学校 (n = 30) 的社区食物环境，并从具有代表性的学生样本 (n = 603) 中收集了饮食信息。使用 SPSS 版本 23.0 进行卡方检验和斯皮尔曼相关性检验，以估计食物环境与 BMI 之间的关联，而使用 ArcGIS 10.4.1 分析 GIS 数据。大多数学生（35.5%）为 15 岁，约 51%为女性。研究参与者的平均 BMI 为 18.14（±3.28）。在附近，超过 90%的网点销售不健康食品。糖果的消费占学生的 72.3%，而健康食品的选择范围在 5%到 12%之间。观察到食用不健康食品与学校周围网点距离之间存在正相关（p<0.05）。在销售高热量食物比例较大的学校中，学生食用低营养食物的风险增加了一倍（OR = 2.47，95% CI：1.52-3.89）。 综上所述，学校周边食物环境中销售低营养食品的网点密度和距离与学生选择不健康食品项目呈正相关。
