Description
Obesity has had a devastating effect in the United States especially on children. In the United States (U.S) childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Children in the U.S spent the majority of time in school and have access to Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value (FMNV); this access might facilitate dietary behaviors that lead to obesity. The purpose of this cross sectional study was to identify the types of competitive food in vending machines, school stores and snack shops in San Diego County schools. Secondly, to determine whether the availability of FMNV in vending machines, school stores and snack shops are associated with poor dietary intake among students. This thesis conducted secondary data analyses of 198 participants in the Healthy Smiles program, ages 8 through 13 years. Analyses included descriptive, chi-square test, Mann Whitney U test and logistic regression. Predictors were selected based on the Behavioral Ecological Model (BEM). Selfadministered surveys were developed at the Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health (C-BEACH). A total of 25% of students attending public schools reported having a vending machine compare to 31.7% attending private schools. Also, 53.5% of students attending public schools reported having a school store/snack shop in comparison to 31.7% of students in private school (p≤.05). Students who reported the availability of FMNVs (French fries and chips, cookies, candies or cake and soda) in their school's vending machine/school store reported a higher number of friends consuming such food items during lunch (p ≤.05). After controlling for demographic factors, the strongest predictor for buying French fries and chips was the parents' consumption of 6 or more chips in the last month (Adjusted odds ratio=3.20; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-9.82). More studies should be conducted to examine the overall scope of competitive foods in schools. Additional research that examines parent's dietary intake and its influence on youth should be implemented.
