ORCID Profile
0000-0001-7826-4194
Current Organisation
University of Tasmania
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Publisher: Emerald
Date: 02-02-2015
Abstract: – The Australian Dietary Guidelines support good health and disease prevention. Children with healthy eating habits established early in life have been shown to continue these habits into adulthood compared with those children who have poor eating habits in their younger years. The nutritional intake of many Australian children is not in accordance with the national guidelines. The reasons children make the food choices they do are unclear from the literature. The paper aims to discuss these issues. – This study used participatory action research methods to explore why primary school-aged children make the food choices that they do. A non-government primary school requested assistance in encouraging their children to make healthier choices from the school canteen menu. The authors gathered opinions from the children in two different ways a group discussion during class and a “discovery day” that involved four class grades. The authors identified children’s food preferences and food availability in canteens. The authors explored how the children perceived healthy foods, the importance of a healthy food environment and what criteria children use to decide what foods to buy. – Children’s food preferences were mostly for unhealthy foods, and these were readily available in the canteen. The perception about what foods were healthy was limited. Despite being asked to develop a “healthy” menu, the majority of choices made by the children were not healthy. Children described unhealthy choices as preferable because of taste of the food, if it was sugary, if it was quick to eat, available and cheap, the relationship of food and weather, the connection to health conditions and peer dominance. – This study suggests that children make their food choices based on simple concepts. The challenge lies around producing healthy options in collaboration with the school community that match the children’s food choice criteria. – This paper provides a modern and inspiring whole school approach based on equity and empowerment of the children. Discovering why children make food choices from the children’s perspective will help to present healthy options that will be more appealing for children. The methodology used to uncover why children make their food choices has also provided valuable insight into a study design that could be used to address other childhood research questions. The methodology offers an educative experience while gathering rich information directly from the children. This information can be used by the school to support children to have more control over their health and to develop behaviours to increase their health for the rest of their lives.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.APPET.2017.09.029
Abstract: In Australia, children are not eating according to the Australian Dietary Guidelines despite the incorporation of numerous public health initiatives in the school setting. Literature regarding children's views about what influences their food choice is limited. Incorporating children in the creation of strategies to build healthy public policy aligns with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Ottawa Charter framework. In this qualitative study we used participatory action research to determine why children make the food choices they do. Five action cycles were used to collect data from school children and the school canteen. Two of the action cycles, which are the focus of this paper, used Discovery Days (where children worked in groups to design a canteen menu) to collect data from 100 students on each day across grades two to six. Each group recorded and presented the reasons they made the food choices for the menu. Each day was captured by video and audio recordings were transcribed then analysed using a Conventional Content Analysis to identify themes and then theoretical concepts. Emerging theoretical concepts describing children's decision-making criteria included pleasure, texture, social acceptability, versatility and eating context. Our study found children are reliable informants about factors that influence their food choice. Using theoretical concepts as reported by children could be the foundation required to build more effective programs to facilitate healthy decision-making, supportive environments and health policy in the school setting to create healthy food that is desirable to children.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-07-2023
DOI: 10.1002/HPJA.771
Abstract: Social support is positively correlated with physical activity (PA), especially amongst girls, but is underexplored in male‐dominated action sports (e.g., mountain biking, skateboarding and surfing). This study explored family level social support needs and experiences of girls and boys in three action sports. Aspiring, current or former Australian adolescent (12–18 years girls n = 25 boys n = 17) mountain bikers, skateboarders and/or surfers were in idually interviewed (telephone/Skype) in 2018/2020. A socio‐ecological framework guided the semi‐structured interview schedule. Audio‐recordings were transcribed verbatim and data analysed thematically using a constant comparative approach. Family level social support was highly influential in young people's participation in action sports, with its absence a common reason for no or discontinued engagement amongst girls. Parents and siblings were the main social support providers with extended family (e.g., grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins) also notable. Participation (current ast/co‐) was the main social support type followed by emotional (e.g., encouragement), instrumental (e.g., transport, equipment/funding) and informational (e.g., coaching) support. Girls were inspired/encouraged by brothers but boys were not inspired/encouraged by sisters boys and girls co‐participated with both parents but co‐participating and being inspired by fathers was most common, especially amongst girls fathers were more commonly the main transport provider if they co‐participated with their child fathers mostly provided initial coaching only boys were taught equipment maintenance by parents. Sport‐related organisations/groups have numerous opportunities to improve girls' representation in action sports by fostering family level social support through various means. Intervention strategies should be tailored to account for gendered participation differences.
No related grants have been discovered for Suzanne Waddingham.