Promotion of Healthy Eating in Spanish High Schools

• Published in: Nutrients 2020-07, Vol.12 (7), p.1979
• Main Authors: Garrido-Fernández, Almudena, García-Padilla, Francisca María, Sánchez-Ramos, José Luis, Gómez-Salgado, Juan, Ramos-Pichardo, Juan Diego, Ortega-Galán, Ángela María
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; adolescents; Body weight; Cooking; Cross-Sectional Studies; Curricula; Curriculum - statistics & numerical data; diet; Diet, Healthy; Eating; Education; Female; food and nutrition; Habits; Health Education - methods; Health Education - statistics & numerical data; Health problems; health promotion; Humans; Male; Nutrition; Obesity; Promoters; Public health; Questionnaires; School Health Services - statistics & numerical data; Schools; Schools - statistics & numerical data; Secondary schools; Spain; Students; Students - statistics & numerical data; Teaching; Teenagers
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu12071979

Obesity and overweight are both public health problems, affecting increasingly younger populations. Promoting healthy eating should be a must in schools. Therefore, getting to know the eating habits of a population group as sensitive as adolescents and whether their schools apply an appropriate policy for their nutrition should be a priority. Therefore, the objective of this study was to discover whether the Secondary Education High Schools of Huelva and its province could be considered as centres that promote a healthy diet. A cross-sectional descriptive study was developed using a questionnaire comprising 39 indicators that were evaluated on 5 previously piloted subcategories of validated information. Data were obtained through a questionnaire presented to 200 key informants with four different profiles. The highest score for promoting healthy eating in the centres was related to the subcategory "School Curriculum", whereas the lowest means were those related to the Community category. No practical activities such as outings or cooking workshops were carried out. The low participation in activities promoting healthy eating habits, research and health training must be highlighted. Little attention was paid to compliance and monitoring of school cafeterias. Most of the studied Secondary Education High Schools did not meet the requisites to be considered promoters of healthy eating habits. Only three of the studied centres can be considered healthy-eating promoters. Institutional commitment is needed to favour the intersectorality of the different agents implied and to provide teaching units and other teaching profiles with the necessary resources, training, and tools to achieve integral and protective teaching activities aimed at promoting students' healthy eating habits.