TY - JOUR
T1 - Basic school pupils’ food purchases during mid-morning break in urban Ghanaian schools
AU - Ogum-Alangea, Deda
AU - Aryeetey, Richmond N.O.
AU - Gray, Heewon L.
AU - Laar, Amos K.
AU - Adanu, Richard M.K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Ogum-Alangea et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2020/9
Y1 - 2020/9
N2 - Background Unhealthy food vending can expose children to malnutrition and other diet related challenges such as obesity. This study sought to describe types and sources of food in basic schools in urban Accra, and to describe food purchases by pupils. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of five basic schools (3 public; 2 private) and 644 pupils in the Ga-East Municipality in Ghana. Check-lists were used to document available sources of foods during school hours. Pupils were intercepted after making purchases during breaktime and the type, cost and sources of foods purchased documented. Energy content of foods were read from labels when available or estimated using the Ghana Food Composition database when unlabelled. Frequencies and crosstabs were used to compare food type by source and school type. Results Foods were purchased from school canteen, school store, private stores, and ‘table-top’ vendors. Meals were most frequently purchased (38%) although single purchases were sweetened drinks, savoury snacks and confectioneries. About 53% of retailers located within the schools sold relatively healthier food options. Similar foods with comparable energy content were purchased within and outside of school. Conclusions Basic schools in urban Ghana provide ready access to energy dense food options, which are purchased by pupils both within and outside of school premises. Timely interventions inclusive of school food policies can encourage healthier diets among pupils.
AB - Background Unhealthy food vending can expose children to malnutrition and other diet related challenges such as obesity. This study sought to describe types and sources of food in basic schools in urban Accra, and to describe food purchases by pupils. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of five basic schools (3 public; 2 private) and 644 pupils in the Ga-East Municipality in Ghana. Check-lists were used to document available sources of foods during school hours. Pupils were intercepted after making purchases during breaktime and the type, cost and sources of foods purchased documented. Energy content of foods were read from labels when available or estimated using the Ghana Food Composition database when unlabelled. Frequencies and crosstabs were used to compare food type by source and school type. Results Foods were purchased from school canteen, school store, private stores, and ‘table-top’ vendors. Meals were most frequently purchased (38%) although single purchases were sweetened drinks, savoury snacks and confectioneries. About 53% of retailers located within the schools sold relatively healthier food options. Similar foods with comparable energy content were purchased within and outside of school. Conclusions Basic schools in urban Ghana provide ready access to energy dense food options, which are purchased by pupils both within and outside of school premises. Timely interventions inclusive of school food policies can encourage healthier diets among pupils.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090179634&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0238308
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0238308
M3 - Article
C2 - 32870945
AN - SCOPUS:85090179634
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 15
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 9 September
M1 - e0238308
ER -