Laurie A. Wadsworth

Physical activity of children and youth in Nova Scotia from 2001/02 and 2005/06

OBJECTIVES This paper reports on physical activity of students in grades 3, 7, and 11 from two surveillance studies (from 2001 and 2005). METHODS Randomly selected students (Study1 n=1730; Study2 n=2341) from randomly selected schools in Nova Scotia participated. Physical activity was measured for seven consecutive days using Actigraph accelerometers. Descriptive statistics were calculated for moderate, hard, and very hard intensity, and total minutes of physical activity. Between study, grade, and sex differences were determined using univariate Analyses of Variance. RESULTS Students in Study2 were significantly less active (mean [SD]=531.0 [392.3] min/week) than Study1 (662.2 [495.1] min/week). Girls were significantly less active (525.4 [419.1] min/week) than boys (657.1 [460.3] min/week). Students in grade 11 were significantly less active (225.2 [171.1] min/week) than students in grade 7 (457.5 [227.2] min/week) who were significantly less active than students in grade 3 (1038.4 [387.6] min/week). A significant study-grade interaction indicated that compared to students in grades 7 and 11, the level of physical activity in students in grade 3 was considerably lower in Study2 compared to Study1. CONCLUSIONS Given the lower level of physical activity found in Study2, efforts at informing public policy and strategies that promote physical activity in children and youth should be made.

Are overweight students in Grades 3, 7, and 11 less physically active than their healthy weight counterparts?

OBJECTIVE This study compared the accumulated minutes of objectively measured physical activity in 1,790 boys and girls in Grades 3, 7, and 11 classified as healthy weight, at risk of overweight, and overweight. METHODS Height and weight were measured and body mass index calculated. Minutes of sedentary, light, moderate, hard, and very hard physical activity were obtained from a seven-day measurement of physical activity using an accelerometer (Actigraph, mode 7164; MTI). RESULTS In Grade 3, boys (p=0.000) and girls (p=0.012) classified as overweight obtained significantly fewer minutes of very hard physical activity compared with their healthy weight counterparts. Boys in Grade 7 considered overweight obtained significantly fewer minutes of hard (p=0.002) and very hard physical activity (p=0.006) compared with boys who were a healthy weight. There were no significant differences in minutes of sedentary, light, moderate, hard, or very hard intensity physical activity in the boys and girls in Grade 11, who were considered a healthy weight, at risk of overweight, or overweight. CONCLUSIONS Weak and inconsistent support was provided for the notion that boys and girls classified overweight are less physically active than their healthy weight counterparts.

Mass media and healthy aging.

ABSTRACT Health effects associated with media use have largely focused on children and youth with little attention paid to adults, particularly older adults. However, adults aged 60 years and older report heavy television viewing, and unique health education challenges will be faced as the technically savvy baby-boomer cohort ages. Media health effects relevant to older adults include an established causative link with adiposity and correlations to increased risk of chronic disease, reduced physical activity, and undesirable food choice behaviors. Advertising has targeted older adults as a key market segment promoting anti-aging and health related products, with potential negative body image impacts. Implications for health practitioners and research are discussed in the context of these consequences.

A Newspaper Content Analysis of HIV/AIDS and Food Insecurity in Sub‐Saharan Africa

This study sought to identify media links presented between food insecurity and the HIV pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa through description of commonly portrayed frames found in high visibility Western and African print media sources. An episodic sampling process during the summer of 2006 found articles that tied food security to the HIV pandemic. Content analysis employed a mixed methodology grounded in naturalistic inquiry. Included were interpretative thematic analyses of text and images along with a frequency content coding instrument as a means of triangulation. Several themes emerged during analysis of the sample, including a biomedical frame, war and competition imagery, economic threats, food insecurity as a contributing factor for HIV infection, and hopeful action. Differences noted within Western and African print media framing of food security within the HIV pandemic consisted of an overall Western portrayal that was less actionable and more hopeless in nature than African portrayals. The potential of integrating existing frames and working towards newer frames is discussed as a method to improve citizen-level action on global issues and further the agenda-setting process necessary for policy development.

Organic Food Availability in Antigonish County, NS: Perspectives Along the Supply Chain

ABSTRACT Supply and demand for organic foods has increased worldwide. Drivers of this market expansion include consumer demand, increased production, product promotion and policy development. This study aimed to explore perceptions of the availability of organic foods from producers, retailers and consumers in rural Nova Scotia, Canada. Data were gathered using three focus group discussions (N = 15 participants) and seven individual interviews. Increasing consumer demand was reported as a driving force behind market expansion by all participants, while organic food costs were seen as strong deterrents to market growth. Producers and consumers depicted farmers markets as key to organic food availability. A lack of trust in the certification and labeling systems was evident from consumer discussions. All participants held positive attitudes towards organic foods, but believed these were difficult to access. Further market development will depend on improved certification and labeling policies, expanded marketing and education programs, continuity of supply, and enhanced marketing of locally produced foods. Potential roles for health professionals are suggested.

(Re) Focus on Local Food Systems through Service Learning: Empowering Pedagogy in a Human Nutrition Degree Program

Abstract Recent nutrition professional discourse has emphasized reintegration of food and society concepts into undergraduate programs currently entrenched in the intricacies of nutritional science. To reintroduce this macro-approach, a community–university partnership was developed to address the strengthening of local food systems to improve community food security. Service learning, an experiential pedagogical technique, allowed students to work with a community agency on a community defined problem and emphasized connection of classroom theory to real-world situations. Two courses integrated service learning opportunities for forty-seven students in eighteen projects that developed awareness-building and advocacy tools for community organizations. Evaluation of these course components included written reflections of the experience, shared learnings in classrooms, instructor reflections and community feedback. A thematic analysis organized these data into empowerment domains for community capacity development. Results indicated that service learning and community–university partnerships can be key tools for enabling empowerment of future nutrition professionals, while integrating food systems into courses.