Stefania Velardo

The Nuances of Health Literacy, Nutrition Literacy, and Food Literacy

Health literacy, defined as the ability to access, understand, and use health information, has been identified as an international public health goal. The term nutrition literacy has emerged as a distinct form of health literacy, yet scholars continue to reflect on constituent skills and capabilities in light of discussions regarding what it means to be food literate and health literate. This viewpoint argues that a comprehensive conceptualization of nutrition literacy should reflect key elements of health literacy and food literacy constructs. Nutbeams tripartite model of health literacy is employed to explore competencies that are likely to facilitate healthy food relationships.

Emphasizing the child in child health literacy research

Child health literacy is a ‘hot topic’ of late, as researchers and practitioners work to attain an equitable and healthy future. Health literacy emphasizes the wide range of skills that people need to access, understand, evaluate and use health information to promote good health. In light of the recognition that health literacy is an important determinant of health for adults, addressing child health literacy early on is essential to maximize future health outcomes. Meeting children’s specific needs arguably includes the delivery of information that can be easily accessed and understood by younger age groups. While much academic discourse pertains to the importance of building parental health literacy, there is less literature that explicitly focuses on child-centred health literacy. On the premise that health literacy is an asset, this paper provides an argument for investing in children’s health literacy by working with children to encourage meaningful contributions in research and practice.

Understanding Parental Health Literacy and Food Related Parenting Practices

Abstract Health literacy, which relates to the acquisition, understanding and application of health information, has become an increasingly important public health issue, particularly where parents and children are concerned. Given that the home setting comprises a strong influence on children’s diets, this qualitative study explored the concept of health literacy using parents’ experiences with health information seeking and food related parenting practices. Semi-structured focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted with parents, with children aged from birth to 12 years, in a low socio-economic region of South Australia. The results of this study indicated that there were a number of perceived barriers to accessing, understanding and utilising health information related to children’s nutrition. These findings contribute to a broader understanding of how parents obtain and process dietary information and the channels through which they appear to be accessible.

Nutrition Literacy for the Health Literate

A recent discussionwith a familymember brought to light a new diet plan that had been endorsed by her personal trainer. As we engaged in discussion, she excitedly recounted the list of food inclusions within the new diet; for example, she could eat white table sugar and saturated fat aplenty, amidst other appealing food choices. Yes to baked potatoes with lavish lashings of butter. Yes to coffee with sugar and cream. As the conversation progressed I became more intrigued as she outlined an extensive list of food exclusions, including whole grains and green leafy vegetables. This provided a great contrast to her previous diet plan, which emphasized lean protein, limited fat and dairy, and an abundance of raw vegetables. When I questioned her about this apparent contradiction, and the fact that this plan undermined well-established government dietary guidelines that promote a wide variety of foods, she assured me that this diet was based on concrete scientific evidence and further legitimized through a worldwide movement of online posts, blogs, and forums. This is not the first occasion on which I have engaged in conversations that elicit differing views of scientific nutrition recommendations. One woman recently testified, ‘‘I read that I should be eating rice malt syrup instead of honey,’’ whereas another person pondered, ‘‘Should I be eating a Paleo Diet?’’ Such conversations reflect a healthism discourse that emphasizes the need to know about our food and take responsibility formaking the right choices. But what happens when the right choices are confusing? A key tenet of nutrition literacy is ones ability to access, understand, and use nutrition information in ways that promote health. Whereas low nutrition literacy presents a barrier to

Sport and Children's Nutrition: What Can We Learn from the Junior Australian Football Setting?.

ABSTRACT There is a widely held belief that sport participation inherently enhances health among youth. Such a perception often motivates parents to encourage childrens initial and ongoing involvement in organised sport and physical activity. While sport certainly comprises an important vehicle for accruing physical activity, the sport environment may not necessarily enhance other health-related behaviours, including dietary practices. The literature identifies the influence of the physical environment in this regard, including the availability of energy-dense nutrient-poor foods in sport settings. In considering additional influences on childrens nutrition in sporting contexts, the role of parents is less understood. This is the first paper to emerge from a larger qualitative study, in which the basis of the investigation was to explore parental influence in the junior Australian football context. The naturalistic manner of qualitative inquiry led to a number of unintended yet highly pertinent emergent themes, including the role of parents in maintaining and reinforcing some contentious dietary behaviours among children post weekend sport. Drawing on individual interviews and focus groups with parents, children and coaches (n = 102), this paper discusses the role of parents in reinforcing a ‘food-as-reward’ culture in the junior Australian football setting. The findings indicate that while parents play a vital role in promoting good nutrition in the lead up to weekend sport, they also reinforce a culture that fosters unhealthy dietary practices in the post-game setting. This gives rise to the notion that we, in this paper, have coined the ‘binge-purge’ paradox. This paper discusses the implications of this health issue in relation to the ‘sport for health’ rhetoric, and in broader society and culture.

Social determinants of health: A pedagogical framework for advancing the Citizen Scholar

The concept of the Citizen Scholar highlights the potential for universities to act as vehicles for social change by supporting the development of active, engaged graduates who are geared to respond to current and future global challenges. This demands a radical shift in teaching towards more interactive pedagogies, which may prove difficult for some educators and students who are comfortable with a traditional model of learning and ‘teaching to the test’. Despite these challenges, universities have a responsibility to bring about change in practice to prepare undergraduate students for the complex outside world. This article reports on a revised version of a 12-week Australian undergraduate course in health promotion that was delivered to 147 first-year students enrolled in a Bachelor of Education and/or Bachelor of Health Sciences degree. Significant revisions were made to the curriculum and modification of teaching methodology, with the aim of encouraging greater social awareness and students’ capacity for social change. In this article, I reflect on various teaching strategies employed to develop skills and proficiencies akin to the Citizen Scholar, with a particular emphasis on fostering critically health literate graduates who are empowered to create healthy, just societies. Strategies included the facilitation of discussions to ignite empathy, integrating problem-solving activities and building advocacy competencies. A collaborative, learner-directed approach is considered as a way forward for other university educators, as a way of disrupting previous pedagogic work that emphasises knowing ‘about’ social problems rather than ‘acting on’ them.

Promoting Healthy Physical Activity and Nutrition in a Low Socioeconomic Status Community: A University-Australian Rules Football Collaborative Model

The Flinders-Panthers Be Your Best project was developed as a result of a successful and effective union between Flinders University and the South Adelaide Football Club, colloquially known as ‘the Panthers’. The aim of the project was to implement and evaluate, in an area of high social deprivation, an in-school health promotion programme for primary school children—based on evidence and established good practice, and capitalising on the potential of the football club as a vehicle for community engagement—for the purpose of achieving positive dietary and physical activity behaviour change.