A survey developed by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) assesses whether private schools in the country promote healthy eating in canteens. Preliminary results suggest that, in municipalities with specific legislation on the subject, the sale of products such as fresh fruits and natural juice tends to be higher, while the sale of chocolates, soft drinks and snacks falls.
With the participation of several public institutions, such as the Fiocruz National School of Public Health, the study “Commercialization of Food and Beverages in Brazilian Cities” (Caeb) began in May and started to visit canteens in June this year.
So far, it has completed collections in Porto Alegre (RS) and Niterói (RJ) and has preliminary results from Belo Horizonte (MG) and Rio de Janeiro. The work will extend to all the capitals of the country, with teams already trained for the start in Brasília (DF), Salvador (BA), Aracaju (SE) and Recife (PE).
Letícia Cardoso, a member of the project’s coordination team and a researcher at Fiocruz, explains that the study assesses the food offered to students, the type of advertising and marketing strategies aimed at children and young people, and how affordable products are for students.
According to Letícia, Niterói was included in the research, even though it is not a capital, as it debates the legislation on meals. In the city, 53 canteens were visited, and 92.5% of them indicate that they have the students’ preference as a criterion for choosing the items to be sold. Already 84.9% also point to the legislation and 73.6%, the recommendation of schools.
Among the establishments visited in Niterói, chocolates are sold in 56.6% of them, soft drinks in 50.9% and snacks in 66%, while fresh fruits are sold in 18.9% and natural juice in 43.4%.
In the city of Rio de Janeiro, the result of the visit to 138 schools shows the sale of snacks in 71.1%, chocolates in 72.5% and soft drinks in 84.7%. Fruits are on the menu at 9.2% and natural juice at 32.1%.
In the case of Porto Alegre, where the researcher points out a defined legislation on the subject, 85% of the schools sell fruits and 80%, natural juices. Already snacks are found in only 5% of establishments, chocolates in 25% and soft drinks in 6.7%.
In the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, 83.3% of the canteens indicate that they are based on the law to define the items sold, 76.7% on nutritionist guidelines and 71.7% on school recommendations.
In Belo Horizonte, where the collection of interviews is still ongoing, the preliminary result also shows a higher proportion of fruits and natural juice (in 56.8% of schools) and a lower proportion of processed foods – 6.8% of snacks, 13.6% of chocolates and 9.1% soft drinks.
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Letícia Cardoso points out that the research also shows that the canteens are mostly small and run by family businesses, in schools with 200 to 500 students.
With the results, the study intends to direct public policies. “Our intention is to move the discussion within the municipal level, which has a lot of strength for changes. The second point is that we are also developing training material for canteen workers, as there is the idea that a canteen cannot be sustained by selling healthy food”, he added.
The survey also shows that there are interesting initiatives to promote healthy eating being developed in schools, such as cooking classes, gardens and picnics.
The Fiocruz researcher highlights that the research does not want to adopt a punitive tone, but a propositional one, in order to avoid childhood obesity and the risks related to it, such as physical and psychological problems.
“We have to leave these ultra-processed foods with a lot of sugar for situations that are not the child’s routine, such as school. They are intended for festive, celebratory situations,” she defends.
Source: CNN Brasil
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