January 19, 2010 - A report on preschool nutrition and activity indicates the majority of Thunder Bay’s children are “doing well” with 84% of children at low risk for nutrition related concerns. Of the remaining children, 12% were at moderate risk and 4% were high risk. These are some of the findings from a report released today by the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.
The report, conducted in partnership with the Fair Start Program, also indicates that 21% of preschoolers eat fast food once a week. Fast food is noted for its high calorie, high fat and sodium content and low nutrient value.
NutriSTEP® is a nutrition screening tool completed by parents of children three to five years old when they register for junior kindergarten. The tool is used to increase awareness of children’s eating habits among families and care providers and to identify nutrition-related problems early so that children receive help and long-term consequences are reduced. Questions in the tool focus on physical activity, food and nutrient intake, factors affecting intake and eating behaviour, and developmental and physical capabilities and physical growth.
“We know that children’s food choices directly affect their health, development and even academic performance,” said Kim McGibbon, a Public Health Dietitian at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit. “Eating habits are established at an early age and this tool helps families pinpoint concerns with their preschoolers and helps them access the information they need.”
Other results from this first NutriSTEP® report:
- Preschoolers are eating well when it comes to foods from the milk, grains and fruit sections of the food guide. They are eating fewer servings from the meat and alternatives and vegetable sections of the food guide.
- Children who were scored as high risk were even more likely to eat fast food. In fact, 35% eat it sometimes and 4% eat it most of the time.
- The cost of food impacts how children are eating, with 7% of families saying they sometimes had difficulty buying food because it is expensive.
- Though 90% of parents felt their child was getting enough physical activity more than a third spent greater than three hours per day in front of a screen (either computer or television). *Preschoolers should accumulate at least 60 minutes of structured and 60 minutes of unstructured physical activity daily.
“We are planning to focus our public health interventions on some of these key findings. We will target programming on increasing vegetable consumption and physical activity time, and decreasing intake of fast food and high calorie beverages, along with time preschoolers spend in front of the television,” McGibbon added.
The NutriSTEP® tool was given to all families in the District during the 2008-2009 school year. Most of the questionnaires were given out through the Fair Start Junior Kindergarten screening program.
“The NutriSTEP® tool fit in well with the existing JK screening process and the feedback from parents and partners has been really positive,” said Andrea Docherty, Fair Start Coordinator. “We will continue to provide the tool to parents and hope to see a version for younger children.”
The NutriSTEP® project was developed by researchers at the Sudbury & District Health Unit in partnership with the University of Guelph. NutriSTEP® is a provincially recognized program in Ontario, funded by the Ministry of Health Promotion, with its implementation supported by the Nutrition Resource Centre of the Ontario Public Health Association. For more information about the program please visit www.nutristep.ca.
Copies of both the NutriSTEP® summary report and full report are available for review.
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