Promoting Healthier Food Choices in the West Midlands

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Promoting Healthier Food Choices in theWest
Midlands

• Catherine Goodridge
• Regional School
• Food and Health
• Co-ordinator
• Catherine.goodridge_at_sandwell-pct.nhs.uk

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Awareness Attitudes Access Availability
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Some positive changes

• In the UK, total energy intake fell by
  approximately 20 between 1974 and 2004
• 5 A Day consumption increased between 2001 and
  2005
• 22 to 26 for men
• 25 to 30 for women
• 10 to 17 for boys
• 13 to 17 for girls
• Adults eat on average 3.7 portions of fruit and
  vegetables each day
• Children now eat on average 3.1 portions of fruit
  and vegetables each day compared to an average of
  2 portions in 2001

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Is eating healthily considered tobe important?
Healthy eating was seen to be relatively more of
a concern in London (27), the East Midlands
(27) and the West Midlands (26) (The
Information Centre)
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These days its not that important that families
sit down together for meals

• 52 of West Midlands respondents disagreed.
• 65 of women an 51 of men strongly disagreed
  with this statement.
• 39 of 16-25 years olds disagreed.
• 59 of white respondents disagreed.
• 47 of non-white respondents disagreed.
• There was a gradient of disagreement across the
  social groups (AB 67, C1,C2 58, DE 51).
• Source FSA Consumer Attitudes to Food Standards
  (February 2007)

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Can you identify changes children and young
people are making to food choices across the
school day?
A lot of children are bringing in healthy snacks,
and children are choosing fruit as part of their
breakfast at the club
Big increase in school lunch uptake since school
employed its own chef and ran canteen along
healthy food guidelines
Better choices and better food in lunchboxes
Children appear to have healthier lunchboxes
containing more fruit items. School cooked
lunches allow more choice for healthier options.
Children are becoming more willing to try new
foods
Pupils having school cooked meals dropped by
about a third in 2005. To date numbers have gone
up and exceeded by about 50 what they were pre
new school food guidelines
A bigger uptake of school dinners - lots of work
on these since September, new menus, veg/salad
options etc
Children are aware of healthy choices they can
make - but don't always make them!
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What are we doing?

• Research and Evaluation
• Training and Support
• Networking and Communication
• Regional Co-ordination
• Regional Food Policy Group
• Regional Food and Health Action Plan
• Regional Food in Schools Action Group
• School Food Ambassador Network

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How many changes to school food, programmes and
initiatives can you name from the last 5 years?
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Food and Public Health Choosing Health Choosing
a Better Diet Childhood Obesity PSA Indicator 3
Ambition by 2020 to reduce the proportion of
overweight and obese children to 2000 levels
Education Every Child Matters Education and
Achievement Be healthy Stay safe Enjoy and
achieve Make a positive contribution Achieve
economic well-being 100 of schools to be on the
healthy schools scheme by 2009
Catering Turning the Tables Transforming School
Food Increase uptake of school meals 4 by March
2008 10 by September 2009 PSA indicator 2
Percentage of children who have a school
lunch National Indicator Number 52 Take up of
school lunches
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School Food Ambassadors

• 60 Regional Ambassadors
• Enables effective communication within the region
• Supports sharing of good practice
• Ensures joined up working
• Helps us to replicate good work across the region

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Food in Schools Survey 2007

• The proportion of schools with whole school food
  policies has more than doubled - 73 (2007)30
  (2005)

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Targeted Interventions

• Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do it! MEND
• Offered to all 17 West Midlands PCTs
• 13 PCTs will be running 20 programmes in 2008/9
  in addition to other targeted interventions
• Action research project

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Other activity

• Healthy Packed Lunch Workshops
• Early Years Training
• School Meal Uptake
• Whole School Food Policy Research
• Leisure Centre Food and Drink Survey
• Social Marketing
• 5 A DAY