Survey of canteens and food services in Victorian schools

Objective: To examine the characteristics of food services in Victorian government primary and secondary schools.

Design and methods: A cross-sectional postal survey of all high schools and a random sample of one quarter of primary school respondents in Victoria. A `School Food Services and Canteen' questionnaire was administered by mail to the principal of each school.

Subjects: Respondents included principals, canteen managers and home economics teachers from 150 primary and 208 secondary schools representing response rates of 48% and 67%, respectively.

Main outcome measures: Responses to closed questions about school canteen operating procedures, staff satisfaction, food policies and desired additional services.

Data analyses: Frequency and cross-tabulation analyses and associated χ²-tests.

Results: Most schools provided food services at lunchtime and morning recess but one-third provided food before school. Over 40% outsourced their food services, one-third utilised volunteer parents, few involved students in canteen operations. Half of the secondary schools had vending machines; one in five had three or more. Secondary school respondents were more dissatisfied with the nutritional quality of the food service, and expressed more interest in additional services than primary respondents. Schools with food policies wanted more service assistance and used volunteer parents, student and paid canteen managers more than schools without policies.

Conclusion: Most schools want to improve the nutritional quality of their food services, especially via school food policies. There is a major opportunity for professional organisations to advocate for the supply of healthier school foods.

Community water fluoridation : is it still worthwhile

Community Water Fluoridation (CWF) is the adjustment of fluoride concentration in community drinking water to a level that confers optimal protection from dental caries (Truman et al 2002). It is supported by many authorities as the single most effective public health measure for reducing dental caries (DHS 2007). It has consistently been shown to be effective in reducing the prevalence and severity of dental caries in populations following its introduction (NHMRC 1999). The most dramatic reductions (50-60%) were demonstrated in the earlier studies although more recent research has still shown reductions of between 30 and 50% (Truman et al 2002). Despite the strong scientific evidence for its beneficial effects and safety the issue of the appropriateness of CWF is often the focus of public debate. Proponents argue that it reduces dental caries. is safe and cost effective. and that it provides significant benefits to all social classes (Slade et al 1995: Slade et a 1996: Spencer et al 1996). Opponents question its efficacy and safety and argue that its addition to community water supplies is unethical mass medication (Colquhoun 1990: Diesendorf 1986: Diesendorf et al 1997).

More recently, however, there have been important questions raised regarding the continuing benefit of CWF over and above that produced by the widespread use of other sources of fluoride (toothpaste. mouth rinses. varnish and other professionally applied fluorides). Generally, dental caries has declined steeply in the last thirty years and many have observed that dental caries has also reduced in parts of Australia and other countries where there has never been CWF or where it has ceased. It has been suggested that because of the current low population levels of dental caries and the increase in alternate sources of fluoride, CWF no longer offers the benefits it may have in the past. Given this notion, together with the concerns of a minority subgroup of the population regarding the safety of CWF, it is valuable to examine current evidence to answer the question: Is there still a role for CWF in Australia?

This paper will firstly examine the history of water fluoridation and its mechanisms of action. Secondly. trends in dental decay experience over the last three decades with particular emphasis on social and geographical inequities in Australia will be described. We also review the current state of scientific evidence for the benefits of CWF including the contribution it makes to the reduction of oral health inequalities. In light of this we will provide a response to the question posed above.

It's your move

The Its Your Move! project is a community-based intervention project focusing on the promotion of healthy eating and regular physical activity in adolescents. VHETTA, among other organisations in the community, has been invitied to have an input into the project as a consultative stakeholder. Louise Mathews is the Project Coordinnator.

(Un)safe routes : maternal mortality and Ethiopia's development agenda

This study juxtaposed women's experiences of birth at home in rural Ethiopia where it is 'safe' with that in a modern health care setting where it is 'unsafe' because the distance from international maternal health policy to its implementation is vast and the 'pathway to maternal survival' can be circuitous.

Different patterns of Australian adults' knowledge of foods and nutrients related to metabolic disease risk

A nationwide survey of 2022 consumers was conducted in Australia in late 2011. A short list of questions about knowledge of the nutrient composition of common foods was administered along with questions about the respondents’ food attitudes, demographics, school education and dieting practices. Overall, the results showed that nutrition knowledge was relatively high. Latent class analysis showed two groups of consumers with ‘high’ and ‘low’ knowledge of nutrition. Higher knowledge was positively associated with age, female sex, university education, experience of home economics or health education at school, having a chronic disease, and attitudes to food issues, and negatively with type 1 diabetes or the use of diabetes-control diets. The implications of the findings for nutrition communication are discussed.

Working hours in supply chain Chinese and Thai factories: evidence from the fair labor association's 'soccer project'

This article examines the determinants of working excessive hours, defined as working in excess of 60 hours per week or for more than six consecutive days, in Chinese and Thai supply chain factories. We use a matched employer-employee dataset collected from 15 Chinese and Thai footwear and sporting apparel supply chain factories, which supply international brands. Matched employer-employee data allow us to examine the effect of worker and firm characteristics on hours worked. We find that in addition to the demographic and human capital characteristics of workers, firm-level characteristics and worker awareness of how to refuse overtime are important in explaining variation in hours worked. © John Wiley & Sons Ltd/London School of Economics 2011.