Apps y educación social

During the teachers’ interviews it became obvious that the teachers believed that schools are a second home for students because they spend a long time at there. So across all cases teachers were concerned that the school was one major factor influencing students’ health, this might be through school canteens, infrastructure, programmes, standards and teachers.

The first example is that many teachers focus on types of foods provided by school. School provide unhealthy food and thus students have limited healthy choices, as quoted below.

“The school did not provide the students with healthy food. However, when the school provided them with healthy food the students will not

The food consumption cluster Food exposure Convenience of food offering

The social psychology cluster Social acceptability of fatness

Media and food advertising

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buy that. They like to buy sweet things. Some students bring food from their house.”

(I3T2. Teacher Interview, Islamic school)

“We do not know if the students will buy apples or not because the school canteen prepares fried chips and the children will look for what they desire. But if you stop selling fried chips in the school canteen and bring good food in I am sure they will buy it because they are hungry.”

(BT6. Teacher Interview, Public school)

“In fact, because we stopped students from bringing unhealthy foods, so many times we found inside the school hidden sweets, shrimps in what they call family size. We blame their parents for their silence about buying these types of food.”

(AT2. Teacher Interview, Public school)

Poor school infrastructure is the second reason for the school having a negative impact on students’ health. The public and the Islamic schools have no appropriate place to eat, whereas the private school had. However, some of the students at the private school after buying their breakfast looked for a place to sit and they could not find vacant chairs to sit on.

So some of them eat their breakfast while they are standing, others decide to go outside the canteen looking for shade to sit in and eat, as quoted below.

“I saw five students eating their breakfast and they were talking to each other. Three of them were standing. One of them was overweight and the second one on the right looked obese, whereas the third one was very thin”

(Field notes, Private School)

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Through observation and interviews, school programmes such as the Feena Khair programme had begun and finished after achieving its goals. Some of the schools programs have limitations such as limited resources and poor implementation. But these programmes can support schools to provide good facilities and they can also help students learn how to choose healthy food and practise healthy behaviour, as quoted below.

“The students’ health awareness in the school is increasing; for example, you notice that some of them bring hand sanitizer with them in their bags. The good thing is that students like copying from each other. We also support that with programmes such Feena khair and we provide the school toilet with all facilities that help them to be clean.

Even in the classroom- if you come with me now you will notice the classroom is clean with the facilities to keep it clean all the time and this will be reflected on the students’ personal hygiene.”

(P2T2. Teacher Interview, Private school)

The fourth example is school rules and regulations which can help students to increase their knowledge and information so they choose healthy food and practice healthy behaviours.

For example, students change their healthy behaviours because of the school, as quoted below.

BT3: Previously the community was not interested in health issues.

Ahmed: Why is that?

BT3: Because of poverty and limited education, which we were brought up on.

Ahmed: What about now?

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BT3: Now this issue has changed due to many reasons. First, we are wealthy, praise be to God. Secondly, we became well educated and we can receive health information easily. Therefore some of the schools have changed children’s health behaviour for the better.

Ahmed: Such as what?

BT3: My nephew is at the King Abdullah University of Science &

Technology. His daughter goes to the babysitter and they changed her health behaviour completely so it is much better.

(BT3. Teacher Interview, Public school)

Another example is the Islamic school admission standards which are different from other schools, this may increase the understanding of health and health behaviours among students before their enrolment, as quoted below.

“The health situation among the students is good because they are in an Islamic school. To be students in the Islamic school means that you pass the evaluation process before entering school. The evaluation covered many things such as; memorising many chapters of the Quran, knowing the alphabet and numbers and having some life skills. These standards bring good students to the Islamic school and those students are knowledgeable and they almost care about their physical activities and body weight.”

(I2T1. Teacher Interview, Islamic school)

However, some school decisions can influence students’ eating. For example, in one school students from low grades (3 to 1) were eating their breakfast while sitting inside the school

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lobby watching cartoons. Some of them paid more attention to the cartoon than to their breakfast.

“When I came back to the primary school I observed a screen inside the school lobby, and the students watched cartoon and ate breakfast.”

(Field notes, Private School)

School teachers help students to increase their knowledge so they understand health and health behaviour. For example teachers can give real examples from students’ lives to link that with the health issues so the students will understand it, as quoted below.

“We have studied topics under the title overeating and we linked it with some types of food. Also, we had a workshop about that topic. After that, the students would answer all questions. This topic increased the students; knowledge and they became aware of healthy eating habits”

(PT2. Teacher Interview, Private school)

“I saw the teacher with the students outside the school in the

playground area. The teacher tried his best to guide the students to do some physical exercises. However, some of them asked the teacher to start a particular exercise but the teacher was committed to finishing that exercise first."

(Field notes, Private School)

Summary

It is clear that students spend a long time at their schools and, during this time, they interact with many things such as school canteens, infrastructure, programmes, standards and teachers. All these can work as dependent and independent factors in students’ health.

Students’ schools can have an impact on three clusters of the Foresight Obesity System Map,