Asignación de temas

behaviour towards healthy eating differ across different year groups and between genders Perceptions of different year groups and genders

Some differences in perceptions were found between the younger and older learners. In the school with the nutritionally-regulated tuck shop most of the grade 7’s did not think they should eat healthy food before having sweets compared to the other age groups. In both schools all of the grade 2 and 3 learners agreed that they must first eat healthy food before having sweets.

In both schools the younger learners (grade 2 to 4) misunderstood the question about “food that makes you hands oily”. Only the older learners (grade 5 to 7) could relate oily hands to food that contains fat and here it was seen that the older learners’ perceptions showed more insight and had more informed views about fat. A significant difference between the age groups in the school with the conventional tuck shop showed that more grade 5 and 7 learners in this school viewed fatty food as unhealthy. Despite the educated views of older learners only a third of the grade 6 and 7 learners in the school with the conventional tuck shop thought that the intake of oily foods should be limited. No differences between boys and girls with regards to their perceptions towards fat were found.

In the school with the nutritionally-regulated tuck shop, the opinions and perceptions of the younger and older learners differed with regards to the schools’ tuck shops. The younger learners, especially in grades 2 and 3 were very positive towards the tuck shop and thought that other schools should also have the same type of tuck shop, while the older learners had negative perceptions towards the tuck shop and felt that there was "no need" for other schools to also have a nutritionally-regulated tuck shop. As discussed earlier, the younger learners were never exposed to the conventional tuck shop that the school used to have and this might be the reason why they were more accepting towards the concept of a nutritionally-regulated tuck shop.

Nutrition topics such as healthy eating are included in the Life skills subject of the Free State province’s school curriculum until grade 5, where after the curriculum focuses more on food

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hygiene, substance abuse and management of diseases/conditions such as Tuberculosis,

Diabetes Mellitus, anorexia and obesity in grades 6 and 7.105 This might be an indication that

nutritional knowledge on its own is not sufficient to influence health behaviour, especially in older learners who are entering the phase of adolescents where they have already formed

their own believe system and have established eating habits.57

Attitudes of different year groups and genders

Similar to their perceptions, the attitudes of younger learners towards their nutritionally- regulated tuck shop were also more positive than those of the older learners. In both schools the grade 2 and 3 learners thought that a tuck shop must not sell unhealthy items, in contrast to the older learners who either disagreed or were unsure. This is in contrast to a trend of several significant differences which showed that grade 2’s in both schools had negative attitudes towards certain fruits and vegetables.

In grade 6, boys liked the nutritionally-regulated tuck shop much more than the girls. The negative attitudes of the girls might have been influenced by several factors such as peer pressure, food preferences and personal experiences. Another difference between genders was that girls, in both schools liked certain fruits and vegetables significantly more than boys. A study by Sandvik et al. (2005) also reports that girls (11 – 12 years old) were more

positive towards fruits and vegetables than boys.106

Behaviours of different year groups and genders

The behaviour of some of the younger learners, in both schools, showed that there were extreme cases where the learners ate several meals per day ("six times because I am very hungry", "only six times per day”, “whenever I want to”) or just “once per day”, whereas the older learners ate three to four times per day. Although it is not possible to say with certainty, some of these comments may be linked to a lack of discipline when it comes to healthy eating behaviours among a smaller group of these primary school learners.

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Some girls in grades 2 and 7 in the school with the conventional tuck shop did not eat breakfast everyday like the rest of the learners in the other age groups. It is not clear why the behaviour of skipping breakfast was only found in some girls and not with boys, because

girls usually have healthier eating habits than boys.59

A difference in behaviour was found when learners in the focus groups discussed which breakfast cereals they eat. Only the younger learners (grades 2 to 4 in the school with the nutritionally-regulated tuck shop and grades 2 to 5 in the school with the conventional tuck shop) mentioned chocolate coated cereals as a breakfast option. In a study by Meininger et

al. (2010) learners of all ages liked sweet foods and the researchers also found that the

young learners thought cereals were good for them and also linked “food that tastes good” to “food that is good for you”.107 The media can play a role in influencing learners’ eating behaviour, since marketing strategies target young children by promoting the sale of energy-

dense items that are high in fat and sugar, such as refined breakfast cereals.23,34,35 In South

Africa, advertisements such as the adverts for Coco Pops and Milo chocolate breakfast cereals target children by giving the impression that eating these cereals are “healthy” and

“cool”. This might explain why so many of the younger learners enjoy eating chocolate

coated cereals. Another explanation could be poor parental practices which have a negative impact on children’s behaviour, such as using food as a reward or feeding for emotion

regulating because children manipulate them.37

Another difference between the year groups, was that the oldest learners (grade 7 in both schools) did not mention fruit as a favourite food item, while the youngest learners (grade 2’s) in the school with the nutritionally regulated tuck shop was the only group in this school that did not mention that they bought fruit from the nutritionally-regulated tuck shop. Research shows that there are several barriers that prevent learners from consuming fruits and vegetables such as availability, taste, peer pressure, social norms and parental behaviour.27,100,106

Significant differences between the age groups were also found when learners had to choose items for their lunchboxes. The grade 5’s in the school with the nutritionally- regulated tuck shop chose the least amount of fruit for their lunchboxes, while most of the

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grade 6 and 7 learners in the school with the conventional tuck shop chose a sandwich for their lunchbox instead of a pie. In terms of lunchbox contents the grade 7 learners in the school with the conventional tuck shop show positive health behaviour by bringing more water to school compared to the other grades in this school. It can therefore be seen that in some instances the health behaviour of certain year groups were influenced more positively than others.

Gender differences were also found when learners had to select items for their lunchboxes. Significantly more girls in school B chose juice while significantly more boys in the same school chose carbonate cooldrink. In school A significantly more boys compared to girls chose milk for their lunchboxes. An indication of the hypothesised outcomes stating that girls have more positive health behaviours than boys were thus more evident in the school with the conventional tuck shop.

In summary the younger learners and girls did not always display positive perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards healthy eating when compared to older learners and boys, as was stated in the hypothesis for the study.

4.2.3 Objective: To establish what primary school learners bring to school in their