October 2010 Summary

Everyone had great ideas and brought many valuable points to the table that need to be considered as dietetic professionals and other members of organizations that directly affect the components of this study. To begin with the first question about changing foodservice operations to help decrease the occurrence of overweight and obesity while avoiding costs, Sarah Gervais made a good suggestion to alter favorite foods of children and adapt the recipes to make healthier options of their favorites. This change could help avoid some excess costs. Several agreed small and manageable goals such as this would be beneficial as long as the amount of labor and time are taken into consideration.
Liz made an excellent point, foodservice operations rely on a profit for their organization. The items that typically bring in the most profit are items that contribute to overweight and obesity. Educating families and reaching out so they know how to make choices for portion sizes may be more feasible. Several agreed educating consumers is a cost friendly method to improve upon their health and decisions.
The amounts of some food and beverages consumed may have changed over time due to environmental factors. While it may seem contradicting to our patient/client education that a lot of “less healthy” foods are offered, it is important to tailor education to these factors as well as do our best to implement feasible changes. Educating on how to eat proper amounts and a variety rather than just focus on limited options may prove beneficial. For example, Meredith mentioned a little creativity going a long way. They changed the position of the beverages at a district 87 school and saw differences in consumption because the more nutritional option was made more easily accessible.
For question two, Melanie discussed main contributing factors to be convenience, time constraints, price, and social/media factors. All of the items listed are fairly easy to prepare and quick and easy to grab for purchase. Many agreed with these basic concepts and added other details that give light to the logic behind them. Sarah Gervais said kids are bombarded with commercials and other environmental factors that influence their decisions and several respondents agreed with this notion. Another concept brought into the discussion was parental influence. If kids are never exposed to foods outside of the popular components in the study, then how can we expect them to frequently purchase them away from home? Considering the majority of respondents feel the media plays a large role, maybe the companies selling the products need to be addressed. Going to the source is always a great way to get started on implementing changes. They would not have to stop promoting their products, but rather alter them with healthier aspects.
The third question is somewhat challenging to address because there can be a variety of factors that change the order of prevalence in the top five food sources of the study. Many agree that time constraints due to schedules plays a key role in what foods are prepared or consumed. In relation to the second question, even though parents are one of the main sources of influence, it is hard to reach them with today’s robust schedules and routines. It was also mentioned that there is not necessarily a lack of knowledge among the individuals about fruit and vegetable consumption, but rather time and trouble-free. This poses an area for us to research on ways to make these options the easier options. This was discussed at the Wellness Summit and recent CIDA meeting, “making the healthy option the easy option.” It sometimes is not all about education on what is best, but rather how to get it quick and easy.
I am really impressed with the responses to these questions. I think this helps us identify areas we can improve upon as well as increase our knowledge base. Talking about these factors helps bring combined knowledge and opinions together for possible solutions. The next step is taking action. We can do this as RDs, we have access to these clients/patients.