School food availability and surrounding food outlet density in New Zealand primary schools
Danika Pillay, Shohil Kishore, Ajmol Ali, Carol WhamAbstract
Objective:
To provide a snapshot of the food landscape around New Zealand (NZ) primary schools and to examine the association between food outlet density and the healthiness of primary school canteen menus.
Design:
Cross-sectional analyses of external food outlets around schools and school canteen menus.
Setting:
NZ primary schools.
Participants:
Seventy-one primary schools provided their school canteen menu, and all external food outlets within 1·6 km of these schools were mapped using Google’s Places API.
Results:
The average number of food outlets around primary schools was 45, with a median health score of –3·12. Unhealthy food outlets outnumbered healthy ones (23 v . 6, P < 0·001), with takeaways and convenience stores most prevalent (29·8 % and 17·6 %, respectively). 83 % of schools had ≥1 takeaway outlet within 1·6 km. Higher deprivation scores were associated with greater outlet density (13 % increase per unit rise in deprivation score, P = 0·019). School canteen menus comprised 19·7 % healthy ‘green’, 35·1 % occasional ‘amber’ and 35·5 % unhealthy ‘red’ food items. There was a weak association between types and density of external food outlets and school canteen menus.
Conclusions:
The food environment around NZ primary schools is highly obesogenic, with greater exposure to unhealthy outlets observed in more deprived areas, reinforcing the need for zoning regulations to promote health equity. The healthiness of school canteen menus showed little association with the external food environment. Despite widespread exposure to nearby takeaway outlets, schools demonstrated variable adherence to national nutrition guidance. Strengthening implementation support for schools may be more impactful than regulating the surrounding foodscape alone.