Poor nutrition and obesity are major health concerns among Canada's children and youth. Do food environments support or hinder efforts to promote healthy eating and prevent obesity among young people?
This session presents the findings of Canada's first-ever Report Card on Healthy Food Environments and Nutrition for Children and Youth. The Report Card assesses how current environments and policies support or create barriers to improving children's dietary behaviours and body weights. By assigning grades of A through F to 41 indicators of policies and actions within 4 micro-environments (physical, communication, economic, social) and within the political macro-environment, the Report Card aims to increase public, practitioner and policymaker awareness of the relevance and status of food environments for children and youth, and to support and develop enhanced programming and policies in areas that require further action. Participants will learn how the Report Card is a novel tool to monitor children's food environments and supportive policies, inform stakeholders, and engage discussion. Possibilities for creating local Report Cards through use of a tool kit and to enable action on childhood obesity will also be explored.
