Elementary school food environment and child food purchasing behavior

Growing obesity rates among children have motivated research and policy in the areas of Nutrition; and wellness. Since 1960, childhood and adolescent overweight prevalence rates have more than tripled. Recent research suggests that one populationbased approach to improving children's diet and reducing their risk of obesity is through improving the food environments and policies in schools. Researchers and public health officials are focusing on schools as influential places to create healthy eating and exercise habits; this focus reflects a growing recognition that the school food environment represents an important place for research and intervention. I address two research questions. First, what dimensions comprise the school food environment? Second, what are the linkages between school food environments and student food purchasing patterns? To address these research questions, I created a typology of the elementary school food environment. The typology is based on food environment characteristics that have positive effects on purchasing patterns. To address the second research question, I related school food environments to student food purchasing patterns. For this project, I used secondary data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K). The ECLS-K is based on a nationally representative sample of approximately 22,000 children who were enrolled in roughly 1,000 kindergarten programs during the 1998-1999 school years. The fifth grade cohort of the ECLS-K is chosen for this research in order to provide deeper insight into the food purchasing behaviors of children in elementary schools. Logistic regression analyses were used to explore the relationship between school food environment variables and the purchasing of energy dense food and drink. Findings indicate that the school food environment relates to a child's decision to purchase energy dense food and drink. Correlational analyses were used to support the creation of the elementary school food environment typology. Inclusion of school food environment variables from the dataset was supported. Several school food environment factors not included in the dataset were used in creation of the typology based on current research about school food environments. This study provides empirical support for school food environment factors as influences on food purchasing behaviors among children.