Exploring nutrition education for migrants to Canada in Alberta's health and community sectors: Promising practices and gaps as informed by community workers and healthcare providers.

This qualitative study explored how migrant-serving agencies and healthcare providers in Alberta can support migrants to maintain healthy eating patterns. Through semi-structured interviews, respondents provided insight on their experiences working with migrant populations in the community. Observations about dietary acculturation (including food access, unfamiliar food environments, and perceptions of common foods in Canada) point to nutrition information that may be relevant for migrants. Respondents provided recommendations, noting the importance of culturally appropriate services, visual education materials, and collaboration between healthcare providers and community workers. The collective knowledge presented here could be applied by those developing programming supports for migrant communities.

Dietary Changes Albertan Women Make During Pregnancy: Thematic Analysis of Self-reported Changes and Reasons.

PURPOSE: To explore dietary changes Albertan women make during pregnancy, reasons they make changes, and alignment with prenatal nutrition recommendations. METHODS: Women up to 6 months postpartum were recruited in public health centres and Primary Care Networks. Qualitative data were collected through a self-administered survey including 2 open-ended questions that asked about changes made to food/beverage intake during pregnancy and why these changes were made. RESULTS: A majority (n = 577) of the 737 women completing the survey described changes they made to their food/beverage intake during pregnancy and 193 respondents provided reasons for these changes. Increased intake of fruits/vegetables, meat, milk, and their alternatives (n = 600); limiting or avoidance of foods/beverages known to be harmful during pregnancy (n = 445); and increased food/fluid intake or meal/snack frequency (n = 405) were commonly reported dietary changes. Motivations relating to health and to control physiological changes/manage health conditions were the most frequent reasons provided. CONCLUSIONS: Women make diverse dietary changes and have various motivations for food choices during pregnancy. A majority make dietary changes to support a healthy pregnancy. However, the motivation to control discomforts and respond to hunger and thirst sensations reflect a stronger influencer on women's choices than is currently addressed in prenatal nutrition messages.

Healthy food procurement and nutrition standards in public facilities: evidence synthesis and consensus policy recommendations. / Approvisionnement en aliments sains et normes nutritionnelles dans les établissements publics : synthèse des données probantes et recommandations stratégiques consensuelles.

INTRODUCTION: Unhealthy foods are widely available in public settings across Canada, contributing to diet-related chronic diseases, such as obesity. This is a concern given that public facilities often provide a significant amount of food for consumption by vulnerable groups, including children and seniors. Healthy food procurement policies, which support procuring, distributing, selling, and/or serving healthier foods, have recently emerged as a promising strategy to counter this public health issue by increasing access to healthier foods. Although numerous Canadian health and scientific organizations have recommended such policies, they have not yet been broadly implemented in Canada. METHODS: To inform further policy action on healthy food procurement in a Canadian context, we: (1) conducted an evidence synthesis to assess the impact of healthy food procurement policies on health outcomes and sales, intake, and availability of healthier food, and (2) hosted a consensus conference in September 2014. The consensus conference invited experts with public health/nutrition policy research expertise, as well as health services and food services practitioner experience, to review evidence, share experiences, and develop a consensus statement/recommendations on healthy food procurement in Canada. RESULTS: Findings from the evidence synthesis and consensus recommendations for healthy food procurement in Canada are described. Specifically, we outline recommendations for governments, publicly funded institutions, decision-makers and professionals, citizens, and researchers. CONCLUSION: Implementation of healthy food procurement policies can increase Canadians' access to healthier foods as part of a broader vision for food policy in Canada.

INTRODUCTION: Les aliments malsains sont facilement accessibles dans les lieux publics au Canada, ce qui favorise les maladies chroniques liées au régime alimentaire, comme l'obésité. Cette réalité est préoccupante, car les établissements publics servent souvent une grande quantité d'aliments destinés à des groupes vulnérables, tels que les enfants et les personnes âgées. L'adoption de politiques sur l'approvisionnement en aliments sains, qui soutiennent l'achat, la distribution, la vente ou l'offre d'aliments plus sains, apparaît depuis peu comme une stratégie prometteuse pour contrer ce problème de santé publique, en rendant plus accessibles les aliments sains. De telles politiques n'ont cependant pas encore été adoptées à grande échelle au Canada, malgré les recommandations de nombreuses organisations canadiennes à vocation scientifique et du domaine de la santé. MÉTHODOLOGIE: Afin d'étayer la prise de mesures stratégiques qui favoriseront l'approvisionnement en aliments sains au Canada, nous avons, en premier lieu, réalisé une synthèse des données probantes en vue d'évaluer les répercussions des politiques sur l'approvisionnement en aliments du point de vue des résultats sur la santé, ainsi que des ventes, de la consommation et de l'offre d'aliments plus sains. En second lieu, nous avons tenu une conférence de consensus en septembre 2014. Cette conférence, qui a réuni des experts en recherche sur la santé publique et les politiques nutritionnelles, ainsi que des professionnels de la santé et des services alimentaires, a permis l'étude des données probantes, la mise en commun des expériences et l'élaboration d'un énoncé de consensus et de recommandations sur l'approvisionnement en aliments sains au Canada. RÉSULTATS: Cet article expose les constatations de la synthèse des données probantes et les recommandations consensuelles sur l'approvisionnement en aliments sains au Canada. Plus précisément, nous décrivons les recommandations qui s'adressent aux gouvernements, aux établissements publics, aux décideurs et aux professionnels, aux citoyens et aux chercheurs. CONCLUSION: La mise en oeuvre de politiques sur l'approvisionnement en aliments sains, dans le cadre d'une politique alimentaire globale au Canada, peut accroître l'accès des Canadiens à des aliments plus sains.

Building a strategy for obesity prevention one piece at a time: the case of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation.

Obesity is a major public health issue in Canada that is reaching historically high levels in spite of efforts, targeted primarily at individual behaviour, to promote changes in diet and physical activity. Urgency for change at the population level compels moving "upstream" toward multilevel, societal approaches for obesity prevention. Public health researchers, advocates and policy makers are increasingly recognizing the current food environment, including availability, pricing, and marketing of foods and beverages, promotes overconsumption of unhealthy food and beverage choices and have identified the food environment as a point for intervention for obesity prevention. In April 2011, a consensus conference with invited experts from research, policy and practice fields was held. The conference aimed to build consensus around policy levers to address environmental determinants of obesity, including next logical steps toward further policy action. Using economic policies, such as taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), was discussed as one opportunity to promote healthy eating. This article reports on the consensus discussion that led to recommendations to tax sugar-sweetened beverages as one step in a multipronged comprehensive approach to obesity prevention. This recommendation is based on a synthesis of available evidence, including evidence regarding political feasibility, and potential impacts of a tax. In addition, we present additional primary research using current SSB consumption data to model the economic and behavioural impact of such a tax in Canada.