Intake of Fruits, Vegetables, and Sugar-Sweetened Beverages among a Sample of Children in Rural Northern Ontario, Canada

Brenton L G Button; Louise W McEachern; Gina Martin; Jason A Gilliland

doi:10.3390/children9071028

Intake of Fruits, Vegetables, and Sugar-Sweetened Beverages among a Sample of Children in Rural Northern Ontario, Canada

Children (Basel). 2022 Jul 11;9(7):1028. doi: 10.3390/children9071028.

Authors

Brenton L G Button^{1

2}, Louise W McEachern^{1

3}, Gina Martin^{1

4}, Jason A Gilliland^{1

3

5

6

7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, Department of Geography and Environment, Western University, London, ON N6A 5C2, Canada.
² Faculty of Education, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9, Canada.
³ Children's Health Research Institute, London, ON N6C 2V5, Canada.
⁴ Faculty of Health Disciplines, Athabasca University, Athabasca, AB T9S 3A3, Canada.
⁵ Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON N6A 4V2, Canada.
⁶ School of Health Studies, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada.
⁷ Department of Paediatrics, Western University, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada.
⁸ Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Western University, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada.

Abstract

There is evidence to suggest that dietary intake of children differs by rural/urban place of residence: rural children may have a higher intake of foods high in fat and sugar than those living in urban environments. The aim of this study was to examine the intake of fruits and vegetables (FV) and the frequency of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption, among a sample of rural children in Northern Ontario, Canada, in two different seasons. Sociodemographic factors and children's FV and SSB intake were measured using two repeated cross-sectional surveys, and seasonal information was based on the month of data collection. Logistic regressions were used to examine the odds of children eating five or more FVs, and the odds of 'frequently or always' consuming SSBs. During the fall, children reported eating five or more FV more often, when compared to winter (53.9% vs. 48.3%). In the fall, 25.8% of children reported 'frequently or always' drinking SSB, compared with 16.9% in winter. Indigenous children were less likely to eat five or more FV (OR 0.34 (95% CI 0.12-0.95)) in the fall when compared to non-Indigenous children. Findings indicate that intake of FV among rural students in this region is low, and the frequency of SSB is high, when compared with national recommendations.

Keywords: fruit and vegetable intake; nutrition; rural heath; rural youth health; sugar-sweetened beverages.

Grants and funding

The original STEAM study was jointly funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, with seed funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Additional support for this phase was provided by the Children’s Health Research Institute and the Children’s Health Foundation.