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What is this study about?

As many as 2000 Saskatoon children between the ages of 10-13 years in 20

neighbourhoods will participate in a major study of the impact that our food

environment has on childhood obesity. The food environment refers to the

neighbourhoods in which we live and how easily we, and particularly our children, can

access nutritious food. A team of Saskatoon researchers has received $425,000 from

the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Saskatchewan Health Research

Foundation to conduct this study.

We are interested in where food stores and restaurants are located in Saskatoon and

how nutritious the foods they carry are. By incorporating data on body weight of

children, we ultimately hope to support the development of improvements to health

policy and practice in Saskatoon, and also provide information that would benefit the

nutrition and health of children and families.

A preliminary characterization of food access and availability in Saskatoon

neighbourhoods has been completed and has already enabled the identification of parts

of the city where food access is limited. However, we want to update this and include

convenience stores in the analysis. Together, all of this information will provide a

comprehensive descriptive picture of the food environments in Saskatoonneighbourhoods on which to build the subsequent phases of our research.

How are we conducting this study?

Question 1a: What is the geographical distribution of food stores and fast food

restaurants in Saskatoon and how is this distribution related to neighbourhood

demographic and socio-economic profiles?

During the first four months of the study (September-December 2010), Geographic

Information Systems (GIS) tools will be used to complete maps of fast food restaurants,

grocery, convenience, specialty and all other food stores in the 60 residential

neighbourhoods in the City of Saskatoon. This process has already been initiated by

Public Health Services (Saskatoon Health Region); parts of the city where food access islimited have already been identified and can be related back to demographic and socio-

economic profiles.

Question 1b: What are the differences in food environments, such as location of

different types of food stores and food quality between higher and lower

socioeconomic status neighbourhoods in Saskatoon?The consumer nutrition environments of chain supermarkets, smaller grocery stores,

convenience stores and restaurants. This will be done using a Canadian adaptation of

the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Stores (NEMS-S) and the original

Nutrition Environment Measures Survey for Restaurants (NEMS-R), which is already

Saskatoon team to studyimpact of food environmenton childrens health

Contact: Tracy Ridalls306-966-2237

Tracy.ridalls@usask.cawww.smartcitieshealthykids.ca

Smart Cities Healthy Kids

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applicable to the Canadian context. Scores will be calculated for each

store using availability, quality, and price, and for each restaurant using

availability, nutrition information and price. Using these scores, we will

then develop a series of maps showing the distribution of the quality of

the food environment within all residential neighbourhoods in

Saskatoon. We will also add selected demographic and socio-economic

variables to assess the relationship between the food environment andneighbourhood income levels.

Question 2: What is the relationship between the quality of the food environment available, as

measured by (NEMS-S) and (NEMS-R), in Saskatoon neighbourhoods, and the dietary intake and

body weights of children aged 10-13 years living in those neighbourhoods?We will recruit approximately 100 children from each of the 20 neighborhoods that show the most and the

least positive food environment characteristics based on the previous study data collection (GIS and NEMS).

The children will participate in a survey that will be self-administered in class, including questions on socio-

demographic characteristics, a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for dietary assessment, and questions on

the childrens experiences of their neighbourhood food environment. A research assistant will also measure

heights and weights in order to calculate BMI and determine body weight status. Our analysis will accountfor things like parental educational level, parental income, proportion of families with no vehicles, and

proportion of lone parent families.

Question 3: How should the information collected in this study be shared in order to facilitate

change that will improve food environments for Saskatoon, and then in other cities in other regions

of the country?Interviews will be conducted with various governmental, health region, and community-based officials to

share preliminary results, ask for feedback, and discuss policy change options to improve the food

environment in Saskatoon. The results will be compiled into a document that will be disseminated widely.

Who is involved? We have assembled a group of researchers, decision-makers, and practitioners who will

pool their expertise and knowledge, to create new knowledge and apply this knowledge to local decision-

making and new neighbourhood development. Further, we will share our findings widely, so that other

communities across the province, the country, and beyond, can learn from us.

Research team members include researchers from the University of Saskatchewan: Rachel Engler-

Stringer (Community Health and Epidemiology/University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine), Nazeem

Muhajarine (Community Health and Epidemiology/Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research

Unit [SPHERU]), Susan Buhler (University of Alberta School of Public Health), Jennifer Cushon (Saskatoon

Health Region), Paul Veugelers (University of Alberta School of Public Health), Karen Archibald (CHEP

Good Food Inc.), Charlie Clark (City of Saskatoon), Bill Holden (City of Saskatoon), and Twyla Markham

(Saskatoon Health Region).

Partner organizations include: the Saskatoon Health Region (specifically the Health Promotion

Department and the Public Health Observatory); CHEP Good Food Inc.

Project staff: Tracy Ridalls, MA (Research Coordinator), Joel Heitmar, Sugandhi Wickremarachchi, Jen

Schmidt, Alison Macintosh, Janelle Anderson, Jostein Misfeldt, Le Ha, and Kristjana Loptson.

For more information, contact Tracy Ridalls at (306) 966-2237, tracy.ridalls@usask.ca