Healthy Eating
(The information below is edited from a report 'Growing Projects: Harnessing the Opportunities' (2010), prepared by Ailish O'Neill a Health Promotion Specialist at the Lothian NHS Trust, the report can be downloaded at the Health & Wellbeing page.)IntroductionLow fruit and vegetable intake has been identified as one of the leading risk factors related to attributable mortality. Populations living in areas classified as having high levels of deprivation have a greater propensity to suffer from preventable diseases due to poor diets and nutritional intake, and often have limited access to fresh fruit and vegetables. While there have been numerous campaigns to help increase the intake of fruit and vegetables, consumption levels still fail to reach the daily recommendation.
Wider social determinants can impede or enhance an individual’s healthy behaviour. Households with a weekly income below the national average will have less disposable income to spend on food, therefore rises in food and fuel prices impact heavily on the purchasing choices of these households. Research to date shows price to be the greatest motivating factor in food choice among low-income groups who routinely purchase cheap energy dense highly processed food products.
In addition to affordability, physical accessibility is a key influential determinant of food choice, simply gaining access to fresh fruit and vegetables in a community’s local area is a significant barrier to consumption.
Access To Affordable Nutritious FoodThese barriers to the promotion of a healthy diet are further compounded by research which documents that shops used most by low-income groups are less likely to stock healthy options and when they do they are often more expensive than other options. A recent survey illustrated how allotment holders saved approximately £950 a year by growing their own produce. The provision of a community garden enables individuals who may not be able to afford or access fresh fruit and vegetables the opportunity to source them.
Community gardens, allotments and gardeners clubs have been made available across the UK in an effort to meet the dietary and nutrition needs of different population groups through the provision of easily accessible, cheap, fresh, healthy sustainable produce. Correlated evidence documents how vegetable consumption is higher among gardeners involved in community gardens when compared to non-gardeners. In addition the involvement of at least one household member in a community garden impacts positively on the fruit and vegetable consumption of all household members when compared to households with no involvement.
Food growing projects to date that have been established in communities with little or no knowledge of healthy eating and limited access to healthy food have shown a positive impact on the diet of users. Community gardens empower individuals to take control and ownership of their diets, involvement in the planting, growing and harvesting of crops helps people to reconnect and gain an understanding of the food environment. Community gardens can offer a viable readily available source of low-cost fresh fruit and vegetables to people living in low-income, socially deprived areas.
School / Community GardensGarden based programmes lead to an increased ability among younger children to identify a wide variety of fruit and vegetables while older children have been able to detail the nutritional benefits of incorporating fruit and vegetables into their diets. This behaviour is encouraging as it may lead to increased preferences for fruit and vegetables as children grow older. Involving children in the planting, production and harvesting of fresh produce can influence planned behaviour, particularly regarding foods that are difficult to change behaviour towards.
The introduction of a school garden to increase fruit and vegetable intake may be more effective the younger the age group as children become more independent in terms of food choice as they grow older. In order to help address the gap between consumption in the school environment and the home environment the opportunity to develop a community / school garden can help to address this issue. This model enables parents and caregivers the opportunity to learn more about the production and preparation of fruit and vegetables together. Parental influence on children’s eating patterns and physical activity levels underline the need for a targeted approach that involves both children and parents.
CookingA ‘seed to plate’ strategy provides children with a sense of ownership motivating them to eat their produce as they are involved in the complete process of planting a seed watching it grow and harvesting the produce.
The behaviour of preparing and cooking a meal with children encourages them to be more involved in their food choice and to try new and exciting healthy food options. Children and parents alike gain a greater understanding of where food comes from with campaigns such as ‘seed to soup’, and ‘plant to plate’. Children’s first contact and perception of food is moved away from purchasing a pre packaged ready to eat meal from the supermarket shelf to the natural environment.
ObesityThe correlation between being overweight or obese as a child and that of being overweight or obese in adulthood is high. If a child is obese at four years of age, he or she will have a 20% likelihood of being an overweight adult. The burden on the health system will be immense as overweight and obese children grow and age so too do their demands on the healthcare system. A recognised target group are women of child bearing age from areas of low socioeconomic status. Fetal malnutrition and maternal prepregnancy obesity are placing children at a life long risk of obesity. Additionally the presence of excess weight during pregnancy can increases the risk of childhood obesity. Targeted intervention pre and post natal are required to inform educate and increase understanding among mothers, community gardens offer an opportunity to engage this population group with the food environment.