Primary school compliance with school canteen guidelines in Fiji and its association with student obesity

Setting:

Childhood obesity is of growing public health concern in Fiji. The study setting was primary schools in Fiji’s Western Division.

Objective:

1) To assess primary schools’ compliance with national school canteen guidelines, 2) to understand reasons for non-compliance, and 3) to assess the relationship between compliance with the guidelines and students’ body mass index (BMI).

Design:

Cross-sectional analysis of data collected in 2010 by public health dieticians of the Ministry of Health on annual visits to primary schools.

Results:

Among 230 schools, 33 (14%) had no canteen data. Of the 197 schools with data, only 31 (16%) were fully compliant with national school canteen guidelines, while the remaining 166 (84%) did not fully comply with the guidelines. This was irrespective of school location or whether the canteen was school or commercially operated. In a random sample (n = 44 schools), overweight and obesity were more common among children in non-compliant schools than in fully compliant schools (40% vs. 32%, P < 0.001).

Conclusion:

Most primary schools in Fiji’s Western Division did not comply with school canteen guidelines, which is worrying given the increasing rates of overweight children. Given the association between non-compliance and student overweight/obesity, further action is needed to ensure that these guidelines are implemented.