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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Ashley AdamsonORCiD, Dr Suzanne Spence, Maisie Rowland
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.INTRODUCTION: Excess free sugar intake is associated with obesity and poor dental health. Adolescents consume substantially more free sugar than is recommended. National (UK) School Food Standards (SFS) are in place but are not mandatory in all schools, and their impact on the diets of secondary school pupils is unknown. We aim to evaluate how SFS and wider healthy eating recommendations (from the national School Food Plan (SFP)) are implemented in secondary schools and how they influence pupils' diets and dental health. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Secondary-level academies/free schools in the West Midlands, UK were divided into two groups: SFS mandated and SFS non-mandated. Using propensity scores to guide sampling, we aim to recruit 22 schools in each group. We will compare data on school food provision and sales, school food culture and environment, and the food curriculum from each group, collected through: school staff, governor, pupil, parent surveys; school documents; and observation. We will explore the implementation level for the SFS requirements and SFP recommendations and develop a school food typology. We aim to recruit 1980 pupils aged 11-15 years across the 44 schools and collect dietary intake (24-hour recall) and dental health data through self-completion surveys. We will compare free sugar/other dietary intake and dental health across the two SFS groups and across the identified school types. School type will be further characterised in 4-8 case study schools through school staff interviews and pupil focus groups. Evaluation of economic impact will be through a cost-consequence analysis and an exploratory cost-utility analysis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Birmingham Ethical Review Committee (ERN_18-1738). Findings will be disseminated to key national and local agencies, schools and the public through reports, presentations, the media and open access publications. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN 68757496 (registered 17 October 2019).
Author(s): Murphy M, Pallan M, Lancashire E, Duff R, Adamson AJ, Bartington S, Frew E, Griffin T, Hurley KL, Parry J, Passmore S, Ravaghi V, Sitch AJ, Spence S, Rowland MK, Wheeldon S, Adab P
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: BMJ Open
Year: 2020
Volume: 10
Issue: 10
Print publication date: 16/10/2020
Online publication date: 16/10/2020
Acceptance date: 28/08/2020
Date deposited: 11/02/2021
ISSN (electronic): 2044-6055
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
URL: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042931
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042931
PubMed id: 33067305
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