Browsing by Author "Carson, Valerie"

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    Food marketing in recreational sport settings in Canada: a cross-sectional audit in different policy environments using the Food and beverage Marketing Assessment Tool for Settings (FoodMATS)
    (2018-05-31) Prowse, Rachel J L; Naylor, Patti-Jean; Olstad, Dana L; Carson, Valerie; Storey, Kate; Mâsse, Louise C; Kirk, Sara F L; Raine, Kim D
    Abstract Background Children’s recreational sport settings typically sell energy dense, low nutrient products; however, it is unknown whether the same types of food and beverages are also marketed in these settings. Understanding food marketing in sports settings is important because the food industry often uses the promotion of physical activity to justify their products. This study aimed to document the ‘exposure’ and ‘power’ of food marketing present in public recreation facilities in Canada and assess differences between provinces with and without voluntary provincial nutrition guidelines for recreation facilities. Methods Food marketing was measured in 51 sites using the Food and beverage Marketing Assessment Tool for Settings (FoodMATS). The frequency and repetition (‘exposure’) of food marketing and the presence of select marketing techniques, including child-targeted, sports-related, size, and healthfulness (‘power’), were assessed. Differences in ‘exposure’ and ‘power’ characteristics between sites in three guideline provinces (n = 34) and a non-guideline province (n = 17) were assessed using Pearson’s Chi squared tests of homogeneity and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results Ninety-eight percent of sites had food marketing present. The frequency of food marketing per site did not differ between guideline and non-guideline provinces (median = 29; p = 0.576). Sites from guideline provinces had a significantly lower proportion of food marketing occasions that were “Least Healthy” (47.9%) than sites from the non-guideline province (73.5%; p < 0.001). Use of child-targeted and sports-related food marketing techniques was significantly higher in sites from guideline provinces (9.5% and 10.9%, respectively), than in the non-guideline province (1.9% and 4.5% respectively; p values < 0.001). It was more common in the non-guideline province to use child-targeted and sports-related techniques to promote “Least Healthy” items (100.0% and 68.4%, respectively), compared to the guideline provinces (59.3% and 52.0%, respectively). Conclusions Recreation facilities are a source of children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing. Having voluntary provincial nutrition guidelines that recommend provision of healthier foods was not related to the frequency of food marketing in recreation facilities but was associated with less frequent marketing of unhealthy foods. Policy makers should provide explicit food marketing regulations that complement provincial nutrition guidelines to fulfill their ethical responsibility to protect children and the settings where children spend time.
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    Reliability and validity of a novel tool to comprehensively assess food and beverage marketing in recreational sport settings
    (2018-05-31) Prowse, Rachel J L; Naylor, Patti-Jean; Olstad, Dana L; Carson, Valerie; Mâsse, Louise C; Storey, Kate; Kirk, Sara F L; Raine, Kim D
    Abstract Background Current methods for evaluating food marketing to children often study a single marketing channel or approach. As the World Health Organization urges the removal of unhealthy food marketing in children’s settings, methods that comprehensively explore the exposure and power of food marketing within a setting from multiple marketing channels and approaches are needed. The purpose of this study was to test the inter-rater reliability and the validity of a novel settings-based food marketing audit tool. Methods The Food and beverage Marketing Assessment Tool for Settings (FoodMATS) was developed and its psychometric properties evaluated in five public recreation and sport facilities (sites) and subsequently used in 51 sites across Canada for a cross-sectional analysis of food marketing. Raters recorded the count of food marketing occasions, presence of child-targeted and sports-related marketing techniques, and the physical size of marketing occasions. Marketing occasions were classified by healthfulness. Inter-rater reliability was tested using Cohen’s kappa (κ) and intra-class correlations (ICC). FoodMATS scores for each site were calculated using an algorithm that represented the theoretical impact of the marketing environment on food preferences, purchases, and consumption. Higher FoodMATS scores represented sites with higher exposure to, and more powerful (unhealthy, child-targeted, sports-related, large) food marketing. Validity of the scoring algorithm was tested through (1) Pearson’s correlations between FoodMATS scores and facility sponsorship dollars, and (2) sequential multiple regression for predicting “Least Healthy” food sales from FoodMATS scores. Results Inter-rater reliability was very good to excellent (κ = 0.88–1.00, p < 0.001; ICC = 0.97, p < 0.001). There was a strong positive correlation between FoodMATS scores and food sponsorship dollars, after controlling for facility size (r = 0.86, p < 0.001). The FoodMATS score explained 14% of the variability in “Least Healthy” concession sales (p = 0.012) and 24% of the variability total concession and vending “Least Healthy” food sales (p = 0.003). Conclusions FoodMATS has high inter-rater reliability and good validity. As the first validated tool to evaluate the exposure and power of food marketing in recreation facilities, the FoodMATS provides a novel means to comprehensively track changes in food marketing environments that can assist in developing and monitoring the impact of policies and interventions.
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    The readiness and motivation interview for families (RMI-Family) managing pediatric obesity: study protocol
    (2017-04-11) Ball, Geoff D C; Spence, Nicholas D; Browne, Nadia E; O’Connor, Kathleen; Srikameswaran, Suja; Zelichowska, Joanna; Ho, Josephine; Gokiert, Rebecca; Mâsse, Louise C; Carson, Valerie; Morrison, Katherine M; Kuk, Jennifer L; Holt, Nicholas L; Kebbe, Maryam; Gehring, Nicole D; Cesar, Melody; Virtanen, Heidi; Geller, Josie
    Abstract Background Experts recommend that clinicians assess motivational factors before initiating care for pediatric obesity. Currently, there are no well-established clinical tools available for assessing motivation in youth with obesity or their families. This represents an important gap in knowledge since motivation-related information may shed light on which patients might fail to complete treatment programs. Our study was designed to evaluate the measurement properties and utility of the Readiness and Motivational Interview for Families (RMI-Family), a structured interview that utilizes a motivational interviewing approach to (i) assess motivational factors in youth and their parents, and (ii) examine the degree to which motivation and motivation-related concordance between youth and parents are related to making changes to lifestyle habits for managing obesity in youth. Methods From 2016 to 2020, this prospective study will include youth with obesity (body mass index [BMI] ≥97th percentile; 13–17 years old; n = 250) and their parents (n = 250). The study will be conducted at two primary-level, multidisciplinary obesity management clinics based at children’s hospitals in Alberta, Canada. Participants will be recruited and enrolled after referral to these clinics, but prior to initiating clinical care. Each youth and their parent will complete the RMI-Family (~1.5 h) at baseline, and 6- and 12-months post-baseline. Individual (i.e., youth or parent) and family-level (i.e., across youth and parent) responses to interview questions will be scored, as will aspects of interview administration (e.g., fidelity to motivational interviewing tenets). The RMI-Family will also be examined for test-retest reliability. Youth data collected at each time point will include demography, anthropometry, lifestyle habits, psychosocial functioning, and health services utilization. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between individual and family-level interview scores on the RMI-Family and these clinical measures will be examined. Discussion As a measurement tool drawing on family-centered care and motivational interviewing, the RMI-Family was designed to increase understanding of the role of motivational factors in pediatric obesity management, allowing healthcare providers and policymakers to manage pediatric obesity more effectively and efficiently. Findings will help to create an innovative, tailored model of health care delivery that uses resources judiciously and is designed to best meet families’ needs.