Health Reports
A Canadian peer-reviewed journal of population health and health services research
August 2023
The local restaurant environment in relation to eating out and sugary drink intake among Canadian children and youth
by Jane Y. Polsky and Didier Garriguet
Healthy eating promotes optimal growth and development in children and adolescents and helps reduce the risk of obesity and chronic diet-related conditions like diabetes. Childhood and adolescence are also key periods for learning and shaping food-related preferences and behaviours that track into adulthood. These preferences and behaviours do not occur in a vacuum but unfold within an increasingly complex food environment. There has been growing attention in research and public policy to the role that aspects of the food environment, such as the accessibility of food retail in communities, may play in shaping food-related behaviours and dietary intake.
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The local restaurant environment in relation to eating out and sugary drink intake among Canadian children and youth
- Polsky JY, Garriguet D. Eating away from home in Canada: impact on dietary intake. Health Reports. 2021; 32(8): DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202100800003-eng
- Stevenson AC, Kaufmann C, Colley RC, Minaker LM, Widener MJ, Burgoine T, Sanmartin C, Ross NA. A pan-Canadian dataset of neighbourhood retail food environment measures using Statistics Canada’s Business Register. Health Reports. 2022; 33(2): DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202200200001-eng
Validating the Children’s Intrinsic Needs Satisfaction Scale in the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth
by Colin A. Capaldi and Laura L. Ooi
Adolescence represents a period of considerable physical, cognitive, social and emotional maturation. Although this time of rapid development may be associated with increased vulnerability to mental health difficulties, it also presents opportunities to acquire capabilities and establish patterns that can contribute to well-being (also referred to as “positive mental health”) across the lifespan. As such, assessing well-being during adolescence is important to obtain a comprehensive understanding of youth mental health. In addition, the surveillance of positive mental health among youth at the population level is critical to informing meaningful mental health promotion activities. In line with this, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) monitors the positive mental health of Canadian youth (aged 12 to 17 years) in the Positive Mental Health Surveillance Indicator Framework (PMHSIF). For accurate surveillance and effective public health interventions, it is essential that developmentally appropriate and valid measures of positive mental health are used.
Full article PDF versionRelated articles
Validating the Children’s Intrinsic Needs Satisfaction Scale in the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth
- Helliwell JF, Schellenberg G, Fonberg J. Life satisfaction in Canada before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series, no. 457. 2020. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11f0019m/11f0019m2020020-eng.htm
- Bang F, Roberts KC, Chaput JP, Goldfield GS, Prince SA. Physical activity, screen time and sleep duration: Combined associations with psychosocial health among Canadian children and youth. Health Reports. 2020; 31(5): DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202000500002-eng
- Kerr S, Kingsbury M. Online digital media use and adolescent mental health. Health Reports. 2023; 34(2): DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202300200002-eng
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