UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND ALLIED SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF CLINICAL NUTRITION AND DIETETICS

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

TOPIC:

THE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN FOOD ENVIRONMENT, ITS HEALTH IMPLICATIONS,

STUDENT CONSUMPTION AND BODY MASS INDEX OF ADOLESCENTS AROUND
BASIC SCHOOLS IN THE CAPE COAST MUNICIPALITY OF GHANA.

Oduro Nana Kwame

Ah/ Cnd /17/ 0076

Tel: 0556260432 / 0573812002

 INTRODUCTION
Background of study
The accessibility, sources, buy and utilization of food inside the school setting constitutes the

school food environment. The school food environment is vital since it could be a known driver

of dietary conduct among children and young people in school. Giving solid food alternatives

relates to learning of suitable dietary inclinations as well as capacity to overcome boundaries to

sub-optimal dietary practices. Malnutrition in all its forms afflicts one in three people globally

(High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, 2017). It affects every country

and is considered one of the greatest public health challenges of our time (Development

Initiatives, 2017). High-income countries (HICs) are almost universally experiencing a very

high burden of overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) (Ng et

al., 2014). The United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016–2025 (United Nations

General Assembly, 2016) presents a key opportunity to improve food environments across the

globe. Food environment research to date has primarily been undertaken in response to the

rapid rise of obesity and associated diet-related non-communicable diseases in HICs. However,

with critical refinement and adaptation of key concepts, methods and metrics, food environment

research has the potential to provide an integrated approach to addressing malnutrition in all its

forms in low- and middle-income countries. A number of pioneering studies have broken new

ground by investigating food environments in middle-income countries (Azeredo et al.,

2016, Duran et al., 2016, Fernandes et al., 2017)

In Ghana, there is constraint prove on the school food environment and understudy obtaining

conduct. Rarer is prove on understudy food purchases around basic schools within the presence

or absence of school provided meals or regulation. Prove from developed country settings on

activities to direct the access of unhealthy food alternatives to students around basic schools
 shows mixed benefits. Prohibiting energy-densed foods in the school premises have expanded

the consumption of more healthy alternatives given within the school. Schools have been

identified as ideal sites for interventions to improve child and adolescent diets and health in

general. The school food environment is frequently focused on as children consume roughly 35-

47% of their day by day dietary intake whiles at school and school reach most children across

different social and socio-demographic background.

Statement of problem

Literatures suggests some reasons why dietary choices matters in human lives especially among

children found in basic schools. In the US, research has shown that students are exposed to a

wide variety of less healthy food and beverages whiles at school and are consuming high sums of

less healthful foods including sugar-sweetened beverages and energy densed foods such as pizza,

French fries, chips and candies. In Ghana, there is limited data depicting the school food

environment but a recent study from the British Columbia reported that “junk” foods such as

pop, cookies, chips, candies etc. were broadly accessible in middle and high schools through

vending machines, cafeterias and tuck shops. Moreover, studies have found that the accessibility

of specific food or beverages are associated with the consumption of those same items. These

findings suggest that improvements to the school food environment may enable students to make

healthier food choices and lower their body mass index (BMI). Several studies have reported that

school policies, practices and dietary capacity limit the availability of less healthy foods and

beverages at school improve student’s dietary intake for instance increase fruits consumption and

decreased intake of low nutrient densed food. In addition, a large-scale longitudinal assessment

of nutrition policies in US schools found out that middle and high school students in state with
more grounded nutrition policies picked up less Body mass index units and were likely to stay

overweight or obese overtime based on measured Body mass index. However, very little is

known about the extent of good diet in our basic schools in the cape coast municipality of Ghana.

It is upon this that the study seeks to access the associations between food environment, its

implications, student consumption and body mass index of adolescents around basic schools in

the cape coast municipality of Ghana.

Justification/ Rationale

The study is informed by the impact of dietary choices made by basic school children in the

Cape Coast municipality. This study is to help provide enough data on the associations between

food environment, its implications, student consumption and body mass index of adolescents

around basic schools in the cape coast municipality of Ghana. The study will generate

knowledge and ideas about dietary choices that will help manage student’s consumption around

basic schools and their Body mass index units to promote healthy living among them. Also, the

study could provide useful information to teachers in nutrition and dietetics field, dietitians and

nutritionists and provide essential knowledge on the benefits of an accurate and well-developed

dietary recommendations and lifestyle among children in basic schools in Cape Coast. Therefore,

the study will serve as a source of reference to academics, researchers and students interested in

future studies on the subject matter. This has created an impetus to get more data on the

association between food environment and its implications, student consumption and their body

mass index around basic schools in the cape coast municipality of Ghana.
Overall Objective

The main objective of this study is to determine the association between food environment, its

health implications, student consumption and body mass index of adolescents around basic

schools in the cape coast municipality of Ghana and then recommend a good dietary lifestyle to

them, hence the purpose of the study.

Specific objectives

Specifically, the study seeks to;

1. Examine the perception of female students in Ankaful nursing training college with

regards to dietary choices and the prevalence and severity of primary dysmenorrhea.

2. Evaluate the prevalence and severity of primary dysmenorrhea among female students in

Ankaful nursing training college.

3. Assess the effects of dietary choice on primary dysmenorrhea among female students in

Ankaful nursing training college.

4. Suggest ways to improve dietary choices to reduce the prevalence and severity of primary

dysmenorrhea among female students in Ankaful nursing training college.