An apple a day ...

Jessie-Lee Langille is the project coordinator of the Children's Lifestyle and School Performance Study. (Danny Abriel Photo)

When a 2003 research study at Dalhousie University pointed out links between school lunches, overweight kids and academic performance, the province acted swiftly.

The government introduced a new food and nutrition policy aimed at improving food and beverage choices at schools, and started an initiative to support school-based projects around healthy eating and active living.

Now Dal researchers want to know how those initiatives are playing out at Nova Scotia’s elementary schools, and if they’ve impacted children’s health.

“We’re very much focused on informing the public and the education and health authorities about our findings, says Jessie-Lee Langille, project coordinator of the Children's Lifestyle and School-performance Study (CLASS) II, which is just getting under way.

Information gathering

“We want to support schools in their efforts by providing the numbers to validate the great things school boards are doing. The results will have a practical use in that we can see what’s working and how we can support that.”

During the next few months, more than 9,000 Grade 5 students, and their families, at 300 schools will be asked to take part in CLASS II. Evaluation assistants will drop off information, consent forms and a survey for parents, followed by a school visit that will involve collecting data from students about their health (physical and mental), eating habits and activity levels, as well as measurements. School representatives will also be canvassed about related practices, initiatives and projects. Researchers will then have access, next year, to participating schools’ results on provincial achievement exams for Grade 6 kids.

“We know there is a big drop-off in activity levels between Grades 3 and 7. We believe Grade 5 is a really opportune time to intervene and help students establish healthier lifestyles,” says Ms. Langille, 26, a Williamswood native.

Supporting healthier behaviours

The lead researchers are Sara Kirk of Dal’s Faculty of Health Professions, and Paul Veugelers of the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta, where Ms. Langille is a PhD candidate. Dr. Veugelers led the first study when he was a professor at Dal.

CLASS II, funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research, has the support of the provincial Department of Education, Department of Health and Wellness, and the province’s school boards.

Data from individual schools will be kept confidential, says Ms. Langille.

But the findings will “help us understand which policies, programs and practices have helped to support healthier behaviours of children and inform future strategies to support children's health and school performance.”

For more information, visit www.nsclass.ca.