Abstract
Despite their wellness mandate, many publicly funded recreational facilities offer primarily unhealthy foods. Governments have developed programs and resources to assist facilities to improve their food offerings, however the challenge to incent preferential sale of healthier foods remains substantial. In the Canadian province of Alberta, uptake of government-issued voluntary nutrition guidelines for recreational facilities has been limited, and offers of free assistance to implement them as part of a research study were not embraced. Financial constraints appear to be the most important barrier to offering healthier items in Alberta’s recreational facilities, as facility and food service managers perceive that selling healthier foods is unprofitable and might jeopardize sponsorship agreements. Mandatory government regulation may therefore be required to overcome the barriers to offering healthier foods in this setting. The advantages of a regulatory approach appear to outweigh any disadvantages, with benefits for population health, more effective use of public funds, and greater equity for the public and industry. Adverse effects on corporate profitability and freedom of choice are expected to be limited. Regulation may offer an efficient, effective and equitable means of ensuring that recreational facilities support child health and do not undermine it by exposing children to unhealthy food environments.
Résumé
Malgré leur mandat de favorisation du mieux-être, de nombreuses installations récréatives subventionnées par l’État servent principalement des aliments malsains. Les gouvernements élaborent des programmes et des ressources pour aider ces installations à améliorer leur menu, mais il demeure très difficile de les inciter à vendre de préférence des aliments sains. Dans la province de l’Alberta, au Canada, les lignes directrices volontaires publiées par le gouvernement en matière de nutrition sont peu suivies dans les installations récréatives, même lorsqu’on offre gratuitement une assistance pour appliquer ces lignes directrices, comme ce fut le cas dans le cadre d’une étude de recherche. Les contraintes budgétaires semblent être le principal obstacle à l’offre d’aliments sains dans les installations récréatives de l’Alberta; les gestionnaires de ces installations et des services d’alimentation jugent que la vente d’aliments sains n’est pas rentable et qu’elle peut compromettre les accords de commandites. Il faudrait peut-être envisager une approche réglementaire obligatoire pour surmonter les obstacles à l’offre d’aliments sains dans ces établissements. Les avantages de l’approche réglementaire (effets bénéfiques sur la santé des populations, utilisation plus efficace des fonds publics, plus d’équité pour le public et l’industrie) semblent l’emporter sur ses éventuels inconvénients. Ses effets indésirables sur la rentabilité des entreprises et la liberté de choix devraient être mineurs. La réglementation pourrait donc être un moyen efficient, efficace et équitable de faire en sorte que les installations récréatives favorisent la santé des enfants, au lieu de la miner en exposant ces enfants à des environnements alimentaires malsains.
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Funding: Our research program in recreational facilities has been funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research. These organizations had no role in study design, in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, in the writing of the report, or in the decision to submit the report for publication. Dana Olstad has received scholarship support from a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, a CIHR/Heart and Stroke Foundation Training Grant in Population Intervention for Chronic Disease Prevention, the Canadian Federation of University Women, the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute/Alberta Diabetes Institute, Dietitians of Canada and the University of Alberta. Kim Raine is funded by a CIHR/Heart and Stroke Foundation Applied Public Health Chair.
Acknowledgements: The authors thank Dr. Timothy Caulfield for his contribution to conceptualization of the commentary.
Conflict of Interest: DLO and KDR were members of the committee that prepared the literature review and draft version of the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth, which was funded by the Government of Alberta. The authors have no other competing interests.
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Olstad, D.L., Raine, K.D. Profit Versus Public Health: The Need to Improve the Food Environment in Recreational Facilities. Can J Public Health 104, e167–e169 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03405682
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03405682