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Promoting healthy beverage consumption habits among elementary school children: results of the Healthy Kids Community Challenge ‘Water Does Wonders’ interventions in London, Ontario

  • Population Health Intervention Research
  • Published:
Canadian Journal of Public Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Intervention

This study examines the impact of London’s Healthy Kids Community Challenge (HKCC) ‘Water Does Wonders’ interventions, which combined water infrastructure and education programs.

Research question

How effective were the HKCC interventions at increasing water and decreasing sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption among grade 4–8 children in London, Ontario?

Methods

Non-randomized controlled trial. Children’s knowledge and beverage intake were measured before and after the interventions were implemented during the 2016–2017 school year. Children at intervention schools (n = 521) received education programs (Growing Chefs or UTRCA [Upper Thames River Conservation Authority]) and water bottle filling stations. Children at control schools (n = 410) received filling stations only. Multivariable linear mixed-model ANCOVAs were used to compare water and SSB consumption and knowledge across intervention groups, accounting for school-level clustering.

Results

Children who received an education intervention and filling station compared with only a filling station consumed more water (β = 2.18 (95% CI − 1.87, 6.22) for Growing Chefs and β = 2.90 (95% CI − 0.23, 6.03) for UTRCA) and fewer SSBs (β = − 1.17 (95% CI − 3.83, 1.49) for Growing Chefs and β = − 2.56 (95% CI − 5.12, 0.001) for UTRCA) post-intervention, and had higher nutrition knowledge (β = 1.57 (95% CI − 1.68, 4.83) for Growing Chefs and β = 2.02 (95% CI − 0.35, 4.39) for UTRCA). These findings were not statistically significant.

Conclusions

An intervention intended to promote healthy beverage consumption yielded effects in the expected direction; however, they were small and not statistically significant. This is likely because the educational interventions were not fully aligned with the goals of the ‘Water Does Wonders’ program, preventing them from evoking meaningful changes in dietary behaviours.

Résumé

Intervention

Notre étude porte sur les effets d’interventions menées sous le thème de « L’eau fait des merveilles » du programme Action communautaire Enfants en santé (ACES) à London, en Ontario, qui ont combiné l’installation de bornes d’eau et des programmes d’information.

Question de recherche

Les interventions du programme ACES ont-elles fait augmenter la consommation d’eau et réduit celle des boissons édulcorées au sucre (BÉS) chez les élèves de la 4e à la 8e année à London?

Méthode

Essai comparatif non randomisé. Les connaissances des enfants et leur consommation de boissons ont été mesurées avant et après la mise en œuvre des interventions durant l’année scolaire 2016-2017. Les élèves des écoles visées par l’intervention (n = 521) ont reçu des programmes d’information (Growing Chefs ou UTRCA [Upper Thames River Conservation Authority]) et des bornes d’eau. Les élèves des écoles témoins (n = 410) n’ont reçu que des bornes d’eau. Des modèles ANCOVA linéaires mixtes multivariés ont servi à comparer la consommation d’eau et de BÉS et les connaissances alimentaires dans les groupes visés par l’intervention, en tenant compte du regroupement des données par école.

Résultats

Les élèves ayant reçu une intervention d’information et une borne d’eau, comparativement à une borne d’eau seulement, ont consommé plus d’eau (β = 2,18 [IC de 95 % -1,87, 6,22] pour Growing Chefs et β = 2,90 [IC de 95 % -0,23, 6,03] pour UTRCA) et moins de BÉS (β = -1,17 [IC de 95 % -3,83, 1,49] pour Growing Chefs et β = -2,56 [IC de 95 % -5,12, 0,001] pour UTRCA) après l’intervention et ont démontré des connaissances nutritionnelles supérieures (β = 1,57 [IC de 95 % -1,68, 4,83] pour Growing Chefs et β = 2,02 [IC de 95 % -0,35, 4,39] pour UTRCA). Ces résultats n’étaient toutefois pas significatifs.

Conclusions

Une intervention visant à promouvoir la consommation de boissons saines a eu des effets dans le sens escompté, mais ces effets ont été légers et non significatifs. C’est probablement parce que les interventions d’information n’étaient pas pleinement en phase avec les objectifs de la thématique « L’eau fait des merveilles », ce qui a empêché l’apport de véritables changements dans les comportements nutritionnels.

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Acknowledgements

We express our profound thanks to the students, families, teachers, and principals who participated in the HKCC study, and to the research boards from the Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board. We also gratefully acknowledge the research assistants and volunteers from the Human Environments Analysis Laboratory who provided assistance with data collection and entry for the HKCC project.

Funding

Funding for this study was provided by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care as part of the City of London’s Healthy Kids Community Challenge, and the Children’s Health Foundation through the Children’s Health Research Institute. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) also provided graduate student funding in the form of a Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS-M). Funders did not have any role in the study design, data collection/analysis, writing, or publication of this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, Western University, 1151 Richmond St, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada

    Bridget R. Irwin, Piotr Wilk, Andrew F. Clark & Jason A. Gilliland

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Western University, 1151 Richmond St, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada

    Bridget R. Irwin, Mark Speechley, Piotr Wilk & Jason A. Gilliland

  3. Schulich Interfaculty Program in Public Health, Western University, 1151 Richmond St, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada

    Mark Speechley

  4. Department of Paediatrics, Western University, 1151 Richmond St, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada

    Piotr Wilk & Jason A. Gilliland

  5. Department of Geography, Western University, 1151 Richmond St, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada

    Andrew F. Clark & Jason A. Gilliland

  6. School of Health Studies, Western University, 1151 Richmond St, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada

    Jason A. Gilliland

  7. Children’s Health Research Institute, 800 Commissioners Rd. E, London, Ontario, N6C 2V5, Canada

    Piotr Wilk, Andrew F. Clark & Jason A. Gilliland

  8. Lawson Health Research Institute, 750 Base Line Rd. E, London, Ontario, N6C 2R5, Canada

    Jason A. Gilliland

Authors
  1. Bridget R. Irwin
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  2. Mark Speechley
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jason A. Gilliland.

Ethics declarations

This study was conducted in accordance with the Canadian Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans, and was approved by the UWO Non-Medical Ethics Board (108328), the Thames Valley District School Board, and the London District Catholic School Board.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Irwin, B.R., Speechley, M., Wilk, P. et al. Promoting healthy beverage consumption habits among elementary school children: results of the Healthy Kids Community Challenge ‘Water Does Wonders’ interventions in London, Ontario. Can J Public Health 111, 257–268 (2020). https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-019-00262-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-019-00262-9

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