'Definitely cause for concern': Survey unveils poor dietary habits of Manitoba youth

Researchers behind a new report revealing the poor dietary habits of Manitoba youth are calling for public health interventions to address the issue.

The report was released Tuesday by a team of researchers from the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg. It unveiled data collected and analyzed from nearly 1,600 grade nine students throughout Manitoba.

One key takeaway – regardless of where students lived, they did not eat enough vegetables, fruit, milk and alternatives or meat and alternatives.

They also consumed an average of four servings of ‘other foods’, meaning sweet and salty snacks, candy and sweetened beverages, the day before their diet survey. Most consumed excess saturated fat and sodium, the study found, resulting in low fibre, calcium and vitamin D intake.

Researchers noted more than half of female respondents did not meet recommendations for folate and zinc.

Lead researcher Joyce Slater said they were able to classify youth’s eating habits under the Healthy Eating Index, which is a scoring metric to determine overall diet quality.

“We really found that very few of them had what we classify as a good diet,” Slater told CTV Winnipeg’s Maralee Caruso in an interview.

“A lot of them had the classification of a poor diet, or the bulk of them had what's called ‘needs improvement,’ so definitely cause for concern.”

Meantime, twice as many northern participants had diets classified as ‘poor’ compared to those in rural and urban regions. Researchers note this may be linked to higher rates of food insecurity, as 36 per cent of northern student participants were food insecure, while 20 per cent of urban and 13 per cent of rural student respondents were food insecure.

The fallout from poor eating can range from Type 2 diabetes to heart disease to mental health issues, Slater said.

She’d like to see a provincial task force formed to analyze potential public health interventions, as well as a universal school meal program.

Salter added the study isn’t meant to finger-wag or shame students into improving their diets and lifestyles. Conversely, it highlights sociocultural norms around food that promote the overconsumption of highly processed foods.

“As the adults, we're not equipping children and youth with the tools they need to navigate what's really quite a complex food scape that we live in,” she said.

- With files from CTV News' Maralee Caruso