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Purpose: To better understand how consumers use the Nutrition Facts Table (NFT) in their everyday shopping decisions and food consumption habits.Methods: Thirteen Canadian females were interviewed about how they use the NFT in their food choices.Results: Different elements of the front of the package served different purposes. Health claims and health checks drew attention to the product, but were not highly trusted. Ingredient lists were used to find “real food.” NFTs were considered important with each participant reporting an individualized strategy for using the NFT characterized by the application of benchmarks and blinders. The term “blinders” reflected only seeing and using one specific nutrient by assessing whether or not it exceeded a certain “benchmark” established by the participant. Therefore, the level of one specific nutrient determined the healthfulness of the product and the subsequent purchase/consumption decision.Conclusions: Findings suggest that NFTs should be redesigned. Some ideas for redesign include only listing “unhealthy” nutrients, having serving sizes more congruent to what is eaten in a typical sitting, making it easier to identify when a food may be high in a nutrient, and providing ways to allow the NFT to be used to meet personal, individualized needs.

Based on a 1999 needs assessment a pediatric community-based outpatient dietitian counselling service was created. By 2010 annual referrals had grown to almost 1500 (62% from physicians; 38% from public health nurses). An evaluation was undertaken to gather perspectives of practitioners and parents about access, satisfaction, referral practices, and changes in knowledge, attitudes, behaviour, and child well-being. Health professionals surveyed via email were 62 pediatricians (response rate 71%), 25 family physicians (21%), 87 public health nurses (31%), and 7 dietitian providers (100%). Parents (n = 93, response rate 75% of those contacted) were interviewed by telephone. Pediatricians reported a significantly lower rate of 7% (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.8%–23%) for admitting children to hospital to access a dietitian, compared to 1999 of 39% (95% CI, 22%–59%) (P = 0.005). Health professionals reported a high degree of agreement on benefits of the service to their practice and on child health problems and a high degree of satisfaction with the service. Parents reported gaining knowledge (76%), confidence (93%), and making behaviour changes in foods offered (77%). Our evaluation demonstrated health practitioners saw a need for access to dietitians for pediatric dietitian counselling and parents reported more confidence and improved child feeding practices after dietitian counselling.

School breakfast programs are widespread and serve varying objectives regarding youth health promotion. Evidence-based guidelines for breakfast programs may be important in maximizing their effectiveness related to student outcomes, yet it is unclear what is available in Canada. A systematic review was conducted to identify and compare Canadian guidelines related to breakfast programs. Data sources included grey literature databases, customized search engines, targeted websites, and content expert consultations. Eligible guidelines met the following criteria: government and nongovernment sources at the federal and provincial/territorial levels, current version, and intended for program coordinators. Recommendations for program delivery were extracted, categorized, and mapped onto the 4 environments outlined in the ANGELO framework, and they were classified as “common” or “inconsistent” across guidelines. Fifteen sets of guidelines were included. No guidelines were available from federal or territorial governments and 4 provincial governments. There were few references to peer-reviewed literature within the guidelines and despite many common recommendations for program delivery, conflicting recommendations were also identified. Potential barriers to program participation, including a lack of consideration of allergies and other dietary restrictions, were identified. Future research should identify how guidelines are implemented and evaluate what effect their implementation has on program delivery and student outcomes.