Barriers to Healthy Dietary Choice Amongst Secondary School Students in a Post Conflict Country
Sri Lanka has experienced a massive demographic, environmental, economic and social transition in recent decades with the 27 year civil war seen to be an important factor in this. Over this period of time the country has undergone rapid urbanisation leading to accompanying shifts in lifestyle and it suffers a double burden of under- and over-nutrition. Current programmes in the country focus on improving the dietary behaviour of secondary school students. In order to do this we must first understand the barriers to healthy dietary choice that this section of the population faces.
Focus groups (n=7) on the barriers to healthy dietary choice amongst students were carried out with secondary school principals and staff, (n=29) and Community Resource Persons (n=7) in Ampara an ethnically diverse region in Sri Lanka.
Financial constraints were a common concern, these encouraged longer working hours and migration by breadwinners. Cultural misconceptions and social pressures were also prevalent, leading students away from healthy foods due to a misunderstanding of its effect on the body, or because it was associated with lower social classes. The promotion of unhealthy diets occurred through widespread advertising, but also from certain religious groups who prompted abstinence of eating certain foods, such as meat and eggs. A national policy was identified as the kind of support needed to encourage the production of local crops, whilst the lack of suitable protection for small holdings made them vulnerable to wild animals, including elephants.
The barriers to healthy dietary choice amongst secondary school students in Sri Lanka are varied, supporting the use of multifactorial programmes to promote healthy eating. Only if we understand these barriers and find ways to counter them can we hope to reduce the double burden of under- and over-nutrition the country is currently suffering.