November 2011. Student journeys to and from school offer opportunities to make food purchases, but little is known about how often such purchases are made, or which factors are associated with the decision to spend money on food outside of school.
Novel image – and GPS-based technology, in combination with traditional approaches, proved useful for capturing information about secondary school pupils’ journeys to and from schools. Transport mode, location of food outlets, influence of friends, money, food marketing, and personal choice influenced the type and number of food purchases.
The aim of this pilot research was to trial selected methodological approaches to collection of data on food purchasing and consumption in relation to the journey to and from school in order to:
- Learn about opportunities for food purchasing and consumption
- Quantify food purchases and consumption during these journey
- Understand the associated rationales and motivations
The sample included four schools: 1 urban, 2 suburban, and 1 rural. A total of 22 pupils collected data on the journey to and from school, and a further 20 pupils contributed to focus group discussions. The findings show that, not surprisingly, geographic location of schools determined food availability in relation to the journey to school – the village school and those on the edge of towns had fewer accessible food outlets than those in more densely populated areas. It was also evident that food purchasing and consumption was driven by opportunity (transport mode and number and location of food outlets relating to journey routes), social factors (interactions with friends), resources (money), and food marketing (e.g. special offers on confectionery and cakes). Some participants, with opportunity and money, did not purchase or eat anything on their journeys to and from school because of personal preferences and rationales. Moreover, school journey food purchasing and consumption may be independent of school food provision.
The study demonstrated that methodological approaches using new technologies such as SenseCam journey image data recorders can be used effectively by young adolescents, alongside more tradition interview and focus group based methods in school settings, to understand teenage food behaviours more clearly. A larger study in the future, based on the methodologies trialled here, would provide more comprehensive insights into students’ food choices, motives and behaviours between the school gate and home.
