Nutritional Value of Brazilian Universities’ Food Supplies

Introduction

The essay “Are campus food environments healthy?” published in the March l, 2017 issue of “Perspectives in Public Health” offers valuable insight into the health threats that Brazilian learning institutions’ food environments pose to students. It was written by four different people. Isadora Santos is a master’s degree holder in Nutrition and Health. She also works as a researcher at the Nutrition in Foodservice Research Centre. Paula Andréa is an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Sao Paulo’s Department of Human Movement Science. Charles Feldman is a nutrition and health sciences professor at Montclair State University. Marcela Boro is an associate professor at the Department of Nutrition and Nutrition-Based Programs, Federal University of Sao. Their credentials indicate that they have a good command of the subject under study.

University Environmental Components

The university environmental components have direct bearings on students’ eating behavior and lifestyle. The authors intended to examine the nutritional value of Brazilian universities’ food environment and the effects it has on the students. The restaurant dynamics such as food variety, nutritional quality, and food service management. The study took a period of one year from the fall of 2013 through to the autumn of 2014. The research sample included six restaurants and thirteen snack bars that supplied students belonging to a Brazilian university. Data collection was through Nutrition Environment Measures Survey–Restaurants (NEMS-R) and an original qualitative instrument. Data entry and analysis were through Ms. Excel and Software Stata. It established that most food services in Brazilian universities provided limited whole grain, vegetable, fruit, and lean meat options. On the other hand, fried foods, refined grains, starchy vegetables, sugary drinks, candies, and sweet desserts were in abundance. It also found that foods that had processed ingredients had lower value and price. The report recommends further studies on the quality of food products available in the restaurants to improve healthier outcomes. They should replace fried, green salads with more vegetables and whole grains (Pulz et al., 2017).

Logical and Sensible Article

The article is logical and makes a lot of sense. The busy life of campus students implies that they rarely find time to make food for themselves. Therefore, restaurants offer the best alternatives for them. Many restaurant service providers take advantage of this situation and provide cheap food at the expense of nutritional value. Food present in these facilities is usually fast food with high-calorie content. Junk foods are hazardous. Accordingly, the restaurants expose students to health risks. Hence, research in this area is appropriate. Furthermore, the authors achieved the aim of their study. Providing readers and relevant authorities with an understanding of the nutritional value of the food options available for university students was the primary intention of the survey. They achieved this feat by providing detailed background and extensive data analysis.

Comprehensible Article

Several features of the article make it comprehensible. First, in developing the problem, the authors present a background on the dominant characteristics of the food environment of Brazilian universities. For instance, earlier studies had suggested that the setting within which most universities in the United States operate limit the ability of students to make healthy eating choices (122). Such a background analysis provides the reader with a basis on which to evaluate the extent to which the study met its objectives. Second, the authors presented the problem, research methods, and their findings in a manner that makes it easy for the reader to appreciate the purpose of the article. For instance, it provides a detailed review of the two methods of data collection that the researchers used (NEMS-R and an original qualitative instrument). Moreover, it contains comprehensive data on on-site survey including food variety options, ingredients, prices, and perceptions of service providers on the quality of food they offer (Pulz et al., 2017). Therefore, the reader can quickly grasp the main ideas.

Limitations of the Article

Despite the insightful nature of the article, it has significant limitations. First, it does not provide insight into why the restaurants in question offer food options with low quality. Several factors could contribute to this trend. They include the cost of providing quality food, the absence of effective policies, client tastes, or the desire to make huge profits. An understanding of the motivating factors would provide a basis for offering solutions. Second, the report fails to shed light on the health hazards associated with small dietetic quality. Nutritional value is not the only safety issue regarding foods in restaurants. Other serious concerns include the risks of contracting diabetes, hypertension, obesity, overweight, and other deficiency diseases. Highlighting such risks may increase the sensitivity of restaurant service providers towards healthy diets. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the authors were modest and acknowledged some limitations of their study. For example, the article states that the research did not include nutritional facts, ingredient lists, and food values (Pulz et al., 2017). Decisions on matters of health are sensitive and require adequate information. Such an acknowledgment gives other scholars the urge to conduct further research on the subject.

References

Pulz, I. S., Veiros, M. B., Martins, P. A., & Feldman, C. (2017). Are campus food environments healthy?. Perspectives in Public Health, 137(2), p.122-135.