Promoting healthy eating

Triannual E-Newsletter VOL. 3 NO. 1 November 2010
Destination
MONTREAL
LOCAL INITIATIVES
Promoting
healthy eating
A novel idea
In October 2008, the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre (UHC)
embarked on an innovative vending machine concept. Dedicated to the health
of children, expectant mothers, families and its staff, the UHC wanted its
clientele to have access to a wholesome food environment and the necessary
information to guide them in their food choices. The transformation of vending
machines thus represented the first step in an overall mission to promote health
and prevent certain illnesses through the acquisition of healthy lifestyle habits.
Continued on page 2
A WORD FROM THE COORDINATOR
As part of the 2006-2012 Quebec government action plan to promote healthy
lifestyles and prevent weight-related problems, in July 2009 the Ministère de la santé
et des services sociaux (MSSS) launched a
reference guide intended for the health
and social services network institutions to
develop adapted food policies.
Not only was the adoption of a policy on
June 30, 2010 a major feat, it also represented a significant advancement for every
one of the institutions in the health and
social services network. The policy will
indeed have a considerable impact on this
network, which in Montreal employs close
to 88 000 people and serves a population
of 1.9 million. Over the long term,
adopting healthy eating habits will reduce
the incidence and severity of chronic
illnesses and obesity, which are currently
on the constant rise.
The Public health branch (DSP) of the
Montreal Agency wishes to support the
implementation of policies in each of the
Montreal Network’s institutions. Among
the activities planned, the DSP will be
holding a half-day reflection on the subject on November 15, in collaboration
with the Montreal HPH Network. This
event is an ideal opportunity to discuss
the initiatives already undertaken by
institutions and the challenges they have
encountered, as well as to learn about
support offered by the MSSS and the DSP.
This issue of Destination Health Montreal
is contributing to this collective reflection
on food policies by showcasing projects
implemented by member institutions of
the Montreal HPH Network: the transformation of vending machine offerings and
the production of reference documents
for personnel are just two such projects to
inspire you. In addition, this issue provides
links to various Websites of other countries
that have also invested considerable
efforts to promote healthy eating.
Louis Côté
Coordinator of the Montreal Network
Director of Human Resources, Information,
Planning and Legal Affairs
Agence de la santé et des services sociaux
de Montréal (the Montreal Agency)
Destination Health Montreal VOL. 3 NO. 1 – 2
Promoting healthy eating (Continued from page 1)
Strategic locations
The vending machines are placed at the
hospital’s main entrance and close to
the emergency unit in order to make
them accessible to the greatest number
of people possible. Messages that
promote healthy eating surround the
machines, along with information on
available products and touch screen
nutrition games for children with an
accompanying pamphlet.
Types of vending
machines
There are three types of vending
machines: beverage, snack and meal
dispensers. To assist consumers in their
choices, certain food sections are
identified by age group. Furthermore,
an interactive panel indicates when
certain foods are recommended for
dental health and provides a warning
for other foods that could be allergenic
or pose a choking risk for young
children.
Nutritional criteria
to consider
Nutrient criteria were developed by
a team of Sainte-Justine dieticians,
based on the Canada Food Guide
(Health Canada, 2007). Certain, more
specific quantitative criteria needed
to be identified in order to guide the
consumer’s evaluation and selection of
foods and beverages from the vending
machines. These latter criteria are listed
in the Nutrition Standards for Foods in
Schools (Institute of Medicine, 2007).
In particular, they pertain to calories,
total fats, saturated and trans fats,
sugar and sodium.
Evaluation of the impact
of the new machines
To examine the effect of the healthy
vending machines on the adoption of
healthy eating habits, a study was recently
conducted on user habits. Overall, users
reported being just as satisfied with
the machines offering food that meets
nutritional standards as they were with
machines offering less healthy food
choices. The researchers thus determined
that it is possible to influence user choice
at the point of sale by favouring healthy
eating habits. They further concluded that
the concept of healthy vending machines
is an initiative that promotes the adoption of healthy eating habits by making
the healthy choice an easy one to make.
For more information, including the
key success factors of this project,
visit (French only):
www.chu-sainte-justine.org
A guide to serving healthy
and flavourful meals at work
In April 2010, the CSSS de la Montagne published the document,
Alimentez votre travail…des choix pleins d’énergie! a tool to assist people
who are responsible for ordering meals for the workplace.
The caterers selected to be in this guide all offer tasty healthy choices and,
furthermore, comply with sustainable development principles. As such, this
document can serve as a source of inspiration to those institutions wishing
to develop a similar tool for their own employees.
This guide (in French only) can be obtained via the health and social
services network intranet site or by sending an e-mail to
[email protected]
Destination Health Montreal VOL. 3 NO. 1 – 3
World
News
Knowledge Building
A must read
“The stark rise in chronic illnesses
observed in recent years is not an
inevitable consequence of increased
life expectancy but rather the result
of poor lifestyles that favour their
materialization and accelerate their
progression. Among all of the lifestylerelated factors that can influence the
risk for chronic illnesses, eating habits
is among the most significant.”
Béliveau R. and Gingras D. La santé
par le plaisir de bien manger, la
médecine préventive au quotidian,
Trécarré Ed., 2009
Working group on reducing
dietary sodium
The report entitled “Sodium
Reduction Strategy for Canada –
Recommendations of the Sodium
Working Group” (SWG) was published
in July 2010. Established in 2007,
the SWG is composed of a range
of stakeholders, including health
professionals and members of the
food manufacturing and food service
industry. The recommendations
provided in this report are addressed
to all levels of government, all
non-governmental organizations,
consumers, industry and all other
relevant stakeholders.
The Sodium Reduction Strategy consists
of a multi-stage approach:
• Voluntary reduction of sodium
levels in processed food products
and foods sold in food services
establishments;
• Education and awareness of
consumers, industry, health
professionals and other key
stakeholders;
• Research;
• Monitoring and evaluation.
This report marks the beginning of a
process of implementation. It will be
followed by progress reports that will
chronicle the implementation of
the Strategy.
For more information:
www.hc-sc.gc.ca
Reference Document
The reference guide Miser sur une
saine alimentation: une question
de qualité (Targeting healthy eating:
a question of quality) intended for
health and social services network
institutions to assist them in
developing food policies.
Author: MSSS 2009, 52 pages.
This document is available online
at (in French only):
msssa4.msss.gouv.qc.ca
Two tools soon to be online
Classification of a large range of food
products available provincially through
the regional purchasing companies.
Foods are sorted according to the
nutritional criteria presented in the
MSSS’s Reference Guide. This
information will be accessible via the
provincial food product catalogue.
Healthcare institutions will be able to
choose the foods that meet the Guide’s
criteria without having to analyze the
nutritional value themselves.
Computer application to calculate
the main nutritional content
In an Excel file format, this tool will
enable users to validate the nutritional
content of foods against the Reference
Guide’s nutritional criteria. The
application will be free and accessible
to everyone!
You will soon receive an update on
the development of these two tools!
In Denmark
Better food for patients – Joint
Report. Experience from 14 projects
and ideas for future work on nutrition
This publication describes 14 projects
funded by the Danish National Board
of Health and documents their results.
It can be used as a source of inspiration
and a foundation on which to build
new initiatives.
To view this document: www.sst.dk
In France
Le programme national
Nutrition Santé (PNNS)
In the past few years, the implementation of a national nutrition policy has
emerged as a public health priority.
While nutrition may not be the sole
contributing factor to illnesses, such as
cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity,
osteoporosis and type 2 diabetes, it is a
factor on which it is possible to intervene, both collectively and individually.
Launched in January 2001, the ultimate
goal of the PNNS (national nutritional
health program) is to improve the
health status of the entire population
by acting on one of its key determinants:
nutrition. In 2006, the five-year PNNS 2
(2006-2010) was launched to expand
on, fine-tune and reinforce the core
pillars of the PNNS.
For more information (in French only):
www.inpes.sante
This Website contains themed articles
and reading materials for both the
general public and professionals.
The nutrition santé et plaisir
(PNNP) Website:
www.mangerbouger
Destination Health Montreal VOL. 3 NO. 1 – 4
Montreal Network
On September 22, the members
adopted the 2010-2011 Montreal
Network action plan.
communicate and disseminate a
health promotion policy so that it
becomes widely known to personnel
and users.
The year’s major projects
Without a doubt, this year will be marked
by employee health in the health and
social services network with the
publication of the Guide to Promoting
Healthy Workplaces in both a regional
and international version. To highlight
this publication, several events will be
organized to promote the sharing of the
Guide’s content and stimulate reflection
on this topic. Among them will notably
be a regional network conference in
March 2011 as well as an event at the
international HPH conference, set to
take place next June in Turku, Finland.
Many other themes will be put forward
in 2011 to further promote integration
of the HPH approach within institutional
practices. Representatives of member
institutions will look into collaborations
between the UHCs and CSSSs for the
purpose of developing health promoting
activities. Representatives will also hone
the key factors to successfully
The half-day reflection and
initiatives undertaken to
implement the food policy,
which constitute the theme of
this issue, will be a central focus
of Montreal Network members
throughout the year. Check out
the Montreal Network Website
for the presentations to be given
at the November 15 meeting
under the banner, Food policies
to keep our world healthy.
An inspirational encounter
with the initiative, Institut
promoteur de la santé
At the September 22 meeting, members
listened with keen interest to the experience shared by the ISQ (Quebec institute
for mental health) which for the past
several years has been carrying out an
integrated health promotion program.
The initiative named Institut promoteur de
la santé (the health promotion institute)
has been met with resounding success
among the personnel of this facility.
Denys Forgues of the ISQ indicated that
certain factors played a key role in the
success of the program:
• The support and commitment of senior
management
• Participatory management approach
• An educational approach to lifestyle
changes rather than a restrictive one
• An approach geared toward the individual and his or her environment.
For more information (in French only):
www.institutsmq.qc.ca
To obtain a copy of the presentation
“Institut promoteur de la santé”
please send your request to the
following e-mail address:
[email protected]
Upcoming Events
The Quality Worklife-Quality Healthcare Collaborative (QWQHC) is a coalition of twelve national healthcare
organizations working together to create healthier workplaces and ultimately improve client and system outcomes.
The 2011 summit will be held under the theme “Integrating Perspectives: Healthy Work Environments, Healthy
Outcomes, Healthy People” and will take place March 2 and 3, 2011 in Mississauga, Ontario.
For more information or to register: www.qwqhc.ca
Destination Health Montreal is a triannual publication of the Montreal Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and CSSSs of the Montreal Agency.
Editors: Louis Côté and Françoise Alarie • Coordinator and Writer: Marie-Dominique Charier • Special Contributor: Randala Mouawad, Public Health
Branch of the Montreal Agency • Writing Contributor: Isabelle Kroeh • Translation: Sofie Kaegi• Graphics and Layout: Quatre-Quarts. ISSN 1918-4522.
Contact us at: [email protected]
www.santemontreal.qc.ca