Baseline results from the Eat, Play, Live trial: A randomized controlled trial within a natural experiment examining the role of nutrition policy and capacity building in improving food environments in recreation and sport facilities

Canadian provincial governments have introduced voluntary nutrition guidelines for recreation and sport facilities to promote healthy dietary patterns in children. This paper presents baseline data from the Eat, Play, Live (EPL) randomized controlled trial to examine whether facilities in guideline provinces had greater capacity, more nutrition policies, and healthier food environments than facilities in a province without guidelines. Facility capacity, policy development, and food environment quality were measured and compared in guideline (GF; n = 32) and no guideline facilities (NoGF; n = 17) using ANOVA and Chi-square statistics. Healthfulness of vending and concession items were rated as Do Not Sell (least nutritious), Sell Sometimes or Sell Most (most nutritious). Facility capacity scores did not differ between GF and NoGF. A higher proportion of GF had facility-specific nutrition policies compared to NoGF. GF vending machines had healthier profiles than NoGF; including a lower proportion of Do Not Sell snacks and beverages, and a higher proportion of Sell Sometimes snacks and beverages and Sell Most beverages. GF concessions had healthier profiles than NoGF; with a lower proportion of Do Not Sell snacks and beverages, a higher proportion of Sell Sometimes snacks and Sell Most beverages, and higher food environment summary scores. Recreation and sport facilities in guideline provinces had more nutrition policies and healthier food environments than facilities in a province without guidelines. However, food environments were unhealthy regardless of guideline status which may promote correspondingly unhealthy dietary patterns among children.