For the fourth edition of its Green Apple School Program, Canadian retailer Metro is putting a focus on preventing obesity among young students through projects aimed at increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables.

This area of focus for intervention has been especially strengthened as a result of a collaborative agreement between Metro and researchers at the McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health & Economics.

Intended to encourage healthy eating habits for children, the Green Apple School Program will again award this year 1,000 grants of $1,000 to elementary and secondary schools in all four corners of Quebec. That’s a total of $1 million that will allow projects aimed at increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables among students to be carried out. Fruits and vegetables are known for being the foundation of a healthy diet, and promoting their consumption without moderation contributes to reducing the risk of illness and obesity.

“Several factors influence a person’s weight, including physical exercise for example, but we know that diet is the main reason for being overweight," Linda Montpetit, dietician and ambassador for Metro’s My Healthy Plate program, said in a press release. "Obesity comes with its share of consequences, be they physical, mental, social and economic. It’s a real societal problem that goes well beyond the individual.”

Marie-Claude Bacon, senior director of corporate affairs for Metro, added, “With Green Apple School Program projects being developed in schools, Metro wants to show children that it’s simple, enjoyable and tasty to eat well, by encouraging them to adopt healthy living habits as early as possible that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”

To ensure the sustainability of the new eating habits or discoveries that the Green Apple School Program projects initiate at school, they must be able to carry over to the home. To that end, Metro has developed, in collaboration with the MCCHE, more specific and strict admission criteria, including a parents-school feedback component. Project managers must also be sure to include several different activities throughout the length of their project, as well as record the consumption of fruits and vegetables before and after the project. 

According to a health survey conducted in Canadian communities, approximately one in four young Canadians between the ages of 12 and 17 was overweight or obese in 2014. When compared to 2005, the proportion of overweight children is up 19.4 percent. Furthermore, another study shows that children who suffer from obesity or who are overweight are likely to have the same problem as adults. It’s even more significant among children between the ages of 12 and 17.