Public Health Nutrition: 14(8), 1350–1356 doi:10.1017/S1368980011000449 Associations between the perceived presence of vending machines and food and beverage logos in schools and adolescents’ diet and weight status Leia M Minaker 1 , Kate E Storey 2 , Kim D Raine 3, *, John C Spence 4 , Laura E Forbes 2 , Ronald C Plotnikoff 5,6 and Linda J McCargar 7 1 Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada: 2 Alberta Institute of Human Nutrition, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada: 3 Centre for Health Promotion Studies, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 1001 College Plaza, 8215-112 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 2C8, Canada: 4 Sedentary Living Laboratory, Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada: 5 School of Education, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia: 6 Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation and School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada: 7 Alberta Institute of Human Nutrition, Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada Submitted 15 May 2010: Accepted 14 February 2011: First published online 31 March 2011 Abstract Objective: The increasing prevalence of obesity among youth has elicited calls for schools to become more active in promoting healthy weight. The present study examined associations between various aspects of school food environ- ments (specifically the availability of snack- and beverage-vending machines and the presence of snack and beverage logos) and students’ weight status, as well as potential influences of indices of diet and food behaviours. Design: A cross-sectional, self-administered web-based survey. A series of multinomial logistic regressions with generalized estimating equations (GEE) were constructed to examine associations between school environment variables (i.e. the reported presence of beverage- and snack-vending machines and logos) and self-reported weight- and diet-related behaviours. Setting: Secondary schools in Alberta, Canada. Subjects: A total of 4936 students from grades 7 to 10. Results: The presence of beverage-vending machines in schools was associated with the weight status of students. The presence of snack-vending machines and logos was associated with students’ frequency of consuming vended goods. The presence of snack-vending machines and logos was associated with the frequency of salty snack consumption. Conclusions: The reported presence of snack- and beverage-vending machines and logos in schools is related to some indices of weight status, diet and meal behaviours but not to others. The present study supported the general hypothesis that the presence of vending machines in schools may affect students’ weight through increased consumption of vended goods, but notes that the frequency of ‘junk’ food consumption does not seem to be related to the presence of vending machines, perhaps reflecting the ubiquity of these foods in the daily lives of students. Keywords School Food environments Obesity Diet Adolescents Schools have been identified as important settings in which to create interventions for diet and nutritional behaviours because they offer continuous and intensive contact with youth who develop lifelong habits through- out childhood and adolescence (1–3) . However, school environments may provide messages contradictory to planned interventions. For example, the availability of ‘junk’ food (food with little or no nutritional value beyond its energy content) in schools appears to be widespread in the USA (4) , in many European countries (1) and in Canada (5–7) , with increased exposure for older students. For example, 95 % of high schools in the USA had vending machines offering soft drinks, candy or snacks in 2005 (8) . Moreover, schools in the USA (9,10) and Canada (6) are entering into exclusive pouring rights contracts or sponsorship agreements with multinational corporations. Pouring rights contracts involve soft-drink companies compensating schools and school districts in return for *Corresponding author: Email kim.raine@ualberta.ca r The Authors 2011