Comparison of buffet and à la carte serving at worksite canteens on nutrient intake and fruit and vegetable consumption

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the nutritional composition of worksite canteen lunches and to examine the impact of two meal serving systems on employee intake, i.e. buffet style with a fixed price for a varied number of dishes and à la carte style with a separate price for each item on the menu. Design: Laboratory technicians observed employees' food selection and collected identical dishes. Food items were weighed separately to calculate the content of fruit and vegetables. The content of protein, fat and ash of each dish was chemically analysed and the carbohydrate and energy content calculated. Setting: Fifteen randomly chosen worksite canteens in Denmark: eight canteens serving buffet style and seven canteens with an à la carte line. Subjects: one hundred and eighty randomly chosen employees having lunch at the worksite canteens. Results: The average percentage energy from fat was 37^12 among men and 33^12 among women. No association was found between the meal serving system and energy intake or macronutrient composition. Eating at canteens serving buffet style, on the other hand, was associated with an increased intake of fruit and vegetables, on average 76 g, and a lower energy density of the food for both genders. Conclusion:The results highlight the possibilities of promoting healthy food choices in the catering sector and the need to identify models of healthy catering practice. Serving buffet style appears to be a promising strategy in order to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in food served away from home.

Workforce gender, company size and corporate financial support are predictors of availability of healthy meals in Danish worksite canteens

“…In Australia, Burns et al (33) have found that meals consumed outside the home can make a significant contribution to the fat content of the diet. Comparable findings are reported in another study of Danish worksite cafeterias, where Lassen et al (23) evaluated the nutritional composition of worksite canteen lunches. In general, the meals served were too high in fat and too low in fruit and vegetables.…”

Development and validation of a new simple Healthy Meal Index for canteen meals

“…Although the Plate Model is a visual model, an estimated average portion size of each component was estimated from total average lunch canteen weight (i.e. 360 g; adapted from Lassen et al (3) ). --Danish Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (26,27) .…”

“…A growing body of evidence suggests that the worksite environment can have an important impact on employees' food choice and eating habits (1)(2)(3) . Besides supplying lunch and breakfast at the worksite, the take-away option from the worksite canteen is also growing in popularity among employees in Western countries (4) .…”

Os Restaurantes por peso no contexto de alimentação saudável fora de casa

“…Na Dinamarca, Lassen et al 30 avaliaram o impacto de duas modalidades de distribuição de refeições na escolha alimentar de 180 comensais que almoçavam em restaurantes localizados no ambiente de trabalho. Observaram maior consumo de frutas e vegetais e menor consumo de alimentos de alta densidade energética por aqueles que frequentavam restaurantes com sistema de bufê em comparação com os que almoçavam em restaurantes à la carte.…”

“…Outro estudo, que avaliou a composição dos pratos de 560 indivíduos com idade entre 16 e 59 anos que almoçavam em restaurante por peso comercial, concluiu que 82% dos comensais escolheram pelo menos um tipo de fruta ou vegetal para compor a refeição do almoço, sem diferença significativa quanto ao sexo, faixa etária, estado civil e escolaridade 40 . Esse dado é semelhante ao encontrado no já mencionado estudo de Lassen et al 30 , no qual homens e mulheres que almoçavam em restaurantes com serviço de bufê dinamarqueses apresentaram elevado consumo desses alimentos, sem diferença significativa entre os referidos grupos. Desse modo, reforça--se a hipótese de que sistemas de bufê que oferecem variedade de alimentos com opções saudá-veis de escolha parecem ser uma estratégia promissora para estimular escolhas alimentares saudáveis nas refeições realizadas fora de casa.…”