Lunch‐time food source is associated with school hour and school day diet quality among Canadian children

Abstract

Background: There is limited research on the dietary behaviours of Canadian children at school, including where students obtain food from during school hours or whether lunch-time food source influences diet quality. Methods: Nationally representative cross-sectional data from 24-h dietary recalls were analysed from the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey (n = 4589). Dietary outcomes included school hour and school day dietary intakes and School Healthy Eating Index (S-HEI) scores. Survey-weighted covariate-adjusted linear regression models examined differences in dietary outcomes across lunch-time food source groups. Results: The majority of children (72.8%) reported bringing lunch from home, whereas fewer students obtained lunch from off-campus locations (11.6%), schools (9.6%) or skipped lunch (5.9%). Compared to off-campus lunches, home-packed lunches were significantly higher in fibre, vitamins A, D and C, thiamin, magnesium, iron, grains, vegetables and fruit, but lower in total calories, fat and calories from minimally nutritious foods. Average school hour diet quality required improvement for all age groups, although S-HEI scores did not differ significantly by lunch-time food source among 6-8-year-old children. However, for children age 9-17 years, bringing a home-packed lunch was associated with significantly higher S-HEI scores compared to students obtaining lunch from off-campus locations. After adjusting for age and sex, lunch-time food source was also significantly associated with whole day dietary quality. Conclusions: Although the nutritional quality of off-campus lunches was lower than home-packed lunches, the quality of foods was suboptimal, regardless of food source. Strategies are needed to enhance access to nutritious foods on campus and improve the nutritional quality of packed lunches, which supply the majority of lunch-time foods consumed by Canadian children.

Consumption habits of school canteen and non-canteen users among Norwegian young adolescents: a mixed method analysis

“…Many of the interviews have mentioned the consumption of home packed lunches, and studies of school lunch habits amongst Norwegian adolescents have previously detailed the importance and predominance of the home packed lunch in Norwegian culture [ 37 , 38 ], with over 60% of young Norwegians reporting a packed lunch for consumption at school, a proportion similar to the results we present here. This figure is also consistent with global reports examining school lunch eating practises [ 39 ].…”

“…The focus group interviews together with the quantitative data support the notion of healthy eaters avoiding the school canteen, opting instead for a home packed lunch. This view is further supported by previous reports that home prepared lunches help contribute to a healthy dietary pattern [ 39 , 62 , 63 ]. Furthermore, it has been reported that students consuming a lunch from home have significantly lower odds of consuming off-campus food during the school week [ 41 ], which further concurs with the results presented here.…”

Are closed campus policies associated with youth eating behaviours?

“…Lunches prepared at home are generally considered the most nutritious option, relative to meals purchased from fast food, restaurants, and convenience store outlets (24,23). In Canadian secondary school students, those who bring a home-packed lunch report better total dietary quality, and consume fewer SSBs (25) and more fruit, vegetable (26), and whole grain servings, compared to their peers who purchase lunch from school or off campus (24,27). For purchased lunches, most studies support the school cafeteria food as the healthier alternative to food purchased at fast food outlets or other restaurant and retail options.…”

“…Students who eat lunch or snacks purchased at fast food outlets or restaurants report higher consumption of SSBs (25,26,28) and fried foods, and have greater sodium, sugar, and total caloric intakes than their peers who eat lunch prepared at home or by the school cafeteria (23,24,28). However, some evidence suggests school obtained lunches are generally equivalent to food purchased off-school property (24,27).…”

“…Given the many barriers to implementing healthy eating zones around schools, CCP that restrict students from leaving school property during the day have been proposed. While such a policy does not prevent students from purchasing food at nearby food retailers before or after school, youth consume approximately one third of their total energy intake during school hours (27,28,29), providing considerable potential to improve student nutrition. To our knowledge, only one study has examined CCP in association with food purchasing and consumption patterns.…”