‘There is such a thing as too healthy!’ The impact of minimum nutritional guidelines on school food practices in secondary schools

Abstract

Background: Pressure to improve school meals has resulted in stringent nutritional guidelines across the UK. In Wales, the 'Appetite for Life' guidelines of 2008 resulted in significant changes to the provision of food in Welsh schools. Although evaluation of these changes has focussed on nutritional quality, there is little evidence of how pupils perceive these changes and their impact on school food practices. Using a Collective Lifestyles approach, the present study reports how secondary school pupils perceive and negotiate menu changes and the implications for lunchtime practices. Methods: Seven focus groups (52 pupils) were undertaken in four secondary schools within one local authority in Wales. Participatory techniques were used to facilitate discussion, and the focus groups were recorded, transcribed and analysed using a framework approach. Analysis was underpinned by a Collective Lifestyles approach, which provides a framework to understand behaviour in context using three domains: (i) patterns of consumption; (ii) the construction and maintenance of identity; and (iii) power relationships. Results: Pupils reported that the new menus were unpopular in terms of content and meal type; the preference was for portable and snack style foods. In terms of power relationships, pupils' ability to negotiate within the school setting was constrained by the institutional nature of school dining. As a result, pupils tended to opt out of school food provision, accessing alternatives where possible. Conclusions: The development of the healthy eating agenda within the school setting needs to consider the complexities of adolescent consumption preferences, identities and social networks if they are to be successful. 31

The impact of, and views on, school food intervention and policy in young people aged 11–18 years in Europe: A mixed methods systematic review

“…The free or low‐cost interventions also support the qualitative theme around food familiarity being fundamental to improving nutrition habits 64–66 and providing low risk opportunities to try a range of non‐familiar foods. The appearance, freshness and convenience of food choices were important to participants 16,64–66 and should be a consideration for studies where complimentary FV or meals are provided to increase uptake. However, this was not a theme that was supported by the quantitative evidence.…”

“…For the quantitative section of the review, 22 publications reported data from nine RCTs, 47–55 12 quasi‐experimental studies 39–41,56–63 (one of which was mixed methods, 39 where only the quantitative data met the inclusion criteria) and one cross‐sectional study 23 . For the qualitative component of the review, five publications were included 16,64–67 …”

“…All the qualitative studies were published from 2014, with three published in 2019. Two of the five studies originated from the Netherlands, 65,66 two from the UK 64,67 and one from Denmark 16 . All five studies reported data from mixed genders, although differences observed were noted.…”

“…Social acceptance was the most dominant theme from the qualitative data 16,64,66,67 . In the school environment where peer and friendship groups exist naturally, social influence is an opportunity to be explored via interventions within school culture.…”

Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of nutrition standards for school food: a mixed methods systematic review protocol

“…It is believed that the UK has the most comprehensive set of nutritional standards for school meals. However, the implementation of these standards has not necessarily resulted in better consumption and nutritional outcomes 65 . Therefore, it is important to evaluate the process, to aid the full implementation of nutrition standards.…”