Food choice and secondary school meals: the nutritional implications of choices based on preference rather than perceived healthiness

Purpose – This paper aims to describe free school meals with respect to a plate model and to analyse how the meals were chosen by pupils at Finnish comprehensive schools.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the history of the Finnish school catering system and free school meals. It also briefly analyses theoretical approaches to school meals and introduces a plate model based on national nutritional recommendations. The empirical data were collected in 2003 by the second author of this paper. In total, 3,041 pupils returned the questionnaire from ten comprehensive schools. Data from the pupils' school meal choices were analysed using one‐way ANOVA and F‐tests.Findings – The findings indicate that there were significant differences in the chosen school meals between boys and girls, between classes, and between schools. Thus, the plate model has not been followed when choosing the free school meals.Practical implications – This paper has, for example, the following implication: school meals shoul...

Free school meals, the plate model and food choices in Finland

Purpose – Maslow's hierarchy of needs is little used in research when analysing pupils’ needs, wants, and motivations related to food. To fill that gap, the purpose of this paper is to introduce the pupils’ suggestions for developing school meals in Finland from the viewpoint of Maslow's hierarchy.Design/methodology/approach – Previous research on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, as well as pupils’ needs for school meals are briefly illustrated. The empirical qualitative data are collected from four comprehensive schools by using a sentence completion method.Findings – The findings introduce pupils’ suggestions for developing school meals from the viewpoint of a plate model and its items linked with Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Most of the suggestions are related to physiological needs; i.e. main course, salad, milk and bread. Also other needs, such as safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self‐actualization needs receive suggestions.Practical implications – The practical implications are that the pup...

Maslow's hierarchy and pupils’ suggestions for developing school meals

The influence of socio-economic background on perceptions of vegetables among Scottish primary school children

Primary schoolchildren′s snack food consumption patterns and food preferences were investigated by interview technique in schools in Germany and England and analysed on the basis of culture, sex and social class. There were significant differences in the proportions of children who took chocolate to school in the various social classes in both England and Germany and there were also highly significant differences in the total number of chocolate bars consumed each week by the different social classes in both countries. Food choices from a table display containing a range of snack foods popular in both countries showed highly significant differences between German and English children with German children preferring a much higher proportion of “healthy food options”, e.g. fruit, yogurt, milchschnitte (sponge cake snack), etc. compared with English children who chose four chocolate products out of their five most preferred items. Reasons for such differences could be related to advertising pressures, nutrit...

Children′s Snack Food Consumption Patterns in Germany and England

A survey, conducted in ten secondary schools in Nottingham and involving 492 respondents aged 11‐16, examined the relationship between adolescents′ attitudes towards food components such as fat, protein and fibre and their attitudes towards the role of specific food items containing those components in maintaining a healthy diet. The results showed that attitudes towards selected food components tended to be held more strongly than attitudes towards foods containing those components. Thus whilst nearly 80 per cent respondents favoured a reduction in fat intake, only 45.8 per cent favoured a decrease in butter consumption. Attitudes towards specific food components and specific food items are a function of a number of complex inter‐related variables which require further investigation.

Dietary Awareness of Children: Specific Food Items

Over the past few years several reports have been published recommending voluntary changes in UK diet in the interests of health. Major recommendations include a reduction in the consumption of fat, sugar and salt and an increase in consumption of fibre. A survey conducted in ten secondary schools in Nottingham and involving 492 respondents showed that adolescents between the ages of 11 and 16 generally favoured a decrease in consumption of fat and sugar and an increased consumption of fibre. However only half of the sample thought that salt intake should be reduced. There were significant differences in response based on the age and sex of the respondents. Reduction in fat and sugar intakes was a particularly dominant attitude amongst older girls, and this may be due to their concern over appearance rather than their concern for health.

Dietary Awareness of Children: Specific Food Components

A Survey among schoolchildren shows that while some of them believe we should eat less fat, they are unsure about how to achieve this. B.K.Lund, K. Gregson, R.J. Neals and C.H. Tilston describe their research.

Children′s views on dairy products

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Dietary Awareness of Children: Specific Food Items

Dietary Awareness of Children: Specific Food Components

Children′s views on dairy products