A cross-sectional study of the nutritional quality of student canteen purchases from New South Wales primary-school canteens

AbstractObjective:To assess the nutritional quality of student canteen purchases at recess and lunch, including: (i) the mean energy (kilojoules), saturated fat (grams), total sugar (grams) and Na (milligrams) and percentage of energy from saturated fat and total sugar; and (ii) the proportion and types of foods purchased that are healthier (green) and less healthy (amber/red) according to a state school canteen policy.Design:A cross-sectional study of student canteen food and beverage recess and lunch purchases.Setting:Twenty-six randomly selected government primary schools that were non-compliant with a state school canteen policy from a region of New South Wales, Australia, were approached to participate.Participants:Students (aged 5–12 years) of participating schools.Results:Eighteen schools (69 %) consented to participate. On average students’ recess purchases contained 571·2 kJ energy, 1·6 g saturated fat, 11·6 g total sugar and 132·4 mg Na with 10·0 % of energy from saturated fat and 37·8 % of energy from total sugar. Students’ lunch purchases contained 685·4 kJ energy, 1·8 g saturated fat, 12·7 g total sugar and 151·4 mg Na with 9·5 % of energy from saturated fat and 31·8 % of energy from total sugar. Less healthy items represented 72 and 76 % of all items purchased at recess and lunch, respectively, with ‘savoury snacks’ and ‘sugar-sweetened ice blocks and slushies’ being the most common recess and lunch purchases, respectively.Conclusions:There is considerable scope to improve the nutritional quality of student purchases from primary-school canteens, with a high percentage of energy from total sugar. Future research is required to identify effective strategies to enhance compliance with canteen policies and support the purchase of healthier foods from school canteens.

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Investigating differences between traditional (paper bag) ordering and online ordering from primary school canteens: a cross-sectional study comparing menu, usage and lunch order characteristics

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980020003559 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Alecia Leonard ◽

Tessa Delaney ◽

Kirsty Seward ◽

Rachel Zoetemeyer ◽

Hannah Lamont ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary School ◽

Nutritional Quality ◽

Primary Schools ◽

Saturated Fat ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Primary School Children ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

South Wales ◽

School Canteen

Abstract Objective: To assess differences between traditional paper bag ordering and online ordering from primary school canteens in terms of menu, usage and lunch order characteristics. Design: A cross-sectional study. Setting: New South Wales (NSW) primary schools that offered both paper bag and online canteen ordering. Participants: Students (aged 5–12 years) with a lunch order on the day of the observation. Results: Across the six school canteens, 59–90 % of all available items were listed on both the online and paper menus, with no significant differences in the nutritional quality (‘Everyday’/‘Occasional’) or nutritional content (kJ/saturated fat/sugar/sodium) of menu items. In total, 387 student lunch orders were placed, containing 776 menu items. Most orders (68 %) were placed online. There were no significant differences between order modality in the quantity of items ordered or the cost of orders, or the nutritional quality of orders based on the classification system of the NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy (‘Everyday’/’Occasional’). However, nutritional analysis revealed that paper bag orders contained 222 fewer kJ than online orders (P = 0·001), 0·65 g less saturated fat (P = 0·04) and 4·7 g less sugar (P < 0·001). Conclusions: Online canteens are commonly used to order canteen lunches for primary school children. This is the first study to investigate differences between traditional paper bag ordering and online ordering in this setting. Given the rapid increase in the use of online ordering systems in schools and other food settings and their potential to deliver public health nutrition interventions, additional research is warranted to further investigate differences in ordering modalities.

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