Students’ Food Intake from Home-Packed Lunches in the Traditional versus Balanced School Day
Publication: Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
25 October 2016
Abstract
Purpose: To assess the type and quantity of foods children brought and consumed at school in the balanced school day (BSD), with two 20-minute eating periods, versus the traditional schedule (TS), with one 20-minute lunch.
Methods: Direct observation identified food items and amounts in BSD and TS lunches of grade 3 and 4 students (n = 321).
Results: The mean (SD) servings of foods packed in BSD lunches were significantly higher than the TS lunches for milk and alternatives (0.69 (0.70) vs 0.47 (0.49), P = 0.02), sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs; 0.91 (1.24) vs 0.57 (0.99), P = 0.01), and snacks (2.74 (1.55) vs 2.24 (1.48), P < 0.01). Regardless of schedule, only 40.8% of students had vegetables packed in their lunch, whereas 92.8% had snacks. When comparing foods eaten, SSBs and snacks remained significantly higher in the BSD (0.75 (1.02) vs 0.48 (0.83), P = 0.03; 2.37 (1.44) vs 1.93 (1.36), P = 0.01, respectively). The proportion of children (%) whose consumption met one-third of Canada’s Food Guide recommendations for vegetables and fruit was low (27.5% BSD, 31.0% TS).
Conclusions: The BSD may have unintended negative consequences on the type and amount of foods packed in school lunches. Support for families should focus on encouraging more vegetables and fruit and fewer SSBs and snacks in packed lunches.
Résumé
Objectif : Évaluer le type et la quantité d’aliments que les enfants apportent et consomment à l’école durant la journée scolaire équilibrée (JSE), qui comprend deux périodes de 20 minutes pour manger, comparativement à l’horaire traditionnel (HT), qui comprend une période de dîner de 20 minutes.
Méthodes : Observation directe pour déterminer le type et la quantité d’aliments que consomment les enfants de 3e et de 4e année (n = 231) pour le dîner dans le cadre de la JSE et de l’HT.
Résultats : Le nombre moyen de portions (écart-type) dans les boîtes à lunch associé à la JSE était significativement plus élevé que celui des boîtes à lunch de l’HT pour la catégorie lait et substituts (0,69 (0,70) vs 0,47 (0,49), P = 0,02), les boissons sucrées (0,91 (1,24) vs 0,57 (0,99), P = 0,01) et les collations (2,74 (1,55) vs 2,24 (1,48), P < 0,01). Peu importe l’horaire, seulement 40,8 % des boîtes à lunch contenaient des légumes, alors que 92,8 % contenaient des collations. Lorsque l’on compare les aliments consommés, les boissons sucrées et les collations étaient significativement plus présentes pour la JSE (0,75 (1,02) vs 0,48 (0,83), P = 0,03; 2,37 (1,44) vs 1,93 (1,36), P = 0,01, respectivement). La proportion d’enfants (%) dont la consommation respectait un tiers des recommandations du Guide alimentaire canadien pour les légumes et les fruits était faible (27,5 % pour la JSE et 31 % pour l’HT).
Conclusions : La JSE pourrait entraîner des conséquences négatives non désirées sur le type et la quantité d’aliments contenus dans les boîtes à lunch. Le soutien aux familles devrait être axé sur l’augmentation de la quantité de légumes et de fruits et la diminution des boissons sucrées et des collations dans les boîtes à lunch.
Formats available
You can view the full content in the following formats:
Source of financial support: This research was funded through a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (PHO-123776) to Dr. Paula D.N. Dworatzek.
Conflict of interest: None to declare.
References
1
Healthy Kids Panel. No time to wait: the healthy kids strategy. Toronto, ON; 2013. 66 pp. [cited 2016 May 10]. Available from: http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/common/ministry/publications/reports/healthy_kids/healthy_kids.pdf.
2
Evans CEL, Greenwood DC, Thomas JD, and Cade JE. A cross-sectional survey of children’s packed lunches in the UK: food- and nutrient-based results. J Epidemiol Community Heal. 2010 Nov;64(11):977–83.
3
Pearce J, Harper C, Haroun D, Wood L, and Nelson M.Short communication: key differences between school lunches and packed lunches in primary schools in England in 2009. Public Health Nutr. 2011 Aug;14(8):1507–10.
4
Johnston CA, Moreno JP, El-Mubasher A, and Woehler D.School lunches and lunches brought from home: a comparative analysis. Child Obes. 2012 Aug;8(4):364–68.
5
Taylor JP, Hernandez KJ, Caiger JM, Giberson D, MacLellan D, and Sweeney-Nixon M, et al.Nutritional quality of children’s school lunches: differences according to food source. Public Heal Nutr. 2012 Dec;15(12):2259–64.
6
Wu TF, Macaskill LA, Salvadori MI, and Dworatzek PD.Is the balanced school day truly balanced? A review of the impacts on children, families, and school food environments. J Sch Health. 2015;85(6):405–10.
7
Ontario Principals’ Council. The principal as instructional leader in literacy. Corwin: A Joint Publication with Ontario Principals’ Council; 2009.
8
Lafleur C. The balanced school day: challenging the traditional grammars of schooling. Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference, Winnipeg, MB; 2004. p. 1–15.
9
Halton District School Board. ‘Balanced Day’ timetable to be implemented for all Halton public elementary schools in September 2003; 2003 [cited 2016 May 22]. Available from: http://www.hdsb.ca/Schools/Balanced School Day Timetable/NRBalancedDay.pdf.
10
Rainbow District School Board. Balanced school day; 2006 [cited 2016 May 22]. Available from: http://www.rainbowschools.ca/parents/balancedSchoolDay.php.
11
Grand Erie District School Board. Balanced school day; 2012 [cited 2016 May 22]. Available from: http://www.granderie.ca/Parents/BalancedSchoolDay/Pages/default.aspx.
12
Dorman SC, Gauthier AP, Laurence M, Thirkill L, and Kabaroff JL.Photographic examination of student lunches in schools using the Balanced School Day versus Traditional School Day Schedules. ICAN. 2013;5(2):78–84.
13
Richter SL, Vandervet LM, Macaskill LA, Salvadori MI, Seabrook JA, and Dworatzek PDN. Accuracy and reliability of direct observations of home-packed lunches in elementary schools by trained nutrition students. J Acad Nutr Diet.2012 Oct;112(10):1603–7.
14
Moses S. Female tanner stage [cited 2016 May 11]. Available from: http://www.fpnotebook.com/endo/exam/fmltnrstg.htm.
15
Baranowski T, Fleishman R, Forthofer R, Huang IW, and Debra B. Simons-morton BG. Reliability of direct observation of schoolchildren’s consumption of bag lunches. J Am Diet Assoc.1992;92(2):219–21.
16
Baglio ML, Baxter SD, Guinn CH, Thompson WO, Shaffer NM, and Frye FH.Assessment of interobserver reliability in nutrition studies that use direct observation of school meals. J Am Diet Assoc. 2004 Sept;104(9):1385–92.
17
Dresler-Hawke E, Whitehead D, and Coad J.What are New Zealand children eating at school? A content analysis of ‘consumed versus unconsumed’ food groups in a lunch-box survey. Health Educ J. 2009 Mar 1;68(1):3–13.
18
Conway TL, Sallis JF, Pelletier RL, Powers HS, Marshall SJ, and Zive MM, et al.What do middle school children bring in their bag lunches?Prev Med. 2002 Apr;34(4):422–27.
19
Hubbard KL, Must A, Eliasziw M, Folta SC, and Goldberg J.What’s in children’s backpacks: foods brought from home. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2014 Sept;114(9):1424–31.
20
Government of Canada. Food and Drug Regulations (C.R.C., c. 870): Schedule M; 2016 [cited 2016 May 30]. Available from: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/c.r.c.,_c._870/page-165.html#h-353.
21
Monteiro CA and Levy RB.A new classification of foods based on the extent and purpose of their processing. Cad Saude Publica. 2010;26(11):2039–49.
22
Gilbert J-A, Miller D, Olson S, and St-Pierre S.After-school snack intake among Canadian children and adolescents. Can J Public Health. 2012;103(6):e448–52.
23
Phillips SM, Bandini LG, Naumova EN, Cyr H, Colclough S, and Dietz WH, et al.Energy-dense snack food intake in adolescence: longitudinal relationship to weight and fatness. Obes Res. 2004 Mar;12(3):461–72.
24
Health Canada. Nutrient values of some common foods; 2008. p. 1–68 [cited 2016 May 20]. Available from: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/fiche-nutri-data/nutrient_value-valeurs_nutritives-tc-tm-eng.php.
25
American Dietetic Association. Position of the American Dietetic Association: benchmarks for nutrition in child care. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011 Apr;111(4):607–15.
26
Henry C, Whiting SJ, Phillips T, Finch SL, Zello GA, and Vatanparast H.Impact of the removal of chocolate milk from school milk programs for children in Saskatoon, Canada. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2015;40(3):245–50.
27
Rogers IS, Ness AR, Hebditch K, Jones LR, and Emmett PM. Quality of food eaten in English primary schools: school dinners vs packed lunches. Eur J Clin Nutr.2007 Jul;61(7):856–64.
28
Woodruff SJ, Hanning RM, and McGoldrick K.The influence of physical and social contexts of eating on lunch-time food intake among Southern Ontario, Canada, middle school students. J Sch Health. 2010 Oct;80(9):421–28.
29
Øverby NC, Lillegaard ITL, Johansson L, and Andersen LF. High intake of added sugar among Norwegian children and adolescents. Public Health Nutr. 2004 Apr;7(2):285–93.
30
Johnson L, Mander AP, Jones LR, Emmett PM, and Jebb SA.Energy-dense, low-fiber, high-fat dietary pattern is associated with increased fatness in childhood. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Apr;87(4):846–54.
31
Malik VS, Schulze MB, and Hu FB.Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Aug;84(2):274–88.
32
Te Velde SJ, Twisk JWR, and Brug J.Tracking of fruit and vegetable consumption from adolescence into adulthood and its longitudinal association with overweight. Br J Nutr. 2007 Aug;98(2):431–8.
33
Knai C, Pomerleau J, Lock K, and McKee M.Getting children to eat more fruit and vegetables: a systematic review. Prev Med. 2006 Feb;42(2):85–95.
34
French SA and Stables G.Environmental interventions to promote vegetable and fruit consumption among youth in school settings. Prev Med. 2003 Dec;37(6):593–610.
35
American Academy of Pediatrics. Snacks, sweetened beverages, added sugars, and schools. Pediatrics. 2015;135(3):D1–4.
36
McPherson RS, Hoelscher DM, Alexander M, Scanlon KS, and Serdula MK.Dietary assessment methods among school-aged children: validity and reliability. Prev Med. 2000 Aug;31(2):S11–33.
Supplementary Material
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
Volume 78 • Number 1 • March 2017
Pages: 3 - 10
History
Received: 4 January 2016
Accepted: 8 July 2016
Version of record online: 25 October 2016
Copyright
© 2017.
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Other Metrics
Citations
Cite As
Lisa J.Neilson, Lesley A.Macaskill, Jonathan M.H.Luk, NavreetiSharma, Steve M.Killip, Marina I.Salvadori, Jamie A.Seabrook, and Paula D.N.Dworatzek. 2017. Students’ Food Intake from Home-Packed Lunches in the Traditional versus Balanced School Day. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research.
78(1): 3-10. https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2016-024
Export Citations
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Cited by
1. Acceptability, Helpfulness, and Utility of the Healthy Lunch Box Booklet (HLBB) for Parents and School-Age Children
2. Parental Reports of Lunch-Packing Behaviours Lack Accuracy: Reported Barriers and Facilitators to Packing School Lunches
View Options
Get Access
Login options
Check if you access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.
Subscribe
Click on the button below to subscribe to Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
