Parental Reports of Lunch-Packing Behaviours Lack Accuracy: Reported Barriers and Facilitators to Packing School Lunches

Publication: Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
12 June 2018

Abstract

Purpose: Parents influence the foods their children consume and often provide proxy reports of this intake. One way parents exert this influence is by providing home-packed lunches. This study compared parental reports of foods packed in children’s lunches with what was actually packed and identified parental barriers and facilitators to packing lunches.
Methods: Grade 3 and 4 student–parent dyads (n = 321) in 19 elementary schools in Ontario participated. Parental reports and actual packed lunch contents were collected via self-administered surveys and direct observation, respectively. Parental barriers and facilitators were obtained through open and closed survey questions.
Results: Median portions packed were significantly higher for sugar-sweetened beverages and snacks and significantly lower for fruits, fruit juice, vegetables, milk/alternatives, and meat/alternatives than parents reported. Packing a healthy lunch was “important/very important/of the utmost importance” for 95.9% of respondents, and 97.5% perceived their nutrition knowledge as “adequate/good/very good”. Barriers to packing a lunch included: child’s food preferences, time, finances, allergy policies, and food safety. Nutrition resources, observing other children’s lunches, child’s input, and planning ahead were identified as facilitators.
Conclusions: Strategies to improve packed lunches should move beyond parental nutrition knowledge and importance of lunch packing to address parental barriers and facilitators.

Résumé

Objectif. Les parents ont une influence sur les aliments que consomment leurs enfants et fournissent souvent des déclarations par personne interposée à cet égard. Ils exercent entre autres cette influence en préparant des boîtes à lunch. Cette étude a comparé les aliments déclarés par les parents au contenu réel des boîtes à lunch et a ciblé les obstacles et les facteurs qui facilitent la préparation des boîtes à lunch chez les parents.
Méthodes. Des dyades parent-élève de 3e ou de 4e année (n = 321) de 19 écoles primaires de l’Ontario ont participé à l’étude. Des renseignements sur le contenu des boîtes à lunch, réel et déclaré, ont été recueillis à l’aide d’observations directes et de sondages auto-administrés, respectivement. Enfin, l’information sur les obstacles et les facteurs facilitants a été obtenue au moyen de questions de sondage ouvertes et fermées.
Résultats. La taille médiane des portions servies était considérablement plus élevée pour les boissons et les collations sucrées, et nettement moins élevée pour les fruits, le jus de fruits, les légumes, le lait et ses substituts, et les viandes et leurs substituts, que ce que les parents avaient déclaré. Préparer des dîners santé était « important/très important/extrêmement important » pour 95,9 % des répondants. Par ailleurs, 97,5 % d’entre eux considéraient leurs connaissances en nutrition comme « adéquates/bonnes/très bonnes ». Les obstacles à la préparation des boîtes à lunch comprenaient : les préférences alimentaires de l’enfant, le temps, le budget, les politiques relatives aux allergies et la salubrité des aliments. Les ressources sur la nutrition, l’observation du contenu de la boîte à lunch d’autres enfants, la rétroaction de l’enfant et la planification ont été reconnues comme des facteurs facilitants.
Conclusions. Les stratégies visant à améliorer la préparation des boîtes à lunch devraient tenir compte des connaissances parentales en nutrition et de l’importance des dîners santé, mais également des obstacles et des facteurs facilitants vécus par les parents.

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Financial support: This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research [POH-123776].
Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

cover image Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
Volume 79Number 3September 2018
Pages: 99 - 105

History

Version of record online: 12 June 2018

Authors

Affiliations

Dana L. Hawthorne MScFN, RD
Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, Brockville, ON
Lisa J. Neilson MScFN, RD
Rexdale Community Health Centre, Etobicoke, ON
Lesley A. Macaskill MHSc, RD
School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Brescia University College, London, ON
Jonathan M.H. Luk MScFN, RD
South Riverdale Community Health Centre, Toronto, ON
Erica J. Horner RD
Guelph General Hospital, Guelph, ON
Colleen A. Parks MSc, RD
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON
Marina I. Salvadori MD
Department of Paediatrics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON
Jamie A. Seabrook PhD
School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Brescia University College, London, ON
Departments of Paediatrics, and Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON
Children’s Health Research Institute, London, ON
Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON
Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, London, ON
Paula D.N. Dworatzek PhD, RD
School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Brescia University College, London, ON
Schulich Interfaculty Program in Public Health, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON

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1. Acceptability, Helpfulness, and Utility of the Healthy Lunch Box Booklet (HLBB) for Parents and School-Age Children

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