Evaluation of Barcelona school meals

Authors

  • Pilar Ramos
  • Jessica Nortia
  • Marta Ortiz
  • Olga Juarez
  • Albert Antón
  • María Manera
  • Ana Fernández

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12873/404ramos

Keywords:

Schools, school menus, childhood obesity, dining rooms.

Abstract

Introduction: the menus offer that is made in school canteens is a relevant area for the prevention of obesity and the promotion of healthy eating habits in childhood and youth.
Objectives: the purpose of this study are: 1) to describe and evaluate the compliance of the frequencies of food consumption recommended by the guidelines in the school menus of Barcelona city during the academic course 2018-19;
2) to evaluate the perception of the usefulness of the strategy; and 3) the monitoring of the acceptance and the implementation of suggested improvement measures.
Methods: the revision was offered to 130 schools that had a canteen services and 116 schools accepted to participate (33266 students). Compliance with the recommended frequencies per week of diverse groups of food and the different culinary techniques was evaluated. A report with suggestions for improvement was elaborated and a follow-up was performed at 6 months to verify the compliance of the recommendations and to value the satisfaction and usefulness of the strategy.
Results: The 82% of the menus offered at the school canteens met the recommended frequencies for all the food groups. All the parameters were improved at the 6 months follow up. Schools also reported a high satisfaction with the recommendations received.
Discussion: the disparity participation of schools according to socioeconomic indicators of the district they belong to indicates the need to guarantee equity in access to healthy menus.
Conclusions: The menus evaluated comply with the recommended food frequencies. A great adherence of the schools to the recommendations was perceived. Lastly, schools were highly satisfied with the strategy.

 

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Published

2020-12-15

How to Cite

Ramos, P., Nortia, J., Ortiz, M., Juarez, O., Antón, A., Manera, M., & Fernández, A. (2020). Evaluation of Barcelona school meals. Nutrición Clínica Y Dietética Hospitalaria, 40(4). https://doi.org/10.12873/404ramos

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Research articles

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