Intake of various food groups among girls and boys with different utilisation of school meals
- 29.06.2021
- English Articles
- Ramona Moosburger
- Franziska Lehmann
- Marjolein Haftenberger
- Almut Richter
- Eleni Patelakis
- Gert BM Mensink
Peer Reviewed / Manuscript (original) received: September 03, 2020 / Revision accepted: November 10, 2020
Results from EsKiMo II
Introduction
As the number of all-day schools in Germany increases, so does the importance of providing health-promoting school meals [1]. A balanced diet is the foundation of optimal physical and mental performance in children and adolescents [2]. As a key environment where young people spend much of their lives, school can make a valuable contribution to health-promoting nutrition in these young people.
Data from the second Eating study as a KiGGS Module (EsKiMo II, 2015–2017) show that 86.6% of children and adolescents in Germany have the opportunity to have a hot lunch at school. Among the pupils who have the option of school meals, 43.2% have a school meal at least once a week. The availability and utilisation of school meals have both doubled compared to the first KiGGS module nutrition survey (EsKiMo I, 2006). However, the overall utilisation of school meals is under 50%, which is still relatively low. School meal provision has been expanded in recent years, especially in the federal states in former West Germany, however uptake in these federal states is still significantly lower than in the federal states in former East Germany [3]. In addition to these regional differences, there are also some age-related and school-specific differences. About 39% of 6- to 11-year-old girls and boys in Germany have school meals at least three times a week. In 12- to 17-yearolds, the figure is around 13% [4].
Abstract
Children and adolescents spend a large part of their time at school, which is why the quality of school meals is of great importance. In this study, the extent to which intakes of various food groups among children and adolescents were in line with the recommendations of the Optimised Mixed Diet (OMD) were examined according to frequency of utilisation of school meals, based on data from the second Eating study as a KiGGS Module (EsKiMo II). Among 6- to 11-year-old boys, more frequent (≥ three times weekly) utilisation of school meals is associated with more frequently meeting or exceeding the OMD recommendation for fruit consumption. The same is true among 12- to 17-year-old girls for eggs and fats/oils used for cooking or spreads, and among 12- to 17-year-old boys for fish. The results from EsKiMo II show that regular uptake of school meals is associated with differences in intakes of various food groups with respect to the OMD recommendations.
Keywords: school meals, food intake, EsKiMo II, children and adolescents
