Purchasing Behavior, Setting, Pricing, Family: Determinants of School Lunch Participation.

Carolin Sobek,Wieland Kiess,Tobias Lipek,Mandy Vogel,Sarah Abel,Ulrike Igel,Ulrike Spielau,Peggy Ober,Tanja Poulain,Christof Meigen

doi:10.3390/nu13124209

Abstract

Despite growing school lunch availability in Germany, its utilization is still low, and students resort to unhealthy alternatives. We investigated predictors of school lunch participation and reasons for nonparticipation in 1215 schoolchildren. Children reported meal habits, parents provided family-related information (like socioeconomic status), and anthropometry was conducted on-site in schools. Associations between school lunch participation and family-related predictors were estimated using logistic regression controlling for age and gender if necessary. School was added as a random effect. School lunch participation was primarily associated with family factors. While having breakfast on schooldays was positively associated with school lunch participation (ORadj = 2.20, p = 0.002), lower secondary schools (ORadj = 0.52, p < 0.001) and low SES (ORadj = 0.25, p < 0.001) were negatively associated. The main reasons for nonparticipation were school- and lunch-related factors (taste, time constraints, pricing). Parents reported pricing as crucial a reason as an unpleasant taste for nonparticipation. Nonparticipants bought sandwiches and energy drinks significantly more often on school days, whereas participants were less often affected by overweight (OR = 0.66, p = 0.043). Our data stress school- and lunch-related factors as an important opportunity to foster school lunch utilization.

Highlights

In Germany, elementary school students spend more than 20 h, and secondary school students spend more than 30 h per week at school [1]
We found a social gradient in school lunch participation
The main finding of this study is that school lunch participation is primarily associated with family factors

Summary

Introduction

In Germany, elementary school students spend more than 20 h, and secondary school students spend more than 30 h per week at school [1]. During this time, the school is in charge of the students’ well-being beyond mere teaching. Breakfast and lunch provision was traditionally ensured by the family, and the meals were served at or brought from home, but the traditional patterns are changing. Healthy nutrition is essential to maintain or improve students’ health and subsequently enables or enhances academic performance [2,3]. In Germany, schooling was traditionally associated with an academic curriculum taught between about eight o’clock in the morning and—at least in primary school—noon or one o’clock in the afternoon. Fostered by the expansion of the all-day school system with homework assistance and after-school programs in more and more

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