Wasted food on school lunch plates of elementary school children: Development of theoretically founded teaching materials for instructions during school lunch

Abstract

Leaving portions of meals, known as plate waste, is one problem in children's eating behaviors. Two studies in which interventions were performed during school lunch time to reduce children's plate waste using educational materials based on social cognitive theory or social skills training are described. In the first study, a picture-story showing teaching material based on social cognitive theory was developed to induce first and second-grade children to try foods they disliked by increasing their self-efficacy and outcome expectancy for eating such food. After the instructions, the teachers reported that children enjoyed the picture-show story and they came to try and eat foods they disliked, which suggested the feasibility and teaching effectiveness of the material that was used. In the second study, an educational program using social skills training was conducted. Fifth-grade children learned skills of getting just the right size of meal portions that they could totally consume. Certain attitudes and behaviors of children improved after the program. Both instructions are expected to be widely used in the future to increase desirable eating behaviors of children.