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Topical Area: Community and Public Health Nutrition

Community and Public Health Nutrition (Poster Session)

(P24-110-23) Assessing the Nutritional Composition of School Food Provision

Monday, July 24, 2023
12:45 PM – 1:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board 514

    Presenting Author(s)

  • DR

    David Ryan, Dr

    Research Fellow
    Bradford Institute for Health Research
    Leeds, England, United Kingdom

    • Co-Author(s)

  • MH

    Mel Holmes, PhD

    University of Leeds
    Leeds, England, United Kingdom

  • HE

    Hannah Ensaff, PhD

    Associate Professor
    University of Leeds
    Leeds, England, United Kingdom

Disclosure(s):
Hannah Ensaff, PhD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: To assess the nutritional composition of school food in two secondary schools in England, and the role of catering practices thereon.

Methods: Three weeks of observations and informal discussions were conducted in two secondary schools in Northern England. Detailed information (e.g. weights, ingredients, brands, photographs, recipes) was collected for all foods and drinks on offer (n=373), along with insights into catering practices. Nutritional composition was assigned to foods/drinks (at ingredient level, where possible) using the most relevant data from McCance and Widdowson’s Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset, US Department of Agriculture FoodData Central, and WinDiets 2016. Categories (e.g. main meals, sweet snacks, fruit) were defined and the nutritional composition of all foods/drinks was examined across categories and sub-categories. One sample Wilcoxon signed ranks tests compared an average lunch in a menu cycle (total energy and nutrients provided by all school lunches ÷ number of lunches provided) against reference values (RVs), derived from dietary reference values apportioned for a school lunch.

Results: Over 180 hours of observations were conducted across the two schools. Discretionary food preparation practices (e.g. weighing ingredients by eye) were evident in both schools. Meals of the day were the most micronutrient-dense options, but catering staff reported they often went unchosen. Meanwhile, options such as pizzas, juice-based drinks and sweet snacks were reportedly much more popular. At both schools, the free sugar content of juice-based drinks (17.9g; 18.5g) and sweet snacks (15.5g; 16.9g) exceeded the RV for a lunch (8.6g). Likewise, the sodium content of pizzas (928mg; 904mg) exceeded the RV for a lunch (714mg), as did the saturated fat content (school 1 only) (8.1g; RV=7.9g). An average lunch in both schools differed significantly from RVs for free sugar, fibre, calcium, iron, zinc, and vitamin D (P < 0.01).

Conclusions: Important challenges for school food providers and policymakers include reducing free sugar content and increasing the micronutrient density of school food. Contextual factors present within schools (e.g. catering practices, students’ food choices) should be considered when looking to enact any such school food changes.

Funding Sources: University of Leeds