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Children eat their school lunch too quickly: an exploratory study of the effect on food intake.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Speed of eating, an important aspect of eating behaviour, has recently been related to loss of control of food intake and obesity. Very little time is allocated for lunch at school and thus children may consume food more quickly and food intake may therefore be affected. Study 1 measured the time spent eating lunch in a large group of students eating together for school meals. Study 2 measured the speed of eating and the amount of food eaten in individual school children during normal school lunches and then examined the effect of experimentally increasing or decreasing the speed of eating on total food intake. METHODS: The time spent eating lunch was measured with a stop watch in 100 children in secondary school. A more detailed study of eating behaviour was then undertaken in 30 secondary school children (18 girls). The amount of food eaten at lunch was recorded by a hidden scale when the children ate amongst their peers and by a scale connected to a computer when they ate individually. When eating individually, feedback on how quickly to eat was visible on the computer screen. The speed of eating could therefore be increased or decreased experimentally using this visual feedback and the total amount of food eaten measured. RESULTS: In general, the children spent very little time eating their lunch. The 100 children in Study 1 spent on average (SD) just 7 (0.8) minutes eating lunch. The girls in Study 2 consumed their lunch in 5.6 (1.2) minutes and the boys ate theirs in only 6.8 (1.3) minutes. Eating with peers markedly distorted the amount of food eaten for lunch; only two girls and one boy maintained their food intake at the level observed when the children ate individually without external influences (258 (38) g in girls and 289 (73) g in boys). Nine girls ate on average 33% less food and seven girls ate 23% more food whilst the remaining boys ate 26% more food. The average speed of eating during school lunches amongst groups increased to 183 (53)% in the girls and to 166 (47)% in the boys compared to the speed of eating in the unrestricted condition. These apparent changes in food intake during school lunches could be replicated by experimentally increasing the speed of eating when the children were eating individually. CONCLUSIONS: If insufficient time is allocated for consuming school lunches, compensatory increased speed of eating puts children at risk of losing control over food intake and in many cases over-eating. Public health initiatives to increase the time available for school meals might prove a relatively easy way to reduce excess food intake at school and enable children to eat more healthily.

SUBMITTER: Zandian M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3490778 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Children eat their school lunch too quickly: an exploratory study of the effect on food intake.

Zandian Modjtaba M Ioakimidis Ioannis I Bergström Jakob J Brodin Ulf U Bergh Cecilia C Leon Michael M Shield Julian J Södersten Per P

BMC public health 20120514

<h4>Background</h4>Speed of eating, an important aspect of eating behaviour, has recently been related to loss of control of food intake and obesity. Very little time is allocated for lunch at school and thus children may consume food more quickly and food intake may therefore be affected. Study 1 measured the time spent eating lunch in a large group of students eating together for school meals. Study 2 measured the speed of eating and the amount of food eaten in individual school children durin ...[more]

PMID: 22583917

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Project description:BackgroundLack of robust research methodology for assessing ingestive behavior has impeded clarification of the mediators of food intake following gastric bypass (GBP) surgery.ObjectivesTo evaluate changes in directly measured 24-h energy intake (EI), energy density (ED) (primary outcomes), eating patterns, and food preferences (secondary outcomes) in patients and time-matched weight-stable comparator participants.MethodsPatients [n = 31, 77% female, BMI (in kg/m2) 45.5 ± 1.3] and comparators (n = 32, 47% female, BMI 27.2 ± 0.8) were assessed for 36 h under fully residential conditions at baseline (1 mo presurgery) and at 3 and 12 mo postsurgery. Participants had ad libitum access to a personalized menu (n = 54 foods) based on a 6-macronutrient mix paradigm. Food preferences were assessed by the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire. Body composition was measured by whole-body DXA.ResultsIn the comparator group, there was an increase in relative fat intake at 3 mo postsurgery; otherwise, no changes were observed in food intake or body composition. At 12 mo postsurgery, patients lost 27.7 ± 1.6% of initial body weight (P < 0.001). The decline in EI at 3 mo postsurgery (-44% from baseline, P < 0.001) was followed by a partial rebound at 12 mo (-18% from baseline), but at both times, dietary ED and relative macronutrient intake remained constant. The decline in EI was due to eating the same foods as consumed presurgery and by decreasing the size (g, MJ), but not the number, of eating occasions. In patients, reduction in explicit liking at 3 mo (-11.56 ± 4.67, P = 0.007) and implicit wanting at 3 (-15.75 ± 7.76, P = 0.01) and 12 mo (-15.18 ± 6.52, P = 0.022) for sweet foods were not matched by reduced intake of these foods. Patients with the greatest reduction in ED postsurgery reduced both EI and preference for sweet foods.ConclusionsAfter GBP, patients continue to eat the same foods but in smaller amounts. These findings challenge prevailing views about the dynamics of food intake following GBP surgery. This trial was registered as clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03113305.

Project description:ImportanceHealth experts recommend at least 20 minutes of seated lunch time for children, but no federal policy for lunch period duration exists in the United States. Additional strategies in the National School Lunch Program for mitigating food waste are needed to maintain the viability of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.ObjectiveTo assess the effect of a longer seated lunch time on food consumption and waste among elementary and middle school-age children.Design, setting, and participantsThis randomized within-participant crossover trial was conducted from June 3 to June 28, 2019, for a total of 20 study days. All attendees of a summer camp held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, were invited to participate in the study. Participants were elementary and middle school-age children and were provided every study day with lunch prepared according to the National School Lunch Program nutrition standards.InterventionFive menus were served throughout the study. A 20-minute or 10-minute seated lunch condition was randomly assigned to each day within the 5 menus.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcomes were food consumption, waste, and dietary intake, which were analyzed separately for each meal component (fruit, vegetable, entree [protein plus grain], beverage [both milk and water], and milk alone). Dietary intake was assessed for calories, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, protein, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium. Participant behaviors were observed during the meal, including seated time as well as level of talking and phone use.ResultsA total of 38 children with 241 lunch trays were observed. The 38 children had a mean (SD) age of 11.86 (1.23) years and 23 were female participants (61%); 30 had a non-Hispanic/non-Latino ethnicity (79%) and 23 were White individuals (61%). During 10 minutes of seated lunch time, participants consumed significantly less fruit (-11.3 percentage points; 95% CI, -18.1 to -4.5) and vegetables (-14.1 percentage points; 95% CI, -22.7 to -5.7) compared with 20 minutes of seated lunch time. Entree and beverage consumption and waste did not differ between the 10-minute and 20-minute seated lunch conditions. Participants also consumed significantly more and wasted significantly less calories (-22.03 kcal; 95% CI, -39.47 to -4.61 kcal), carbohydrates (-3.81 g; 95% CI, -6.20 to -1.42 g), dietary fiber (-0.51 g; 95% CI, -0.81 to -0.19 g), protein (-1.11 g; 95% CI, -2.17 to -0.04 g), iron (-0.20 mg; 95% CI, -0.38 to -0.02 mg), and potassium (-53.49 mg; 95% CI, -84.67 to -22.32 mg) during the 20-minute seated lunch condition.Conclusions and relevanceThis study found that fruit and vegetable consumption increased in school-age children during a 20-minute seated lunch condition. This finding supports policies that require children to receive at least 20 minutes of seated lunch time; such policies could have favorable implications for children's dietary intake and food waste.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04191291.

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Children eat their school lunch too quickly: an exploratory study of the effect on food intake.

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Children eat their school lunch too quickly: an exploratory study of the effect on food intake.

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