Afterwards, participants will engage in online breakout sessions with scientists, politicians, people from the field and the public domain to discuss what the results mean and how they can be applied in practice.
About Eten op School
Wageningen University & Research and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam are conducting research into primary school lunches together with various partners. In collaboration with children, parents, schools and relevant sectors, they are investigating whether a school lunch is feasible: is there sufficient support? What could a healthy and affordable school lunch look like? Two years ago (in the 2017/2018 school year), researchers from WUR and VU spoke with children, parents and school staff. Various lunch concepts were presented to children and parents through questionnaires. All this information was used to develop a self-service lunch. During the past school year (2018/2019), research was conducted into whether a school lunch contributes to a healthier diet and to the academic performance of primary school children.
is
Why is a school lunch important?
Imagine if all 1.5 million primary school children in the Netherlands were to have a healthy lunch together. This would result in considerable health benefits for our society. There is still much room for improvement in children's diets.
Most children eat too little fruit and vegetables: according to the Guidelines for Good Nutrition, almost 4 in 10 children aged 1 to 12 ate enough fruit in the period 2014/2016, and just over 4 in 10 ate enough vegetables (CBS). The recommended amount for children aged 4–8 is 100–150 grams of vegetables and 1.5 portions of fruit, and for children aged 9 to 13 it is 150–200 grams of vegetables and 2 portions of fruit (Voedingscentrum). In addition, little whole-grain food is eaten, and milk and yogurt are increasingly being replaced by sugar-rich alternatives such as lemonade and fruit juice. There are also major differences in the composition and quality of packed lunches brought from home by children at the same school and between schools.
An unhealthy diet in childhood increases the risk of developing diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life. In addition, an unhealthy diet may lead to poorer academic performance. A school lunch could teach children to eat healthily from an early age. And what is learned young is learned for life!
What does the research involve?
Continuous school schedules are being introduced increasingly often at primary schools, meaning that all children have lunch at school. Is this a good opportunity to introduce a school lunch? At present, there are still many questions about school lunches in the Netherlands. Is it feasible here? Do we want it? And what would it look like and how should it be implemented?
The Eten op School research project is being conducted to answer these questions. First of all, a school lunch should of course be healthy. In addition, it is important that the lunch meets the expectations of children, parents and schools. Preferences were investigated using various lunch concepts, questionnaires, focus groups and interviews. An important question here is: how can differences in eating habits, food allergies, religious beliefs or cultures be taken into account? The project also addresses organizational, logistical and financial matters.
Based on this information, it was decided to test a self-service lunch at primary schools in Amsterdam, Lunteren and Vlaardingen. The study investigates what and how much children eat on average from a healthy self-service lunch. We are also examining whether children eat differently outside school hours after having a healthy lunch. This research can serve as a guideline for implementing lunch concepts at primary schools in the Netherlands.
You can register for the free symposium via this registration link.
If you have any questions about the symposium, please email [email protected].