ArticlePublic health nutrition2017
School lunches in the Republic of Ireland: a comparison of the nutritional quality of adolescents' lunches sourced from home or purchased at school or 'out' at local food outlets.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Impact of multi-component school food environment interventions on adiposity and food consumption in children and adolescents: systematic review and meta-analysis.Cadernos de saude publica · 2025Pooled it
- Systems-Based Dialogue With Secondary School Students to Explore School Food Environments That Promote Healthy People and Planet.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2026Article
- Understanding Food Choices Among University Students: Dietary Identity, Decision-Making Motives, and Contextual Influences.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Common mental disorders in Brazilian adolescents: association with school characteristics, consumption of ultra-processed foods and waist-to-height ratio.Cadernos de saude publica · 2024Article
- 'It's Hard to Make Good Choices and It Costs More': Adolescents' Perception of the External School Food Environment.Nutrients · 2021Article
- Participatory Approaches to Understand Dietary Behaviours of Adolescents in the Secondary School Setting.Nutrients · 2020Article
- Cross-sectional associations between lunch-type consumed on a school day and British adolescents' overall diet quality.Preventive medicine reports · 2020Article
- Ultra-processed food consumption by Brazilian adolescents in cafeterias and school meals.Scientific reports · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo compare the energy, nutrient and food group compositions of three sources of school-day lunches among students in five secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland (ROI).
designCross-sectional study conducted between October 2012 and March 2013. Students completed self-report food diaries over two school days. The energy, nutrient, nutrient density and food group composition of school-day lunches from home, school and 'out' in local food outlets were compared using ANCOVA and Tukey's Honest Significant Difference post hoc analysis.
settingFive secondary schools in the ROI. SUBJECTS: Male and female students aged 15-17 years (n 305).
resultsSix hundred and fifteen lunches (376 home lunches, 115 school lunches and 124 lunches sourced 'out' in the local environment) were analysed. School and 'out' purchased lunches were significantly higher than packed lunches from home in energy (2047 kJ (489 kcal), 2664 kJ (627 kcal), 1671 kJ (399 kcal), respectively), total fat (23·5 g, 30·1 g, 16·6 g, respectively) and free (added) sugars (12·6 g, 19·3 g, 7·4 g, respectively). More home lunches contained more fruit, wholemeal breads, cheese and red meat than lunches from school or 'out'. Meat products, chips and high-calorie beverages were sourced more frequently at school or 'out' than home. Fibre and micronutrient contents of lunches from all sources were low.
conclusionsHome-sourced lunches had the healthiest nutritional profile in terms of energy and macronutrients. Foods high in energy, fat and free sugars associated with school and local food outlets are of concern given the public health focus to reduce their consumption. While school food should be improved, all sources of lunches need to be considered when addressing the dietary behaviours of secondary-school students.
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