Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32722323›Full record

ArticleNutrients2020

Salt Reduction Strategies in Portuguese School Meals, from Pre-School to Secondary Education-The Eat Mediterranean Program.

Ana Isabel Rito, Sofia Mendes, Mariana Santos, Francisco Goiana-da-Silva, Francesco Paolo Cappuccio, Stephen Whiting, Ana Dinis, Carla Rascôa, Isabel Castanheira, Ara Darzi and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract readEvaluation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Nutrients, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Evaluation of school food policies for secondary schools in Europe: Results for health, acceptance, and affordability from a scoping review.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 7 institutions in 3 countries.

Ana Isabel RitoWHO Collaborating Centre on Nutrition and Childhood Obesity-National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA, IP), 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-4356-6202
Sofia MendesCentre for Studies and Research in Social Dynamics and Health (CEIDSS), 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal.
Mariana SantosWHO Collaborating Centre on Nutrition and Childhood Obesity-National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA, IP), 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-7836-1100
Francisco Goiana-da-SilvaCentre for Health Policy, Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
Francesco Paolo CappuccioUniversity of Warwick, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nutrition, Warwick Medical School, Coventry CV2 2DX, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-7842-5493
Stephen WhitingWHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, 125009 Moscow, Russia.
Ana DinisRegional Health Administration of Lisbon and Tagus Valley (ARSLVT), 1700-179 Lisbon, Portugal.
Carla RascôaRegional Health Administration of Lisbon and Tagus Valley (ARSLVT), 1700-179 Lisbon, Portugal.
Isabel CastanheiraWHO Collaborating Centre on Nutrition and Childhood Obesity-National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA, IP), 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal.
Ara DarziCentre for Health Policy, Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
João BredaWHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, 125009 Moscow, Russia.ORCID 0000-0002-8177-4926
Administração Regional de Saúde de Lisboa e Vale do Tejo · PTImperial College London · GBUniversity of Lisbon · PTWHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of NCD · RUCentro de Estudos para a Intervencao Social · PTNational Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge · PTUniversity of Warwick · GB

Funding

EEA Grants 171NU2
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

High sodium (salt) consumption is associated with an increased risk of developing non-communicable diseases. However, in most European countries, Portugal included, sodium intake is still high. This study aimed to assess the sodium content of school meals before and after the Eat Mediterranean (EM) intervention-a community-based program to identify and correct nutritional deviations through the implementation of new school menus and through schools' food handlers training. EM (2015-2017) was developed in 25 schools (pre to secondary education) of two Portuguese Municipalities, reaching students aged 3-21 years old. Samples of the complete meals (soup + main course + bread) from all schools were collected, and nutritional quality and laboratory analysis were performed to determine their nutritional composition, including sodium content. Overall, there was a significant decrease (-23%) in the mean sodium content of the complete school meals, which was mainly achieved by the significant reduction of 34% of sodium content per serving portion of soup. In conclusion, EM had a positive effect on the improvement of the school meals' sodium content, among the participant schools. Furthermore, school setting might be ideal for nutrition literacy interventions among children, for flavors shaping, and for educating towards less salty food acceptance.

Indexed as

Diet, MediterraneanFood ServicesSchool Health ServicesAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolDiet, Sodium-RestrictedFemaleHealth Plan ImplementationHumansMaleMealsMenu PlanningNutritional RequirementsNutrition PolicyNutritive ValueSodium, Dietarychildhood obesitycommunity-based programsalt intakeschool mealssodium consumption

Identifiers

PMID32722323
PMCPMC7469016
OpenAlexW3045375911

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.