ArticleThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2021
Barriers and facilitators to successful implementation of sustainable school meals: a qualitative study of the OPTIMAT™-intervention.
Article in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04168632 (Fostering Sustainable Dietary Habits Through Optimized School Meals - an Intervention Study), which is not on this map. Cited by 13 papers.
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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.
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.
Fostering Sustainable Dietary Habits Through Optimized School Meals - an Intervention Study
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Implementation and effectiveness of a food education intervention to promote plant-based foods: a partially cluster-randomized controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026Trial
- 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
- What's on the menu? A review of school meal quality across twenty-nine countries.Public health nutrition · 2026Review
- A Regional Scoping Review of School-Based Nutrition Interventions Conducted Across Nordic Countries.Health science reports · 2026Review
- Pulse consumption of Australian adolescents: characteristics and consumption patterns in a national survey.The British journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Beyond the menu: how student agency, cultural acceptability, and equity shape realized sustainability in school food environments.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Improving access to free school meals: Evaluating the implementation of free school meal auto-enrolment processes.PloS one · 2026Article
- 'A Necessary Idea Given Our Current Climate': A Qualitative Study of Stakeholder Perspectives and Actions Required to Increase the Proportion of Plant to Animal Protein in Hospital Patient Menus.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Article
- Toward Sustainable Diets-Interventions and Perceptions Among Adolescents: A Scoping Review.Nutrition reviews · 2025Article
- Healthy, Inclusive and Sustainable Catering in Secondary Schools-An Analysis of a Transformation Process with Multiple Tensions.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Barriers and facilitators influencing the choice of a vegetarian menu in a university cafeteria.Journal of nutritional science · 2024Article
- Interventions to Strengthen Environmental Sustainability of School Food Systems: Narrative Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- High availability of vegetables and fruit through government-funded school lunch is not reflected in 4th grade pupils' intake.Food & nutrition research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is an urgent need to align human diets with goals for environmental sustainability and population health. The OPTIMAT™-intervention study was developed to implement and evaluate a nutritionally adequate and climate-friendly 4-week lunch menu in Swedish primary schools. This study aimed to explore pupils' and kitchen staff's experiences of the intervention and to identify barriers and facilitators to successful implementation of sustainable school meals.
methodsAn inductive manifest qualitative method was used. Nine focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted, six with pupils in grades 5 (ages 10-11) and 8 (ages 14-15) (n = 29) and three with kitchen staff (n = 13). Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
resultsFive main categories and 11 subcategories at a manifest level emerged. The five main categories were: 1) Experiences with the new menu, unfolding variations in how the new menu was received and kitchen staff's experiences of working with it; 2) The meaning of diet sustainability, comprising pupils' and kitchen staff's perceptions about diet sustainability as a concept and part of their everyday lives; 3) Factors influencing plant-based food acceptance, covering aspects such as the influence of sensory factors, habits and peer pressure; 4) Opportunities to increase plant-based eating, including factors related to pupils' and kitchen staff's ideas for how to increase plant-based food acceptance; and 5) Need for a supportive environment to achieve dietary change, comprising pupils' and kitchen staff's thoughts on the importance of more knowledge, resources and involvement of stakeholders to eat more plant-based meals in schools.
conclusionsSuccessful implementation of sustainable school meals would require more knowledge among pupils and kitchen staff. Staff also need more training in cooking of sustainable meals. Barriers among pupils could be tackled by introducing new plant-based meals more gradually and by more carefully considering the seasoning, naming and aesthetics of dishes. An increased leadership support for change and involvement of stakeholders from multiple levels within society will be key in the transition to sustainable school meals at scale.
trial registrationThe trial registration for the OPTIMAT™-intervention may be found at clinicaltrials.gov ( NCT04168632 Fostering Healthy and Sustainable Diets Through School Meals (OPTIMAT)).
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