ArticleBMC public health2026
Exploring dietary patterns during school hours in Swedish adolescent student population, focusing on out-of-school eating and snacking: a repeated cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEstablishing healthy dietary habits during childhood and adolescence is essential, as these patterns often persist into adulthood and influence long-term health. In Sweden, school lunches play an important role in overall nutritional intake. However, among adolescents, school lunch participation may decrease, while purchasing food from nearby retailers becomes increasingly common. This study aims to investigate dietary patterns among adolescents aged 13-19 years in Stockholm, Sweden, during school hours, focusing on school lunch participation and snacking inside and around school.
methodsA repeated cross-sectional study was conducted over four years, with independent student samples recruited each year from two schools in central Stockholm, an area with high density of fast-food retailers. Data were collected in 2019-2021 and 2024 and included self-reported pictures of meals and beverages, and self-rated dietary habits. Images were collected through school-based citizen science projects using purpose-built mobile apps that recorded GPS-tagged pictures, indicating eating locations. Manual image annotations were used for nutritional assessment.
resultsFour hundred eighty-three participants were included, contributing 4,562 images. In total, 21% of meals and drinks were reported outside school grounds. The proportion of unhealthy meals was significantly higher outside than inside school (65% vs. 43%, χ
conclusionThis study shows that despite access to free school meals, students in central Stockholm tend to leave school to consume less healthy lunches outside school. Combined with the easy access to vendors selling unhealthy foods and the frequent consumption of unhealthy snacks both in and outside school, these patterns highlight important public health concerns related to the school food environment. Overall, this study provides new insights into adolescents' dietary patters during the school day, providing a foundation for future research and interventions supporting healthier eating among students.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.