Sneak peek: food, waste and packaging characteristics of South Australian school children's lunchboxes.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To characterise children's lunchbox contents for food, waste and packaging.

Design

A cross-sectional study was conducted. Lunchboxes were photographed at two time points on the same day: before first morning break to capture food and packaging and post-lunch break to capture food waste. Contents were coded using an audit tool developed using REDCap.

Setting

Twenty-three sites across metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia including fourteen preschools and nine primary schools in low (n 8), medium (n 7) and high (n 8) socioeconomic areas.

Participants

Preschool (ages 3-5 years) to Grade 7 primary school (ages 6-13 years) students.

Results

673 lunchboxes were analysed. Grain foods dominated (with at least half of them being di

SUBMITTER: Lalchandani NK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11984001 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature