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Manson AC, Johnson BJ, Wolfenden L, Sutherland R, Golley RK. Unpacking the cost of the lunchbox for Australian families: a secondary analysis. Health Promot Int 2024; 39:daad194. [PMID: 38198723 PMCID: PMC10781432 DOI: 10.1093/heapro/daad194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Ninety per cent of Australian school children bring a home-packed lunch to school, with 44% of the food consumed during school hours being unhealthy. Among other factors, cost is a key consideration for food provision; however, the costs to Australian families are not well understood. Therefore, we aimed to determine what families are currently paying for school lunchboxes in Australian primary schools and to examine associations between food costs and socio-demographic factors with dietary quality. An audit of local retail outlets was used to determine the food costs of lunchbox contents. Costs (AUD) were adjusted for inflation as of early 2023. The lunchboxes of 1026 children aged 4-12 years at 12 Catholic primary schools in New South Wales, Australia, were assessed at the start of the day, using photography assessment methods and a validated School Food Checklist. The mean cost of lunchbox contents was $4.48 AUD (SD 1.53), containing a mean energy of 2699 kJ (SD 859), with 37.3% (SD 23.9) of energy sourced from unhealthy foods. Multiple linear regression analyses found that the strongest predictors of higher lunchbox cost (P < 0.05) were a higher proportion of energy from unhealthy foods (B = 0.016) and lower Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (B = -0.178), when controlling for child socio-demographics. The results indicated that lunchbox food costs to Australian families are comparable to alternative school food service models in Australia and internationally. Results demonstrate the cost of food is not the only barrier to providing a healthy school lunchbox. Demonstrating a need for cost-considerate systematic interventions addressing food provision challenges and socio-economic disparities faced by families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra C Manson
- Flinders University, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Caring Futures Institute, Bedford Park, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
| | - Brittany J Johnson
- Flinders University, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Caring Futures Institute, Bedford Park, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
| | - Luke Wolfenden
- Hunter New England Population Health, Hunter New England Local Health District, Wallsend, NSW 2287, Australia
- School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, NSW, Australia
- Population Health Research Program, Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton Heights, NSW 2305, Australia
- National Centre of Implementation Science, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
| | - Rachel Sutherland
- Hunter New England Population Health, Hunter New England Local Health District, Wallsend, NSW 2287, Australia
- School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, NSW, Australia
- Population Health Research Program, Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton Heights, NSW 2305, Australia
- National Centre of Implementation Science, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
| | - Rebecca K Golley
- Flinders University, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Caring Futures Institute, Bedford Park, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
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Coulls E, Middleton G, Velardo S, Johnson BJ. Exploring Australian children's perceptions of a school-provided lunch model using a story completion method. Health Promot Int 2023; 38:daad118. [PMID: 37788435 PMCID: PMC10547368 DOI: 10.1093/heapro/daad118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Children in Australia currently bring a packed lunch to school from home. Many children are not consuming a healthy diet at school. There is interest from key stakeholders (e.g. education and the non-government sector, food service and parents/caregivers) to transform the Australian system to a school-provided model to improve children's diets, reduce parental burden and address food insecurity. To facilitate a successful transition to this system, it is important to consider the views of the children. We aimed to explore Australian primary school children's perceptions of a hypothetical school-provided lunch model. To achieve this aim, we undertook a qualitative study using the story completion method. Twenty-one grade-five children, from one public primary school in South Australia, participated in a once-off data collection session. Children were given a brief story stem and asked to complete a story about a hypothetical school-provided lunch scenario. The story data were analysed using thematic analysis. Four main themes were generated: the eating environment, the food provided, processes of the mealtime and time. The desire for choice was an additional overarching theme that cut across all themes. Our study provides the first exploration of South Australian children's perceptions of hypothetical school-provided meals. These insights can be used to co-design an acceptable school food system with children to create a positive eating environment that supports healthy eating habits they can carry forward into adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Coulls
- Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Georgia Middleton
- Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Stefania Velardo
- College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Brittany J Johnson
- Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia 5042, Australia
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