Nutritional, environmental and economic implications of children plate waste at school: a comparison between two Italian case studies

OBJECTIVE

This study aims at comparing two Italian case studies in relation to school children's plate waste and its implications, in terms of nutritional loss, economic cost, and carbon footprint.

DESIGN

Plate waste was collected through an aggregate selective weighting method for 39 days.

SETTING

Children from the first to the fifth grade from four primary schools, two in each case study (Parma and Lucca), were involved.

RESULTS

With respect to the served food, in Parma the plate waste percentage was lower than in Lucca (p<0.001). Fruit and side-dishes were highly wasted, mostly in Lucca (>50%). The energy loss of the lunch meals accounted for 26% (Parma) and 36% (Lucca). Among nutrients, dietary fibre, folate and vitamin C, calcium and potassium were lost at most (26-45%). Overall, after adjusting for plate waste data, most of the lunch menus fell below the national recommendations for energy (50%, Parma; 79%, Lucca) and nutrients, particularly for fat (85%, Parma; 89%, Lucca). Plate waste was responsible for 19% (Parma) and 28% (Lucca) of the carbon footprint associated to the food supplied by the catering service, with starchy food being the most important contributor (52%, Parma; 47%, Lucca). Overall, the average cost of plate waste was 1.8 €/kg (Parma) and 2.7 €/kg (Lucca), accounting respectively for 4% and 10% of the meal full price.

CONCLUSION

A re-planning of the school meals service organisation and priorities is needed to decrease the inefficiency of the current system and reduce food waste and its negative consequences.

Promoting Nutrition and Food Sustainability Knowledge in Apprentice Chefs: An Intervention Study at The School of Italian Culinary Arts-ALMA

Chefs' decisions can greatly improve the quality of food provided and positively guide diners' choices. Culinary students' knowledge of healthy and sustainable nutrition is still scarcely investigated and is limited to the nutritional aspect of the diet, without considering food sustainability or the environmental impact of foods. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of an educational program designed for apprentice chefs. Two questionnaires were administered twice to each student who followed dedicated lectures about nutrition and food sustainability and to other students enrolled as the control group. A total of 264 and 252 apprentice chefs of The School of Italian Culinary Arts-ALMA were enrolled in the control and intervention groups, respectively. At baseline, both groups showed a good level of nutrition knowledge, whereas food sustainability knowledge was lower in all students, regardless of the group. This educational intervention proved to be effective in improving knowledge about nutrition and the environmental impact of food production and consumption. However, a small but significant improvement in nutritional knowledge was also found over time in the control group. Finally, a food sustainability knowledge questionnaire was developed and validated for this study, providing interesting results to be treated as a guide for future developments.

Weight Status, Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, Physical Activity Level, and Sleep Behavior of Italian Junior High School Adolescents

Inadequate diet, physical activity, and sleep-related behaviors are potential risk factors for overweight and obese, therefore we investigated the relations between body mass index (BMI) and behavioral factors in a sample of Italian adolescents. Four hundred nine Italian secondary school students (46% females, 12.5 ± 0.6 y.o.) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Anthropometric measures, adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (KIDMED), physical activity level (PAQ-C), sleep duration, daytime sleepiness (PDSS), sleep quality, and school achievement data were collected through an online questionnaire. The percentage of overweight adolescents was slightly lower (14%) compared to the regional and the national figures. Approximately 88% of the sample reported a medium/high adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and 77% a moderate/vigorous physical activity level. The average sleep duration was in line with the international sleep recommendation for adolescents and 82% had a medium/high sleep quality. No differences were found between genders except for BMI (lower in females). Unexpectedly, no differences were found among the BMI groups (normal weight vs. overweight vs. obese) for lifestyle variables; in contrast, Mediterranean Diet adherence was associated with sleep habits. Further investigation is required to better explore the associations among behavioral variables involved in adolescents' healthy development.