Primary school children’s lunchboxes hardly ever empty, but contents often unhealthy
The lunchboxes of most pupils in Flemish primary schools are full, but the contents are often unhealthy. This is the conclusion of a study from Ghent University (UGent) and the Flemish Institute for Healthy Living. Flemish well-being minister Hilde Crevits (Christian democrat/CD&V), who commissioned the research, is pleased to see that the number of lunch boxes that are empty is limited, "but that does not mean there are no problems" she says.
During the height of the energy crisis in 2022, the headmistress of an Antwerp school raised the alarm. Several pupils were not carrying a lunchbox and had not had breakfast in the morning either. According to the headmistress, some children even fell asleep because they had not eaten.
In order to map out the extent of the problem of empty lunchboxes among children, Flemish well-being minister Hilde Crevits promised research the results of which have now been published.
The researchers mapped out the contents of the lunchboxes of 1,051 pupils from a representative sample of 25 Flemish primary schools. Almost half the children attended a school located in a rural area, while the other half attended schools in the city or a metropolitan area.
The study found that the number of children leaving for school with an empty lunchbox was very limited. Researchers identified a total of 3 cases out of 1,051 (0.3 per cent). Of all children surveyed, 899 (85.5 per cent) carried a lunchbox. Of the remaining pupils, the vast majority (13 per cent) ate a hot meal at school. A small proportion went home for lunch.
Anonymous questionnaire
The researchers also put an anonymous questionnaire to the children. In it, 27 pupils, or 2.5 per cent, indicated that they sometimes to always get their meal (or part of it) from the school because they did not have anything with them themselves, or because there was nothing to eat at home.
303 children, or 30 per cent, replied that they sometimes to always get (part of) their lunch from a friend. In over a fifth of that group (6 per cent of all pupils surveyed), the reason was that they had too little or no lunch.
Food insecurity
9 per cent of participating students reported frequently experiencing food insecurity in the past 12 months. This means that they reported having insufficient access to food both at school, and at home.
The figure is in line with figures relating to childhood deprivation, a phenomenon which means children cannot afford things that form part of a normal standard of living. A study by the King Boudewijn Foundation and Leuven University conducted in 2023 found this to be the case for 8.5 per cent of Flemish children. For Belgium as a whole, the figure is 13 per cent.
How healthy is the lunchbox?
The researchers assessed the contents of the lunchboxes based on the Flemish Institute of Healthy Living's nutrition triangle and classified them according to 3 categories: 'preferred foods', 'not preferred foods' and 'foods to avoid'.
Preferred foods: e.g. brown and whole meal bread, most fruits and vegetables, cottage cheese, peanut butter, etc.
Not-preferred foods: e.g. white bread, cheese, yoghurt...
Foods to avoid: e.g. chocolate spread, jam, pastries, sausage roll..
The study shows that 35 per cent of the average lunchbox consists of so-called 'preferred foods'. 37 per cent consisted of the 'not preferred foods' group, and 28 per cent of foods in the 'to avoid' group.
A portion of vegetables was present in 19 per cent of the lunchboxes examined. Barely 4 per cent had a piece of fruit in the box. Two thirds (64 per cent) of pupils did have a piece of fruit in their satchel as a snack.
"We found that the majority of lunchboxes mainly consisted of unhealthy foods," says Wendy Van Lippevelde, Professor of Health Promotion Consumer Research at UGent.
"In a third of all lunchboxes (35 per cent), no food was present from the preferred category. Barely 12 per cent of pupils had a lunch box filled more than three-quarters with preferred foods."
"Two-thirds of the average lunch box contained products that are less preferred according to the nutrition triangle, such as white bread, or are to be avoided, such as chocolate spread," explains the researcher.
Interestingly, the socio-economic background of the children did not play a major role in the composition of the lunchbox. The contents of the lunchbox of children from higher socio-economic backgrounds were just slightly healthier than those of children of lower socio-economic status, but both groups presented a similar range of foods to be avoided.