Food and nutrient intakes from school canteens and markets nearby schools among students aged 14-18 in Jordan
ISSN: 0034-6659
Article publication date: 2 September 2021
Issue publication date: 7 February 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purposes of this study were to determine the food intake purchased from the canteens or markets nearby schools; to estimate the percent intakes of energy and nutrients from canteens and markets nearby the schools as a percent of total energy and nutrient intakes; and to evaluate the association between dietary intake of energy and nutrients eaten from school canteens and markets nearby the school and body weight status.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 398 students, aged 14–18 years, was recruited from schools in Amman/Jordan. Students’ body weights and heights were measured and socio-demographic data and three days food record were collected.
Findings
The intakes of boy students from school canteens were significantly higher than those of girls in carbohydrate (g) (125 ± 6 vs 106 ± 6; p = 0.015), energy from saturated fatty acid (Kcal) (97 ± 4 vs 84 ± 5; p = 0.006), sugar (g) (43 ± 3 vs 35 ± 2; p = 0.009) and fiber (g) (6 ± 0 vs 6 ± 0; p = 0.02). Regarding food groups consumed from markets nearby schools, there were significant differences between boys and girls intake (in which the higher intake was detected in girls as compared to boys) of sweets (g) (4 ± 1 vs 3 ± 2; p = 0.017), soft drinks (ml) (28 ± 5 vs 20 ± 5; p = 0.024) and milk (ml)/milk substitutes (g) (5 ± 2 vs 0 ± 0; p = 0.001). Sugar-sweetened beverages and crackers/snacks consumption was significantly higher in boys as compared to girls. There was a significant relationship between BMI and intakes of sugar, fat, vitamin E and calcium from school canteens.
Originality/value
The contribution of foods from canteens and markets nearby schools was high, with high content of fats, salt and sugar, implying that there is a vital need to establish a strategy and plan of action to fight malnutrition and reduce the intake of unhealthy foods in the school environment in Jordan.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Deanship of Academic Research at The University of Jordan for supporting this project, Alanoud Barakat and Smart Nutrition Center for their help with the providing analysis of body composition device and Hassan Friahat for his help in data processing.
Competing interests: the authors declare that they have no competing or conflict of interest.
Author contributions: RT and HT conceived designed and supervised the study. TJ collected the data. RT, HT and TJ were responsible for analysis and interpretation of the data. RT, TJ and HT drafted the manuscript. All authors critically reviewed the manuscript and approved the final draft.
Funding: This research was funded by Deanship of Academic Research of The University of Jordan (Grant number 2018–2019/14).
Acknowledgement: The authors would like to thank Deanship of Academic Research of The University of Jordan for supporting this project and Eng. Hassan Fraihat for his help in data processing.
Ethics policies: The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation and with the Helsinki declaration of 1975, as revised in the proposal was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Ministry of Education (3/10/7734).
Citation
Takruri, H., ALjaraedah, T. and Tayyem, R. (2022), "Food and nutrient intakes from school canteens and markets nearby schools among students aged 14-18 in Jordan", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 52 No. 2, pp. 391-402. https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-05-2021-0153
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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