OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of parents' monitoring of school lunch programs and to examine the relationship of parents' school lunch monitoring with their level of trust in school lunch programs. METHODS: During November 2016, a web survey was conducted with 1,283 parents who had participated in monitoring of school lunch programs. A total of 621 parents completed the questionnaires (48.4% response rate) and the responses from 442 parents were analyzed (34.5% analysis rate) for elementary (n=196) and middle/high school parents (n=246), respectively. RESULTS: Both the elementary and middle/high school parents most wanted to participate in monitoring 1~2 times per month, which was less frequent than their current practice. They showed the highest experience rate in ‘food sanitation’ area in both the prior training and actual practice of school lunch monitoring. They most responded ‘increasing trust in school lunch programs’ as a merit and ‘lack of parents participating in monitoring’ as a problem of school lunch monitoring. The average levels of trust did not differ between elementary and middle/high school parents. Multiple regression analyses showed that elementary school parents' level of satisfaction in the monitored school lunch programs was positively associated with the parents' level of trust in general school lunch programs. Monitoring frequency and parents' age, in addition to level of satisfaction in the monitored school lunch program, were associated with level of trust in general school lunch programs among middle/high school parents. CONCLUSIONS: There was room for change in parents' school lunch monitoring programs to meet parents' needs better. Well-managed school lunch monitoring programs contributing to parents' satisfaction with school lunch programs could increase parents' level of trust in school lunch programs.
Humans ; Lunch* ; Parents

This study used survey data to identify the use of salimeters and the prevalence of sodium reduction education in the Gyeonggi region. A survey with 211 dietitians working in school foodservice (106 in elementary schools, 69 in middle schools, and 36 in high schools) was conducted from August 6 to August 17, 2012. The data were analyzed using the SPSS program. Though 86.6% of school kitchens had salimeters, the rate for checking the sodium content of soup or stew was just 62.7% and the rate for checking the sodium content of kimchi and solid food was very low. Since salimeters are mostly used to measure sodium in liquid foods, it is urgent to provide an education and manual on using salimeters and to promote salimetry for kimchi and side dishes. It is also important to provide students with nutritional information by clearly posting the sodium content of food on menus and compelling students to notice them. Sodium reduction education for cooks was conducted in the 70.3% of the kitchens; however, the dietitians perceived that the cooks did not understand the importance of the education. Also, sodium reduction education for students was mostly provided through indirect methods, rather than face-to-face education, resulting in poor educational data (only 36.4% comprehending). By providing detailed guidelines for sodium reduction and labelling accurate content of sodium of the menus, we will be able to enforce practices for sodium reduction in school lunches.
Humans ; Lunch ; Prevalence ; Sodium

The purpose of this study was to develop children-friendly comic books and animation for dietary education of 3rd or 4th grade elementary students. Through a literature review on current dietary problems and dietary education for children, 15 educational themes were chosen on both healthy eating and safe dietary life. Comic books and animation were developed based on the themes by the brainstorming and help of professional animators, and they were applied and evaluated in the field. The developed comic books and animation, with its own characters, proved to be of high quality and effective educational materials for children's healthy and safe eating. Compared with the reference group, the tested group has shown a significant improvement in dietary knowledge and attitude (p < 0.05). And both parents (level of understanding 4.29, level of interest 4.49, level of usefulness 4.46, level of design satisfaction 3.95 in 5-point Likert scale) and children (level of understanding 4.63, level of interest 4.57, level of usefulness of 1st comic book 4.44, 2nd comic book 4.49, level of design satisfaction 4.06, level of usefulness for knowledge pages 4.22 in 5-point Likert scale) have shown high levels of interests and satisfaction. Therefore, these materials could be utilized as effective educational materials for elementary students in school lunch time, extra-curricular activities, or after school programs.
Child ; Eating ; Humans ; Lunch ; Parents

The purpose of this study was to examine nutrition management conditions of lunch with the elementary schools and middle schools in the Changwon area. 292 students (5th and 6th graders) from three elementary schools and 330 students from three middle schools (boys, girls, and co-ed) participated in the aggregate selective plate waste measurement for 5 days. Planned menus, serving sizes and plate waste amount data were collected. Nutrient analyses for the planned, served and consumed menus at school lunches were performed by using CAN-PRO 3.0. Nutrient analyses of the planned, served and consumed menus were compared with nutrient management standard (former edition) for school lunch and 1/3 Korean Dietary Reference Intakes (KDRIs). Significant difference was found in the average consumption rate between the elementary schools (82.2%) and the middle schools (71.8%). Specifically, the consumption rates of steamed rice (p < 0.001), side dish 1 (p < 0.001), and Kimchi (p < 0.01) at the middle schools were significantly lower than those of the elementary schools. When the nutrient contents in the served menus were put into percentages to the nutrient contents in the planned menus, middle schools (92.3%) showed bigger serving loss than the elementary schools (95.4%). In the nutrient assessment comparied with nutrient management standard (former edition), middle school lunches showed comparatively less energy or less some nutrient contents against the standard than the elementary school lunches. Specifically, in case of boys in middle schools, Vitamin C was the only nutrient content that satisfied the standard in the planned menus, served menus and consumed menus. In the 1/3 KDRIs based assessment, middle schoolers were found not to be provided proper nutrients with school lunches. To improve nutrition management at middle school foodservices, dietitians should reinforce nutrient assessment for menu planning, and try to decrease serving loss and plate waste.
Ascorbic Acid ; Humans ; Lunch ; Menu Planning ; Steam

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the students' levels of involvement in school lunch service and their satisfaction levels with the service. A survey was conducted with 5th and 6th grade elementary students eating school lunches. Out of 1,680 questionnaires distributed to the students from 14 schools, 1,254 complete questionnaires (74.6%) were analyzed. The questionnaire included two 5-point multi-item scales for measuring levels of involvement in and satisfaction with school lunch service, respectively. A factor analysis grouped 20 items measuring school lunch satisfaction into three factors: 'food satisfaction', 'nutrition & sanitation satisfaction', and 'service & environment satisfaction'. As a result of multiple regression analyses controlling the influence of such variables as students' grades, gender, school location, years and places of eating school lunches, students' levels of involvement in school lunch service was proven to be positively associated with levels of school lunch satisfaction overall, as well as satisfaction levels in regard to 'food', 'nutrition & sanitation', and 'service & environment', respectively. It was suggested that efforts such as nutrition education to increase students' levels of involvement in school lunches could be a useful strategy to improve students' satisfaction with school lunch service.
Eating ; Education ; Humans ; Lunch* ; Sanitation ; Weights and Measures

This study was conducted to investigate quality attributes which could affect foodservic satisfaction by the year (2005, 2008, 2011) and dining area (classroom vs. dining hall) in order to find ways to improve school lunch service and foodservice satisfaction of middle school students. The numbers of those surveyed were 1,103 students in 2005, 1,917 students in 2008, and 1,921 students in 2011. Overall foodservice satisfaction was significantly increased gradually in dining hall food service: 3.29 +/- 1.21 in 2005, 3.45 +/- 1.00 in 2008, 3.94 +/- 0.98 in 2011. In classroom food service, overall foodservice satisfaction was not significantly different between in 2005 (3.09 +/- 0.97) and in 2008 (2.98 +/- 1.02), but it was significantly increased in 2011 (4.05 +/- 1.00). Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that overall foodservice satisfaction was most affected by the taste of food. The importance of 11 quality attributes except food sanitation and gathering feedback on school meals was significantly increased in 2011 compared with 2005. Food sanitation among 13 attributes was most important attribute in 2005 and 2011. The numbers of quality attributes affecting students' overall foodservice satisfaction were 5 to 7 by year, those attributes were almost identical with attributes which students thought importantly. Therefore, in order to increase the overall foodservice satisfaction of the school lunch service continually, it is recommended to identify the quality attributes that are important to students, and to check their levels of performance in order to overcome their differences.
Food Services ; Humans ; Lunch ; Meals ; Sanitation

The study examined dietary intake, satiety rate, and eating rate using rice bowls with an elevated bottom (diet rice bowl) and rice bowls with an elevated bottom and monitoring line (monitoring rice bowl). The monitoring rice bowl was used to help subjects monitor amounts they had eaten as they ate. Eighteen normal weight college female students participated in this study once a week for 2 weeks. Three hundred grams of fried rice in a diet rice bowl (1st week), and 300 g of fried rice in a monitoring rice bowl were served to the participants over 2 consecutive weeks. After each lunch, dietary intake, satiety rate, and eating rate were measured. The consumption amount of fried rice was 261.6 g in the diet rice bowl group, and 264.8 g in the monitoring rice bowl group. There was no significant difference in fried rice intake between the two groups. The satiety rate of fried rice in the monitoring rice bowl group was significantly higher than that of the diet rice bowl group after 1 hour and 2 hours (P<0.05). The eating rate of the diet rice bowl group (21.3 g/min) was significantly faster than that of the monitoring rice bowl group (18.7 g/min) (P<0.05). This result shows that food consumption monitoring can affect not only eating rate but also the subjective feelings of satiety after meal eating. Although more study is needed, these data suggest consumption monitoring in a rice bowl may help to control obesity and weight.
Diet ; Eating* ; Female ; Humans ; Lunch ; Meals ; Obesity

This study was conducted to analyze traditional aspects of school lunch menus in Korea. We conducted a content analysis of menu-related contents included in guidelines for school lunch programs provided by 16 city and provincial education offices. In addition, the data of 10,495 menus for the third week of December 2010 and March, July, October 2011 from 557 elementary, middle, and high school were analyzed by school grade, area, and province. The results showed that there were no specific and detailed guidelines for menu planning in terms of traditional food culture in most of the guidelines for school lunch programs. However, the basic traditional menu composition was maintained in school lunch menus. The percentage of menus including rice and Kimchi was 97% and 95%, respectively, and that including Korean soup was about 72%. However, the frequency of serving Namul, Korean seasoned vegetable dish, accounted for only about 52% of the menus. The percentage of the menus following the traditional food group pattern including such five food groups as rice, Korean soup, Kimchi, Namul, and optional Korean side dish was only about 35%. The percentage of the menus following the traditional food group pattern excluding Namul from the five food groups accounted for about 30%. The traditional food group score, calculated by allocating 1 point to each of the five food groups was 4.06 out of 5 points on average. Elementary schools and schools in rural area and in Jeolla-do province served traditional menus more frequently. In conclusion, school lunch programs need to consider establishing traditional foods-based standards and relevant guidelines for school lunch, particularly for high schools and schools in urban areas and in some provinces.
Humans ; Korea ; Lunch ; Menu Planning ; Seasons ; Vegetables

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the impact of perceived volume on satiety using normal rice bowl, diet rice bowl and small rice bowl. METHODS: Thirty-six normal weight college female students participated in this study once a week for 3 weeks. Three hundred grams of fried rice in a normal rice bowl (1st week), 300 g of fried rice in a diet rice bowl (2nd week), and 300 g of fried rice in small rice bowl (3rd week) were served to the same participants over three consecutive weeks. After each lunch, the consumption volume of fried rice and the satiety rate were measured. RESULTS: The consumption volume of fried rice was 248 g (414.5 kcal) with a normal rice bowl, 254 g (429.8 kcal) with a diet bowl, and 270 g (456.8 kcal) with a small rice bowl. Results showed that the subjects who were eating from the small rice bowl ate more fried rice (p < 0.05) than eating from the normal rice bowl and diet rice bowl. However, the satiety rate of fried rice in a diet rice bowl was significantly higher than that of normal rice bowl and small rice bowl (p < 0.05). The five point scale of perceived volume on fried rice served normal rice bowl, diet rice bowl and small rice bowl were 2.4, 4.0 and 2.1. CONCLUSIONS: The visual cue plays a critical role in determining satiety and that perceived volume is perhaps more important than actual volume of consumed food in determining the level of fullness.
Cues ; Diet ; Eating ; Female ; Humans ; Lunch

This study was conducted to test the effect of a diabetic camp program on the fasting blood sugar in type 2 diabetic patients. The subjects of the study consisted of 33 diabetic patients who had participated with a diabetic camp program in the YangPung area from August 12 to August 15, 1998. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used for the significance of the differences between values before and after the diabetic camp program. The fasting blood glucose level, before of the closing day at the diabetic camp, was lower than that of the opening day. When comparing the blood glucose levels before meals, between the early and later part of the diabetic camp, fasting blood glucose levels before breakfast by the 4th day in the later part of the diabetic camp were lower than those of the 2nd day in the early part. Blood glucose level before lunch by the 4th day, in the later part of the diabetic camp, were lower than those of the 2nd day in the early part. Blood glucose levels before dinner by the 3rd day, in the later part of the diabetic camp, were lower than those of the 1st day in the early part. Blood glucose levels before sleep by the 3rd day, in the later part of the diabetic camp, were lower than those of the 1st day in the early part.
Blood Glucose* ; Breakfast ; Fasting* ; Humans ; Lunch ; Meals