Food preferences during lunch break: Elementary school children from 9 to 10 years

Abstract

Feeding children during school hours is essential, so to adapt the food supply, it is necessary to know what are students' food preferences. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify the reasons for preferences and food consumption during school breaks. Thirty-eight children with an age range of 9 to 10 years (55% girls and 45% boys), from a full-time public primary school participated. This ethnographic study comprised the recording of commonly consumed and preferred foods, as well as children's narratives, through directed observation, unstructured interviews and drawings. It was found that children's food preferences are closely linked to the family context and the feelings linked to them. However, these preferences also influence the food education received (school and extra-school), as well as the availability-restriction of food within the school. In conclusion, although children could not consume their favorite food at school, they adapted their preferences according to the foods available at school, so the selection varied based on the perception and weighting of the organoleptic properties of the food (e.g., taste, consistency, temperature).