Salt Reduction Strategies in Portuguese School Meals, from Pre-School to Secondary Education—The Eat Mediterranean Program

Nutrients

Francisco Goiana-da-Silva¹  Ara Darzi¹  Sofia Mendes²  Ana Dinis³  Carla Rascôa³  FrancescoPaolo Cappuccio⁴  Isabel Castanheira⁵  AnaIsabel Rito⁵  Mariana Santos⁵  João Breda⁶  Stephen Whiting⁶ 

[1] Centre for Health Policy, Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK;Centre for Studies and Research in Social Dynamics and Health (CEIDSS), 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal;Regional Health Administration of Lisbon and Tagus Valley (ARSLVT), 1700-179 Lisbon, Portugal;University of Warwick, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nutrition, Warwick Medical School, Coventry CV2 2DX, UK;WHO Collaborating Centre on Nutrition and Childhood Obesity—National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA, IP), 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal;WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, 125009 Moscow, Russia;

关键词: community-based program;    childhood obesity;    school meals;    salt intake;    sodium consumption;   

DOI  :  10.3390/nu12082213

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

High sodium (salt) consumption is associated with an increased risk of developing non-communicable diseases. However, in most European countries, Portugal included, sodium intake is still high. This study aimed to assess the sodium content of school meals before and after the Eat Mediterranean (EM) intervention—a community-based program to identify and correct nutritional deviations through the implementation of new school menus and through schools’ food handlers training. EM (2015–2017) was developed in 25 schools (pre to secondary education) of two Portuguese Municipalities, reaching students aged 3–21 years old. Samples of the complete meals (soup + main course + bread) from all schools were collected, and nutritional quality and laboratory analysis were performed to determine their nutritional composition, including sodium content. Overall, there was a significant decrease (−23%) in the mean sodium content of the complete school meals, which was mainly achieved by the significant reduction of 34% of sodium content per serving portion of soup. In conclusion, EM had a positive effect on the improvement of the school meals’ sodium content, among the participant schools. Furthermore, school setting might be ideal for nutrition literacy interventions among children, for flavors shaping, and for educating towards less salty food acceptance.

【 授权许可】

Unknown