Nutritional of assessment school lunches for primary and secondary school students in the Pearl River Delta / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To investigate nutritional quality of school lunch in some primary schools and middle schools in the Pearl River Delta, and to provide the scientific basis for improving the nutritional quality of students lunch and formulating scientific and effective interventions.@*Methods@#Five-day lunch meal survey by chemical analysis were conducted, and students lunch at school were recorded by meal review in three age groups from 8 primary and middle schools in the Pear River Delat area. The energy and nutrient content were obtained and compared with the reference intake of dietary nutrients of student.@*Results@#The average protein intake at lunch of all age groups had reached the recommended standard (80%-95%), the energy supply ratio of carbohydrate in the range of 38.3%-42.3%, the energy supply ratio of fat in 63% school meal exceeded the recommended standard. Vitamin A, vitamin B 1, vitamin B 2, calcium, iron and other nutrients were seriously inadequate; while sodium intake far exceeded the recommended standard.@*Conclusion@#The main nutrients of school lunch of primary and middle school in Pearl River Delta can basically meet the growth and development needs, but there are still some deficiency and unbalanced diet nutrient content which are lower than the recommended intake. It is recommended to strengthen nutrition education of catering enterprises and school to improve the scientific combination of diets.