“The study focuses on examining whether the quality and quantity of the food children eat in school, school meals, have an impact on their performance and behaviour in elementary school. The study is in line with my interest in children’s dietary habits in school, both snack time and lunch. I used to teach home economics in primary school and I often looked at the children’s snacks which varied greatly in quality and were not always a healthy choice,” says Ragnheiður Júníusdóttir, Adjunct in Home Economics.
Júníusdóttir‘s study is a part of an extensive study on school meals in the Nordic Countries, supported by Nordforsk, an organisation under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers that provides funding for Nordic research cooperation. Júníusdóttir says that the project managers and other researchers from the participating countries have extensive and diverse experience. On the one hand in nutrition and on the other pedagogy and psychology, making the approach interdisciplinary. “It is worth mentioning that the Icelandic group party to the study works within two schools at the University of Iceland; the School of Health Sciences and the School of Education,” says Júnísudóttir.
She says that the gathering of data has recently started and therefore there are no results yet. The results will, however, bring new knowledge that is not only academic but also practical on the value of school meals for the health and performance of children in schools. The researchers assume that the results will provide new information on the impact of different types of school meals on children’s health and education.
Júníusdóttir says that there are few studies on this impact. “The results could shed a new light on whether the quality and quantity of the food consumed in schools is linked to performance, behaviour and how the children feel in school. The results will thus no doubt help to improve, where necessary, the nourishment offered in primary schools’ canteens in Iceland,” she says.
Supervisors: Anna Sigríður Ólafsdóttir, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Sports, Leisure Studies and Social Education, and Ingibjörg Gunnarsdóttir, Professor at the Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition.
