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CHAPTER SIX: FOOD PREFERENCES
6.1 In this section we explore case study pupils' food preferences in general and in particular at lunchtime.
Food and drink preferences
6.2 All pupils were presented in the attitudinal questionnaire with a list of different foods and asked which of these foods they did and did not like. The results are displayed in Table 6.1. It should be noted that in this part of the questionnaire respondents may have answered in a way that they think is expected or desirable. Additionally, when respondents were presented with a list of items, there may have been a tendency to agree to like all the items on the list. These issues should be considered when interpreting the results.
6.3 All of the foods listed were liked by the majority of pupils. In terms of the healthier items, fruit was reported as being very popular with pupils in all sectors. Vegetables and salads were liked by the majority of pupils, but were liked by more primary than secondary or special school pupils. For example: vegetables were liked by 81% of primary pupils, 68% of secondary pupils and 66% of special school pupils. Water was very popular, especially amongst primary pupils. This may be as water is being promoted in primary schools as part of the recommendations. Fizzy drinks were almost as popular as water with case study pupils.
6.4 The majority of pupils also liked many of the less healthy items such as chocolate, crisps, chips, and pizza. Chicken nuggets and sausages were less popular, especially among secondary school pupils (59% and 64% of secondary pupils respectively).
Table 6.1: Which of the following do you like? (% pupils)
Base: Primary - 648; Secondary - 1623; Special - 82
| Primary | Secondary | Special |
|---|
Food: |
|---|
Fruit | 97% | 90% | 92% |
|---|
Bread | 97% | 85% | 87% |
|---|
Chocolate | 96% | 91% | 90% |
|---|
Crisps | 95% | 86% | 89% |
|---|
Chips | 94% | 89% | 93% |
|---|
Pizza | 91% | 88% | 90% |
|---|
Soup | 91% | 79% | 78% |
|---|
Pasta | 87% | 88% | 71% |
|---|
Chicken nuggets | 85% | 59% | 76% |
|---|
Sausages | 85% | 64% | 78% |
|---|
Vegetables | 81% | 68% | 66% |
|---|
Salad | 70% | 65% | 63% |
|---|
Baked potato | 67% | 69% | 62% |
|---|
Drink: |
|---|
Water | 94% | 86% | 90% |
|---|
Fizzy drinks | 90% | 86% | 87% |
|---|
Milk | 89% | 76% | 88% |
|---|
Source: case study school pupils' attitudinal questionnaires
6.5 There were not many differences in terms of the stage of pupils and their food preferences. The following results among secondary pupils highlight only the significant differences:
- The proportion of secondary school pupils who like milk decreases with age, from 80% of S1 pupils to 63% of S6 pupils
- Baked potatoes are more popular among older pupils: 74% of S6 pupils compared with 60% of S1 pupils liked baked potatoes
6.6 In primary schools, the only age difference was that soup was more popular among older pupils (95% of pupils in P7 compared with 86% of P5 pupils)
6.7 Gender differences in secondary schools generally revealed that females liked more healthy options than males and males liked more unhealthy items than females. For example, more females than males liked vegetables (74% compared with 62%); salad (75% compared with 54%); baked potatoes (75% compared with 63%); and pasta (91% compared with 85%). More males than females liked sausages (75% compared with 54%) and chicken nuggets (66% compared with 54%). However, milk was more popular among males than females (83% compared with 70%).
6.8 There were also gender differences in primary schools, although not quite to the same extent. However, again these differences revealed that females like more healthy foods than males. For example, more males than females liked pizza (94% compared with 87%) and more females than males like vegetables (88% compared with 75%); salad (79% compared with 62%) and baked potatoes (73% compared with 62%).
Lunchtime preferences
6.9 As well as asking pupils which foods they liked from a list of options, pupils in primary and secondary schools were also asked (unprompted) what they most like to eat for lunch. The results for the most popular lunch items among primary school pupils are displayed in Figure 6.1.
Figure 6.1: What do you most like to eat for lunch? (% primary pupils)
Base = 648
Source: case study school pupils' attitudinal questionnaires - primary schools
6.10 The most popular foods that pupils would most like to eat for lunch were pizza (23%) and chips (21%). Sandwiches and pasta were also popular choices (19%). Fruit and vegetables were less popular options, with less than 10% of pupils citing these foods as being part of the ideal lunch.
Figure 6.2: What do you most like to drink for lunch? (% primary pupils)
Base = 648
Source: case study school pupils' attitudinal questionnaires - primary schools
6.11 The most popular drinks were fizzy drinks and fruit juice. Taken together, these results indicate that ideally pupils would have a lunch of pizza and chips with either fizzy drinks or fruit juice. These unhealthy choices indicate the type of food that primary pupils ideally prefer, and highlight the challenges faced by schools to convert pupils to healthy eating, and consuming the new nutritionally balanced recipes on the menus.
6.12 The food and drink that secondary pupils chose for their ideal lunch are displayed in Figure 6.3 and Figure 6.4. The most popular food item was sandwiches (38%) followed by chips (25%). Secondary pupils also would ideally like to have snacks at lunchtime, with around a fifth of pupils mentioning chocolate/sweets and crisps as being part of their ideal lunch (19% and 18% respectively). In terms of healthier products, although pupils did not mention vegetables, 15% of pupils would want fruit and 7% would want salad as part of their lunch. Fizzy drinks were the most popular drinks (33%), followed by water (29%). Again, the ideal lunch choices are not particularly healthy, apart from sandwiches, which can represent a nutritionally balanced choice.
6.13 There were gender differences present among secondary pupils in terms of their lunch choices, which generally revealed that females preferred more healthy options to males. For example, more females than males would want sandwiches (40% compared with 29%); fruit (19% compared with 10%) and water (39% compared with 20%). In contrast, more males than females mentioned processed red meat products (13% compared with 7%) and fizzy drinks (40% compared with 27%) as their ideal lunch choices.
Figure 6.3: What do you most like to eat for lunch? (% secondary pupils)
Base = 1623
Source: case study school pupils' attitudinal questionnaires - secondary schools
Figure 6.4: What do you most like to drink for lunch? (% secondary pupils)
Base = 1623
Source: case study school pupils' attitudinal questionnaires - secondary schools
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