School dinners: Having school dinners rather than packed lunches could encourage picky eating 13-year-olds to eat a wider variety of foods, according to a new University of Bristol-led study. The findings are published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics today.

The research showed when children who were picky eaters as preschoolers got to choose their own food (school dinners) at lunchtime, they were less picky in what they ate, compared with a packed lunch. To the research team’s knowledge, this is the first time that lunchtime food behaviours in picky children have been studied outside of the home, and away from family influence.

In the study, picky children were less likely than their non-picky peers to have meat or fish sandwich fillings, and more likely to have fillings such as marmite, peanut butter or cheese spread. They were also less likely to eat fruit or salad in packed lunches. However, when picky children ate school dinners, they did not avoid meat, fish or fruit. They ate a wider variety of foods and made more similar choices to those of their peers.

Researchers looked at questionnaire data from more than 5,300 children in the longitudinal Children of the 90s study. They analysed data from multiple pre-school ages and again at age 13 years, to understand how picky eating behaviour changes over time.

Of the children participating, around half had packed lunch on most days, over a quarter had school dinners on most days and just over a third more had school dinners on some days. A quarter of children admitted to sometimes skipping lunch completely. There was no difference in the frequency of having packed lunches versus school dinners between picky and non-picky eaters.

Picky eating peaks at around 3 years of age, but this study revealed that some of those who were picky as toddlers go on to have similar traits at 13 years old. However, school dinners could help picky children explore more foods and become healthier overall.

It is well known that picky children consume less fruits and vegetables than others, but the study found that almost all children were not eating enough vegetables. Vegetables are crucial for children to get the fibre, vitamins and minerals that they require for healthy development and to avoid long-term health conditions. AlphaGalileo/SP