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Family eating out events "outside of the home


Project Reference: 10-2009

Status: Completed

Commencement Date: August, 2010

Project Duration: 18 months

Abstract:

This project aimed to carry out a full review of literature, fully referenced, and any other relevant sources to ascertain best practice in providing healthy and nutritious food for children within the catering sector. A quantitative survey to investigate the range of children’s meals available in different types of catering outlets in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland was carried out by conducting an on-site survey.

The catering outlets included dispersion between rural and urban setting, high end and less expensive offerings, local independents and international chains. Attitudes and experiences of parents and guardians of children aged 5 – 12 years were investigated when faced with the menu options available when eating outside the family home. Key areas of investigation included concerns about nutrition, key motivators in final meal selection, and where ultimate responsibility for choice of menu lies – i.e. parent or child. An investigation into the attitudes of children aged 5 – 12 years old on food and eating occasions outside the family home was also carried out.

This was conducted through a series of friendship pairs, restricted to tightly controlled age bands across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with the objective of understanding how children perceive eating out, and whether nutrition or healthy content is part of the consideration set.

Principal Contractor(s):

Prof Barbara Livingstone, University of Ulster, Coleraine

Collaborator(s):

Single supplier

Outputs:

Reports:

Do you have a kids menu?

Family eating-out events "outside the home" (PDF)

Peer Reviews:

Faulkner GP, Pourshahidi LK, Wallace JMW, Kerr MA, McCaffrey TA and Livingstone MBE (2013) Are portion size estimates influenced by perceived "healthiness" of foods? International Journal of Obesity. 8(1) 106-112. doi:10.1038/ijo.2013.69

Spence M, Livingstone MBE, Hollywood LE, Gibney ER, O’Brien SA, Pourshahidi LK and Dean M (2013). A qualitative study of psychological and social barriers to appropriate food portion size control. International Journal of Behaviour Nutrition and Physical Activity 10:92.

Accepted 1 August 2013; doi: 10.1186/10.1186/1479-5868-10-92.

Faulkner GP, Pourshahidi LK, Wallace JMW, Kerr MA, McCrorie TA and Livingstone MBE (2012) Serving size guidance for consumers: is it effective? Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 71(4) 610-621.

O’Brien S, McNulty BA, Nugent AP, Gibney ER and Livingstone MBE (2011) A comparison of gender differences in food portion sizes consumed by Irish adults during 1997 and 1999. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 70(OCE6), E400.

O’Brien S, McNulty BA, Nugent AP, Gibney ER and Livingstone MBE (2012) A comparison of portion size differences in unpackaged bakery products in Ireland from 1997-2011. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 71(OCE2), E176.

O’Brien S, Lyons, J. McNulty BA, Walton, J, Flynn A, Gibney, MJ, Nugent AP, Gibney ER and Livingstone MBE (2012) Trends in the portion size of savoury snack intakes in Irish adults during 2001 and 2011. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 71(OCE2), E211.

Pourshahidi LK, Faulkner GP, Kerr MA, McCrorie TA, Wallace JMW and Livingstone MBE (2012) Secular trends in the serving sizes of published UK and Irish recipes. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 71(OCE2), E175.

Spence M, Dean M, L.K. Pourshahidi LK, O’Brien S and Livingstone MBE (2012) An exploration of consumer barriers to healthy portion control on the island of Ireland. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 71(OCE2), E212.

Pourshahidi LK, Faulkner GP, Spence M, O’Brien S, Kerr MA, McCrorie TA, Wallace JMW and Livingstone MBE (2012) Raising consumer awareness of portion size distortion on the island of Ireland. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 71(OCE2), E177.

Faulkner GP, Pourshahidi LK, Wallace JMW, Kerr MA, McCrorie TA and Livingstone MBE (2012) Can portion size and energy density estimates be influenced by perceived "healthiness" of foods? Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 71(OCE2), E43.

Pourshahidi LK, Faulkner GP, Spence M, Dean M, O’Brien S, Goulding M, Gibney ER, Kerr MA, McCaffrey TA, Wallace JMW and Livingstone MBE (2013) Evaluation of portion size estimation aids among Irish consumers. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 72(OCE3), E130.

Faulkner GP, Pourshahidi LK, Dean M, Spence M, O’Brien S, Gibney ER, Kerr MA, McCaffrey TA, Wallace JMW and Livingstone MBE (2013) Consumer views of portion size estimation aids. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 72(OCE3), E169.

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