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Characterizing Early Adolescent Food Waste using the Mobile Food Record
Author(s) -
Banna Jinan C,
Panizza Chloe,
Boushey Carol,
Delp Edward,
Lim Eunjung
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.894.1
Subject(s) - food waste , fish <actinopterygii> , food group , serving size , portion size , environmental health , demography , geography , medicine , zoology , food science , biology , fishery , ecology , sociology
Background The proportion of food that is plated, uneaten and thrown into the trash is known to be high in the school environment. To date, studies have not investigated the proportion of food waste in youth over 24‐hr periods in the U.S. The mobile food record (mFR) captures before and after images of eating occasions in real time and holds promise for evaluating food waste in diverse settings. Purpose To assess the amount and type of food wasted in a multiethnic sample of early adolescent girls 9 to 13 yr residing in Oahu, Hawaii using the mFR. Methods Girls (n=72) used the mFR for 3 days. A trained analyst reviewed all images with each participant. The amount of food consumed and left on the plate were estimated. Leftover food was further classified as thrown into the trash, saved to eat later, consumed by another person, eaten by a pet or other. Data were entered into the RapidCalc nutrition database to quantify waste by food groups. Results Mean age was 10.8 and mean BMI z score was 0.04 (+/− 1.17). Girls identified as Asian (55.6%), non‐Hispanic white (36.1%) or other race (8.3%). All of participants’ mothers had a minimum of a 4‐yr college degree. The proportions of food plated and left uneaten were 12.1 % for vegetables, 10.6% for fruit, 10.2% for grains, 11.1% for meat/fish/poultry and 11.4% for dairy. The proportions of uneaten food thrown into the trash were 7.4% for vegetables, 7.8% for fruit, 6.1% for grains, 6.3% for meat/fish/poultry and 6.3% for dairy. Conclusions Food waste over 3 days was considerably lower than food waste previously reported over the school lunch period alone. Food waste was nearly equivalent across food groups. This finding is in contrast to previous studies in the school setting indicating that waste of fruit and vegetables is significantly higher than other food groups. Studies in real time using technology over full days may better quantify waste among adolescents. Support or Funding Information Supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project, HAW02026‐H, Accession no. 1000090. Also supported by NIH grant U54MD007584.