Acceptance Evaluation of School Meals Through Different Method Approaches by Children in Brazil

Children school meals acceptance is needed for a good performance in school. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptance of school meals. A descriptive cross-sectional study with students aged 7 to 10 years was developed. Students (n = 189) of both genders from an elementary school in Macae-RJ, Brazil took part in the study. The menu of the school served to the children was evaluated for 22 days. Results have shown that, on average, menus were not accepted. Better results were observed through face hedonic scales method rather than acceptance through the residuals index method. The school meals adherence index was 64.5% (medium). Finally, it was observed that menu adherence and the number of meal repetitions were significantly higher when dishes were prepared properly.