Objective measures of eating behaviour in a Swedish high school

Studying eating behaviours is important in the fields of eating disorders and obesity. However, the current methodologies of quantifying eating behaviour in a real-life setting are lacking, either in reliability (e.g. self-reports) or in scalability. In this descriptive study, we deployed previously evaluated laboratory-based methodologies in a Swedish high school, using the Mandometer®, together with video cameras and a dedicated mobile app in order to record eating behaviours in a sample of 41 students, 16-17 years old. Without disturbing the normal school life, we achieved a 97% data-retention rate, using methods fully accepted by the target population. The overall eating style of the students was similar across genders, with male students eating more than females, during lunches of similar lengths. While both groups took similar number of bites, males took larger bites across the meal. Interestingly, the recorded school lunches were as long as lunches recorded in a laboratory setting, which is characterised by the absence of social interactions and direct access to additional food. In conclusion, a larger scale use of our methods is feasible, but more hypotheses-based studies are needed to fully describe and evaluate the interactions between the school environment and the recorded eating behaviours.