Året inleddes med en ny organisation för Högskolan Kristianstad och bildandetav fyra nya fakulteter. Avdelningen för Mat- och måltidsvetenskapingår numera i Fakulteten för Naturvetenskap tillsammans med avdelningenför Datavetenskap och avdelningen för Miljö och biologi. Det varinte bara för HKR som det gångna året innebar organisatoriska förändringarutan även för vår avdelning.Bitte Müller Hansen gick i pension efter nästan tio år som programansvarigför Gastronomiprogrammet och avdelningschef. Bitte har betytt oerhörtmycket för utveckling av programmet och har lagt ner stort engagemangi såväl utbildningen, som i sina kontakter med studenter och medarbetsmarknaden.

Education and research within the interdisciplinary subject food and meal science can be mediated through science, craft and creativity and cooking is a central activity. This paper aims at elucidating some aspects of cooking through the perspectives “Culture and Communication” “Food Science” and “Nutrition and Health”. This was done through a survey among students and teachers. The results stress the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to understand the different aspects of cooking and the prominent view on cooking as a cultural and communicative activity.

This report brings together 12 invited presentations and outcomes of a workshop on food and meals for employees working irregular hours “around the clock”. The workshop, “Food at work around the clock – The Nordic Model”, was hosted by the National Food Institute at the Technical University of Denmark on November 4, 2016, in Lyngby, near Copenhagen, Denmark. This was a culmination of the collaboration started in 2015 between researchers from the hosts institute, Gävle University and Kristianstad University in Sweden, and the School of Applied Educational Sciences and Teacher Education in Finland. The workshop was funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Att äta insekter är egentligen inte något märkligt. I alla fall inte sett ur ett internationellt perspektiv. De flesta av världens olika kulturer har insekter i sin kost och det finns fler än 2000 ätbara insektsarter.

The world is facing a number of challenges related to food consumption. These are, on the one hand, health effects and, on the other hand, the environmental impact of food production. Radical changes are needed to achieve a sustainable and healthy food production and consumption. Public and institutional meals play a vital role in promoting health and sustainability, since they are responsible for a significant part of food consumption, as well as their “normative influence” on peoples’ food habits. The aim of this paper is to provide an explorative review of the scientific literature, focusing on European research including both concepts of health and sustainability in studies of public meals. Of >3000 papers, 20 were found to satisfy these criteria and were thus included in the review. The results showed that schools and hospitals are the most dominant arenas where both health and sustainability have been addressed. Three different approaches in combining health and sustainability have been found, these are: “Health as embracing sustainability”, “Sustainability as embracing health” and “Health and sustainability as separate concepts”. However, a clear motivation for addressing both health and sustainability is most often missing

Denna upplaga av mat- och måltidsvetenskaps verksamhetsberättelse sammanfattar händelser och utveckling av ämnesområdet vid Högskolan Kristianstad under 2020. Få kunde väl ana vad som väntade när vi inledde år 2020 – det blev ett år där mycket sattes på sin spets och som krävde stora och snabba krav på anpassningar, digital utveckling och flexibilitet för både lärare och studenter. Trots dessa utmaningar blev detta åter ett år där alla medarbetare på avdelningen bidrog till att arbeta för visionen att vi ska ha en ledande position för framtidens mat och måltider genom attraktiva utbildningar, framgångsrik forskning och aktiv samverkan.

The increasing age of populations throughout the world means that healthcare services are faced with new challenges, not least regarding the provision of food during hospital stay. There is a lack of knowledge of how hospital mealtimes are experienced by older patients, and so the aim of this article was to review current knowledge regarding mealtimes in hospitals from the perspectives of older patients. A literature search was performed using seven databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Sociological Abstracts, SweMed+, ASSIA and CINAHL with no limits regarding publication date. The inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed articles in English or Swedish that used qualitative methods to examine older patients' (>65 years) mealtime experiences. The Five Aspect Meal Model (FAMM) served as a framework for understanding the complexity behind a mealtime experience. Qualitative content analysis was used as a guide when analysing the material. The search produced 415 studies, 14 of which were included in the review. The findings generated three main themes for understanding how older patients experience mealtimes while in hospital: (1) the food and the food service, (2) mealtime assistance and commensality during mealtimes and (3) the importance of retaining one's independence. The review also clearly indicated a shortage of studies that solely focus on older patients' experiences of their mealtime. More research is therefore needed to be fully able to understand the complex task of providing meals in hospitals.

Hospitality is a social phenomenon expressing relationships between a host and a guest. This relationship can be seen in its most extreme form within a hospital setting, where the guest is a patient staying within an establishment where the core activity is not to provide the patient with food and drinks but to treat medical conditions. The aim of this study is therefore to explore how hospitality was performed by nursing staff and meal hosts in the dining room environments at four hospital wards and to explore the specific role of the room and its artefacts in facilitating or hindering acts of hospitality. In total, twenty non-participating observations were conducted across four wards within two Swedish hospitals. The dramaturgical theory proposed by Goffman was used as theoretical lens. Field notes were analysed in accordance with qualitative content analyses and yielded two overarching themes: (1) Hospitality and hospitableness through acts of caring and (2) The dining room environment’s potential to promote or hinder acts of hospitality. The findings suggest that the dining room environment facilitated timely service for the patients when the materiality within the room followed the principles of mise en place and included the constant presence of a staff member. This is seen as an important finding in relation to what needs to be addressed when planning hospital dining room environments and to the patients’ ability to consume a meal within a frame that acknowledges and assists the patients during their meals.

We conducted a systematic review of randomised studies on the impact of worksite interventions to promote healthier food and/or physical activity among people who work irregular hours 'around the clock', that is, outside of ordinary daytime working hours. The population-intervention-comparator-outcomes-study (PICOS) design format was used. Data sources were PubMed and CINAHL. An updated search was conducted on October 2017 using Google Scholar and the related articles function in PubMed on initially included studies to identify additional studies. Risk of bias was used to assess study quality. A total of seven studies (reports published in 14 papers) were included in the systematic review: Two interventions with a broader lifestyle approach, three focusing on physical exercise and two on providing healthier food or meal options. The studies had sample sizes from 30 to 1,000 and targeted a mixture of occupations, including both male- and female-dominated occupational groups. The interventions lasted from 2 to 12 months. Only one had an extended follow-up. In general, the studies showed small-to-moderate effect sizes on several measures, including dietary and/or physical activity measures, suggesting acceptable effectiveness for interventions involving community-level behaviour change. Our findings highlight a need to further develop and implement well-designed health promotion interventions with comparable outcome measures and effect size reports. A mixture of health promotion strategies is recommended for future practice in this target population, including individually tailored programmes, improving the food and physical activity environment and using broader lifestyle approaches including the use of participatory and empowerment strategies. While more research is needed in this field, the existing knowledge base on effective approaches awaits translation into practice.

Many countries in Europe have experienced growing migration since World War II. It is estimated that more than one in five Swedes living today has roots in other countries and cultures. Segregation in terms of ethnic origin in housing areas makes it easier to maintain the language and cultural traditions of the home country when it comes to cooking and eating. In extremely segregated housing areas, there may even be no interface between foreign cultural traditions and Swedish traditions in food consumption. Almost every inhabitant in the age range 20–65 years spends a number of years in workplaces outside the home. Workplaces are generally melting pots for employees of all ages and ethnic groups. In this study, a bus company lunch room served as a field for studying preferences in food, meals structure and eating patterns during lunch breaks. The city centre lunch room was visited by every driver at least once during their working day for coffee/tea, lunch or a rest. The lunch room served as an arena for discussions and exposure to new foods customs relating to meals and eating. It thus constituted a place for cultural exchange about food preferences and for forming opinions about individuals and nationalities, including Swedes. The methods for gathering empirical material for the analysis were participant observations and semi-structured interviews. Food consumption can be recognized as a marker of class and status in the same way as consumption of leisure activities and clothing. Some new criteria in identifying members of we-groups in relation to others can be added to the classical criteria. When language fails in communication, visible signs become more important. A workplace lunch room is a clear arena for attitude formation. Attitudes may be conservative or stereotyped but sometimes evoke the curiosity to eat something different. In a multicultural arena such as a workplace lunch room, the knowledge available about food, meals and preferences is sometimes far from the real truth, especially when visible impressions are not followed by verbal communication, which can sometimes lead to incomplete and narrow-minded conclusions.

Purpose: Unhealthy eating and lifestyle as well as low physical activity is a growing problem and are estimated to be among the primary causes for the growth in obesity and overweight among the adult population. In the ‘settings approach’ institutions such as the workplace are seen as arenas in which eating behavioural patterns can be influenced. This arena tends to grow in importance as more companies provide workplace food with increasing nutritional attention and develop not only lunch offers, but also take away offers. However settings based scientific literature has shown that interventions tend to give only modest effect when sustainability of intervention is used as a measure.

Methods: The paper is based on a review of literature on workplace healthy eating based projects and research, mainly with focus on Sweden and Denmark carried out in the Good Food at Work project.

Results: Important elements in this kind of interventions are management commitment, education, supporting organisational structures, employee participation, and integrated perspective on risk factors at the workplace and the everyday life of employees.

Discussion: The paper suggests that a socio nutritional approach to promotion of healthy eating at workplace is needed if workplace interventions are to be successful. It argues that a socio-technical approach (Clausen and Yoshinaka, 2007) where innovation is considered as a multi-stakeholder process in which interaction between the social constitution of the workplace (Seltz & Hildebrandt, 1989), the change agents, and societal influence (Thorsen et al, 2005) play an important role in the shaping of healthy workplace eating.

In kindergarten, meals are framed and regulated by the adults and ideas within the institution. However, by inviting children to visualise their ideas, they can be included when trying to understand as well as develop the meals. The purpose was to explore children's pictures of good and desirable meals in kindergarten by using a visual, participatory approach together with children four to six years. The children related to various aspects of the meal, emphasising the importance of food, table artefacts and context, defined as platescape, tablescape and roomscape. The result further highlighted the complexity of listening to the plurality of children's voices.

A great part of the meals are consumed in institutions like schools, pre-schools, workplaces, and in special care homes for disabled and elderly people. Studies have shown that public meals have a great impact on health, equality in health as well as on individual well-being. However, the experience of these public meals are not thoroughly examined. The purpose of this paper is to provide a broad overview of various creative participatory research methods in order to understand the meal experience among young children in pre-school and people with intellectual disabilities in social institutions. A literature overview has been conducted which is the result of the first part of a collaboration project between Kristianstad University, Sweden and the Copenhagen House of Food, Denmark. Empirical field work is ongoing. The overview showed how researchers during recent years have used a variety of creative visual methods, such as drawings, paintings, photographing and filming, as well as using material props like toys and dolls, in order to understand and visualize experiences, thoughts and ideas. This implies a greater focus on ability rather than lack of ability and on showing rather than talking. This might give confidence to people, which also creates conditions for empowerment. However, studies focusing on the specific meal experience have been limited, especially in relation to people with intellectual disabilities. From this perspective it is important to test and evaluate methods that can provide further knowledge about the food and meal experience, as well as to enable participation in food and meal research.

Våra relationer till mat och måltider är ofta många och komplexa. Redan under barndomen etableras uppfattningar om vad som är möjligt att äta och när, men under denna tid skapas också föreställningar om vad som är en god måltid. Detta kapitel utgår ifrån två studier som på olika sätt handlar om förskolebarns bilder av mat och måltider. Den ena studien genomfördes på en förskola i Danmark bland barn 4–6 år gamla där barnen i mindre grupper tillsammans skulle visuellt illustrera sina bilder av den goda måltiden i förskolan. I den andra studien utforskades förskolebarns uppfattningar om insekter som mat. Båda studierna har utgått ifrån ett deltagarbaserat perspektiv på barn där olika visuella metoder med kreativa inslag använts som centrala delar i datainsamlingen.

Many people spend hours in a workplace every week and food and drink play a central role in providing nutrition and energy and help to create breaks during the working day. However, meals are something more than the food consumed. This dissertation focuses on the meal at work, where the meal is surrounded by special circumstances when it comes to time, place and social relations, as well as the food. The main objective of this study is to increase our understanding of the conditions for the meal in working life today. The empirical work has been carried out at an industrial company producing components for medical technology, and at a hospital, where observations, interviews and a questionnaire have been used. A previous pilot study, where a bus-company and a residential home for care of the elderly participated, also has contributed with important material. In this dissertation I examine how different meal actors in the workplaces, consisting of the employees, the management and representatives for the food provision system, reason about and value food and meals at work.

The work of this dissertation has been inspired by the empirical findings from the pilot study, where work, time and meals are central concepts, and it has been influenced by interactionist and dramaturgical perspectives, where food and meals are important tools of communication. Many people work irregular hours and time for work as well as for breaks are shifting from day to day or between weeks. While some people have strictly regulated times for breaks, others have to create time and space for the meal individually. The workplace is a multifaceted arena, which is reflected in different conditions for the meal "ingredients", i.e. the food available and the social relations with colleagues, as well as the time and the room for the meal to take place. An important finding in this study is that the meal at work is seldom prioritized, which is interpreted as a result of how different actors reason about and value the meal. Meals at home or with the family are also important reference points in understanding how people value the workplace meal. The lack of strategies for the meal among the management and the food provision actors are apparent, which also strengthen the idea of eating for necessity at work rather than having a pleasurable meal. When economic rationality is prioritized the meal is easily rationalized away, without further notices of the consequences for the employees.

The meal concept is used in varying contexts, and within several scientific fields, however often without a clear definition of what it includes. The meal has been identified as a subject in multiple research areas such as nutrition, medicine, sensory science, history, design product development, food service, biology, physiology, anthropology, sociology, psychology, marketing and so forth 1. A meal may be defined and identified by the time of the day, by its energy content and how the food is combined as well as by its social interactions, implying that it may be understood in relation to the food itself as well as to the social and cultural context 2. The meal has also been discussed in relation to the concept of “snacks”, where a meal has been defined as a “structured food event”, while “snacks” represent “unstructured food events”3 . Some attempts have been made in order to define the meal and also to present a more holistic model of what it includes. One way of defining the meal is by using certain cues related to food as well as the environment 4. Another example is the Five Aspects Meal Model (FAMM) which was developed as a model in the early 2000s 5, with the ambition to capture an entirety of the meal by including the room, the meeting, the product, the logistics and the atmosphere in defining and understanding a meal. Although there have been many attempts trying to find a general and precise definition, the complexity makes it difficult, and maybe impossible, to capture the meal concept in a single definition 6. Different disciplines focus on various aspects, which may complicate a common understanding 7,8,9.

It has been stated that meals are only one form of eating 10, and that the meal alone does not capture the diversity of todays’ eating. Still, it is recurrently used as a point of reference and as a norm for discussions concerning food and eating. The meal concept is however in constant change and must be understood in relation to societal patterns and norms, how we organize our eating and what role food plays as a social and cultural glue 2, but also in relation to our perception of health, sustainability, convenience and so forth. Other concepts, such as “eating episodes” 11,12, “eating occasions” see f ex. 13 and “eating events” 14 have also been used as attempts to illuminate the complexity of food habits. Nonetheless, the meal is still universally used and recurrent in various research works, and therefore it is of importance to investigate how the concept is actually used and understood in the different areas related to food- and meal science, an interdisciplinary field studying food and meals within Food science, Nutrition and health, and Food culture and communication.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss how eating, the built environment and social relations are related through the concept of a meal, in the hope that workplaces managers will consider more than nutrition and exercise in their future health strategies.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the findings of a sociological empirical study on workplace eating habits and an architectural theoretical study on the impact of built environment on meal experiences in general.

Findings – Together, the findings of the two studies imply that management considerations on healthy workplace eating should be supplemented with more conscious architectural and social considerations on how built environment stages certain meal behaviors and facilitate bonding among employees.

Research limitations/implications – More research needs to be done in order to better understand the relationship between intentional staging of the meal and health aspects in workplaces. This must include both developments within research methods, a larger sample of workplaces, as well as the possibility to make interventions within this particular area.

Practical implications – The paper argues that contemporary workplaces have lost their ability to fully stage meals, and proposes that a research strategy should be developed, broadening the healthy workplace meal approach with that of social science and architectural design.

Originality/value – This exploratory effort to combine sociological perspectives in the study of the meal at work with theories from architectural design has been fruitful in comprehending the full complexity of providing opportunities for healthier meals at work. The paper is of value to workplace managers, suggesting they consider more than nutrition and exercise in their future health strategies.

This paper assumes that the physical and social aspects of the space where meals are consumed impact upon the experience of those eating. Empirical material from a hospital in Sweden, combined with material from nurseries in Norway, was used to analyse two different room settings and their impact on the meal situation. The meals for the staff at the hospital, as well as for the children in the nurseries, were limited in time, as well as in place and with whom to co-eat. The meals were located in rooms with a multitude of functions. Playing, learning, reading, planning and working are other activities competing with time, place and attention in the same room. The ideal meal is often described as a meal in peace and quiet. In the two empirical situations used here, the risk of chaos is always present. In the nurseries, the children may easily switch focus from the meal to the other things in the room. The crowded feeling at the hospital dining rooms is described as an obstacle to the often-stated importance in a busy working environment: a calm meal during the break. This article focused on some aspects of how eating in a multifunctional room influences the way individuals sense and perceive the meal.

Inledning

I slutet av 2009 beslöt Barn- och Utbildningsförvaltningen i Kristianstad Kommun att tillsammans med Högskolan Kristianstad genomföra ett antal så kallade dialoger med föräldrar till förskolebarn i kommunen. Grunden till samarbetet byggde på kommunens intresse av att ta reda på vilka frågor föräldrar har kring barns hälsa och välbefinnande, samt att forskare från Högskolan Kristianstads besatt specifika kunskaper inom området. Initiativet grundade sig också i Livsmedelsverkets rekommendationer kring maten och måltiden i förskolan, vilka bland annat innebär att förskolorna rekommenderas att byta ut standardmjölk mot lättmjölk samt att använda lättmargarin med låg halt av mättat fett. Kommunens beslut att följa rekommendationerna har bidragit till upprördhet, irritation och oförståelse bland många föräldrar, vilken också avspeglats i media. Föräldrarnas reaktioner tillsammans med problem med övervikt och fetma hos barn i dagens samhälle, även i tidig ålder, var två viktiga anledningar till att beslutet togs att genomföra studien.

Föräldradialogerna byggde på att föräldrarna samtalade och diskuterade utifrån frågor och problem som de själva formulerat och därmed fick de möjlighet att ge uttryck för egna funderingar och tankar. Målsättningen var att föräldrarna skulle få framföra sina frågor, synpunkter och önskemål kring små barns hälsa och välbefinnande både i förskolan och hemma, men också att intresserade föräldrar skulle få information och kunskap inom området.

Dialogerna fokuserade på 3 huvudområden: Maten och måltiden, sömnen och dygnsrytmen och den fysiska aktiviteten. Dessa områden präglar vardagslivet och kräver rutiner och vanor för att fungera. De utgör en betydande del av förskolan men också hemmet, och i mötet mellan dessa två arenor blir rutiner, vanor och beteenden särskilt tydliga.

Syfte

Syftet med samarbetet var således att genomföra ett antal föräldradialoger med föräldrar till förskolebarn i Kristianstad kommun samt att forskare från Högskolan Kristianstad i samband med dessa också skulle hålla föredrag samt besvara föräldrarnas frågor kring de ovan nämnda temana. Det var viktigt att barnens hela livssituation skulle inbegripas, såväl på som utanför förskolan.

Bakgrund

Mat, måltider, sömn, återhämtning samt fysisk aktivitet är alla viktiga delar av våra levnadsvanor. Gynnsamma levnadsvanor stärker våra livsresurser och hjälper kroppen och hjärnan att komma till sin rätt. Under tillväxtåren har kroppen ökade behov och en ökad sårbarhet. För att fungera optimalt gynnas kroppen av förutsägbara och regelbundna måltider under dagtid. Likaså har sömnen, dess kvalitet, tidpunkt och längd stor betydelse för aptit, immunsystem och hälsa. Kroppen mår bra av en stabil dygnsrytm där vi växlar mellan aktivitet och vila, ätande och fasta, vakenhet och sömn. Daglig fysisk aktivitet och utevistelse i dagsljus har en stärkande effekt på kropp och hjärna.

Redan som barn socialiseras vi in i vissa vanor och beteende när det gäller maten, sömnen eller den fysiska aktiviteten. Det är viktigt att barnet tidigt etablerar hälsosamma matvanor och får möjlighet till ett balanserat ätande. Såväl undernäring (för lite energi och/eller näring) som övernäring (för mycket energi, övervikt och fetma) och felnäring (fetma i kombination med brist på livsnödvändiga näringsämnen) förekommer hos barn, och här har både förskola, skola och föräldrar ett ansvar. Utöver maten och måltiden är sömnen nödvändig för psykisk och fysisk överlevnad och välmåga. När vi sover får kroppen möjlighet att växa, reparera organ och vävnader och att underhålla immunsystemet. Barn behöver mycket sömn, från 1416 timmar som spädbarn till cirka 9 timmar som tonåring. Sömnstörningar är dessvärre vanligt, även hos barn, och forskning har visat sig finns samband mellan sömnbrist och fetma. Vidare rör sig barn generellt för lite, vilket inte bara är ett problem när de är små, utan också när de blir äldre. Antalet överviktiga förväntas att öka dramatiskt eftersom unga fysiskt inaktiva riskerar att bli fysiskt inaktiva som vuxna. En fysiskt aktiv livsstil är förenad med minskad risk att utveckla sjukdomstillstånd som hjärt-kärlsjukdomar, typ 2-diabetes, fetma, osteoporos, cancer, demens, depression med mera. Fysisk aktivitet stärker sömnen och gynnar mental prestationsförmåga Fysisk aktivitet har även visat sig ha positiva effekter på den mentala hälsan samt på möjligheten att hantera stress. Studier har också visat på kopplingar mellan fysisk kapacitet och betyg i skolan. Trots den fysiska aktivitetens positiva effekter, har utrymmet för denna minskat i skolan.

Det finns ett antal nationella och internationella policydokument och handlingsplaner med syfte att motverka fetma, stimulera till bättre matvanor och en ökad fysisk aktivitet. Däremot saknas än så länge rekommendationer för sömnens och dygnsrytmens betydelse trots att forskningen inom området är övertygande. Nordiska Ministerrådet har bland annat utarbetat en nordisk handlingsplan för hälsa, mat och fysisk aktivitet. I överensstämmelse med EU Kommissionen framhåller Nordiska Ministerrådet att barn och ungdomar ska prioriteras i det hälsofrämjande arbetet, vilket bland annat innebär att det ska finnas tillgång till hälsofrämjande mat under skoldagen samt att ett ökat intag av frukt och grönt i skolan förordas. Vidare lyfts betydelsen av att fysisk aktivitet integreras i vardagliga inomhus- och utomhusaktiviteter. Betydelsen av att främja goda kostvanor och fysisk aktivitet återfinns också i regeringens proposition för en förnyad folkhälsopolitik samt i Livsmedelsverkets och Folkhälsoinstitutets handlingsplan för goda matvanor och fysisk aktivitet. De nordiska och svenska näringsrekommendationerna (NNR och SNR) bidrar med råd och rekommendationer för en näringsmässigt riktig kost för olika åldersgrupper, samt innehåller rekommendationer för fysisk aktivitet.

Metod och tillvägagångssätt

Under mars 2010 genomfördes totalt 4 föräldradialoger på olika skolor i Kristianstad Kommun. Inbjudan till dialogerna gick ut till föräldrar till förskolebarn i åldrarna 6 månader till 6 år, bland annat genom att lappar delades ut där intresse kunde anmälas. Föräldradialogen som metod bygger på aktivt deltagande från medverkande personer och på deras egna frågor, funderingar och erfarenheter. Totalt medverkade 86 föräldrar under dessa 4 träffar, varav 70 var kvinnor och 16 män. Föräldradialogerna varade i cirka två och en halv timme per tillfälle. Efter en kortare inledning och introduktion av syfte och tillvägagångssätt delades föräldrarna upp i mindre grupper för diskussion. Medverkande i grupperna var därutöver en moderator (en rektor från skolområdet) som ledde diskussionen, samt en forskare från högskolan som observatör i varje grupp. Anteckningar gjordes från diskussionerna, vilka tillsammans med de frågor som föräldrarna själv antecknat på post-it lappar, utgjorde materialet för analysen och det empiriska underlaget. Resultatet av föräldradialogerna tillsammans med en kunskapsbakgrund kring betydelsen av och rekommendationer kring maten, sömnen och den fysiska aktiviteten, utgör merparten av materialet i rapporten.

Resultat

Resultatet av studien visade att föräldrarna hade många frågor och funderingar kring de områden som studien fokuserade på. De flesta frågor handlade om maten och måltiden, om tidpunkter för ätande och om hälsosam mat för barn. Många gånger var det detaljfrågor, till exempel funderingar kring fetthalt i specifika livsmedel, och sällan sattes problematiken i ett övergripande sammanhang där matvanor, levnadsvanor, sömn och fysisk aktivitet integrerades. Flera föräldrar gav uttryck för upplevelsen att vi alltmer gått ifrån ”den naturliga maten”. När det erbjuds lättmjölk istället för standardmjölk ses det av många som ett hot mot det naturliga och därmed det upplevt hälsosamma. Att manipulera med barns hälsa känns obekvämt och man vill gärna att barnen ska serveras den mat ”som man brukar göra”. Förändringar av detta slag ses till stor del som ett hot.

Frågorna gav också uttryck för en känsla av bristande insikt i vad som serverades på förskolan och vilken mat som barnet egentligen fick i sig. Man undrade vad det är som styr de olika val som kommunen och förskolan gör kring till exempel inköp av mat. Kopplat till uppfattningar om ”den naturliga matens förträfflighet” fanns också funderingar kring beslut bakom var maten ska tillagas. Att maten lagas lokalt, gärna på plats på förskolan, och att det används så mycket råvaror som möjligt istället för halv- och helfabrikat, lyftes fram som eftersträvansvärt.

Föräldrarnas frågor präglades också av undringar kring hur de ska göra om barnet inte äter. Det handlade om specifika livsmedel, men också om måltidstillfällen. Hur man som förälder ska få barnet att äta vissa grönsaker, att inta frukost under tidig morgon eller att inte ”småäta” var exempel på sådana frågor. Det eftersträvades också tips på mellanmål, och hur man på bästa sätt skulle kunna fördela dagens måltider över dygnet, när förskolans och hemmets tider ska anpassas till varandra. Betydelsen av miljön för måltiderna diskuterades också och på vilket sätt en stökig miljö kunde bidra till att barnen inte åt ordentligt.

Frågorna om sömnen kretsade till stor del kring hur mycket barn i en viss ålder ska sova, samt vikten av när sömnen inträder. Betydelsen av en regelbunden dygnsrytm över veckans alla dagar diskuterades också. Föräldrarna efterfrågade dessutom tips på hur man kan hantera sömnproblem och insomningssvårigheter hos barn i olika åldrar.

Att barn måste röra sig är sällan en nyhet, men flera frågor handlade om hur mycket barn i en viss ålder måste röra sig och om barn utifrån detta får tillräckligt med fysisk aktivitet i sin vardag. Funderingar kring mängden utevistelse i förskolan diskuterades också som en viktig del i att främja fysisk aktivitet. Om barnet kan ha för många aktiviteter, var en annan fundering, och om risken finns att man som förälder överstimulerar genom att uppmana till för mycket rörelse.

Ansvaret för barnens hälsa och välbefinnande fördelas mellan föräldrar, förskola och kanske mellan familjer som barnen bor växelvis i. Detta ställer krav på ett logistikarbete och en insikt och öppenhet mellan de olika arenor som barn befinner sig på i sin vardag. Här finns utmaningar men också möjligheter när det gäller att förbättra förutsättningarna för barns hälsa.

The working conditions of flight attendants (FAs) often involve extended and irregular working hours, short rest periods, difficulties in planning for breaks and high demands of service provision. Moreover, work schedules including early check-in, shifts during circadian low and time-zone transitions imply constant exposure to alterations in circadian systems and related health risks. The aim of this explorative study was to investigate how the organisation of work, time and place influence the food and meal situation of FAs when at work, focusing on patterns, form and social context of meals. The research questions posed were how food and meals at work were characterised and perceived among the FAs, and what strategies were adopted to manage the food and meal situation. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen FAs working in Scandinavia. The results indicated that the organisation of work, time and place have a major influence on the meal situation at work, and how food and meals are perceived and managed by FAs. The work was defined as fragmented and inconsistent regarding time and place resulting in scattered meals and a more snack-based form of eating. The meal situation was characterised by irregularity as well as unpredictability. Eating took place when food was available and when there was enough time to eat, rather than being guided by hunger or social context. Various strategies such as eating in prevention, using emergency food, avoiding certain food and drinks or eating little or nothing at all were used to manage the unpredictability of the meal situation as well as the gap between organisational and individual times. The findings demonstrated the individual responsibility to solve the meal at work, e.g. to solve organisational times.

Allt fler vuxna kvinnor och män arbetar i yrken med oregelbunden arbetstid över dygnets timmar eller veckans dagar. Tillgången till mat och plats för måltiden under ”oregelbunden” dygnstid är liten. Personalmatsalar stänger tidig eftermiddag. Affärer, restauranger, försäljningsställen för take-away måltider har begränsade öppettider. Dessutom är planeringen av raster för måltider under orgelbunden arbetstid oftare styrd av arbetsprocessen än behov av mat och rehabilitering. I en pilotstudie kring måltider och arbete bland busschaufförer och vårdpersonal blev dessa och många andra aspekter kring mat, måltider och oregelbunden arbetstid uppenbara. Det har inspirerat till nya forskningsprojekt, men också till ett behov av att systematiskt inventera den kunskap som svensk forskning hittills tagit fram kring mat och måltider för yrkesgrupper med oregelbunden arbetstid. I denna skrift redovisas den kunskap inom området som finns att hämta i svensk forskning med en och annan internationell utblick. I en parallell studie görs motsvarande inventering av dansk forskning. Dessa båda arbeten kommer senare att redovisas i en gemensam skrift. Vi vet att det finns ett stort intresse bland forskare, livsmedelsindustri och andra att ta del av den kunskap som finns när det gäller svenska förhållanden. Av den anledningen väljer vi att presentera den kunskap svensk forskning bidragit med. Redovisningen disponeras under några rubriker med fokus på måltidens sociala sammanhang, lunchtid och lunchmat, måltidsutbudet under arbetstid och styrmedel för att främja ett hälsosamt ätande under arbetstid.

The risk of malnutrition increases with ageing, resulting in poorer health and higher risk of disease. Eating difficulties are important risk factors for malnutrition. Moreover, independence in relation to food and meals is highly rated by the elderly and has been associated with health and well-being. The purpose of this literature overview was to provide insights into nutritional status, food choice and preferences as well as the meal situations of home-living elderly (65+) people with motoric eating difficulties focusing on Scandinavia. The overall aim is to support independence and to prevent malnutrition. Nutritional status in the elderly was found to be negatively influenced by motoric eating difficulties including problems with manipulating food on the plate and transporting food to the mouth. Motoric eating difficulties may result in practical simplifications such as use of pre-prepared meals, less advanced cooking, and omission of certain meal constituents in order to avoid e.g. mismanagement and spillage. Eating difficulties are often accompanied by feelings of guilt and shame. Choosing smaller portions, reducing the number of eating episodes and not cooking independently have been associated with a higher risk of malnutrition. The nutritional effects of eating difficulties may be exacerbated by diminished chemosensory functions. Furthermore, both past and present food preferences should be considered in order to meet nutritional needs and meal satisfaction. Development of refined and socially accepted eating aids, in combination with tasty and nutritious products, is important in order to promote healthy and independent living among home-living elderly with motoric eating difficulties.

Allt fler uppnår allt högre åldrar. Idag utgör de 80 år och äldre ca en halv miljon, och i slutet av 2040-talet över 1 miljon. Andelen friska och aktiva äldre, oavsett ålder, är högre än någonsin. Emellertid ökar risken för funktionsned- sättningar och sjukdom, och ett stort antal i hög ålder (över 80 år) har bety- dande behov av stöd och hjälp.

En betydelsefull aspekt av äldres levnadsvanor är de vanor som kan kopplas till maten och måltiden, det kan handla om exempelvis livsmedelsval, måltids- mönster eller utformningen den dagliga måltidssituationen. Goda matvanor är bra för hälsan och välbefinnandet och är en förutsättning för att bibehålla hälsa . Att kunna påverka sitt eget val av mat utgör en central del i känslan av valfrihet och kontroll över tillvaron och för att bibehålla identiteten, trots hög ålder och "frailty". Kännedom om den enskildes preferenser och vanor rörande mat och dryck samt möjligheten för den äldre att efter egen förmåga vara delaktig och aktiv i beslut kring detta är därmed en förutsättning för god omvårdnad.

Tre lärare och forskare från Högskolan Kristianstad har i denna skrift samman- fattat det rådande kunskapsläget på området äldres mat- och måltidssitua- tion på ett lättillgängligt sätt. Kunskapssammanställningen utgör en del av projektet Aktivt Åldrande – individuellt anpassade måltidslösningar för hälsa och livskvalitet hos äldre finansierat VINNOVA i utlysningen "En hållbar innovativ livsmedelskedja som möter framtidens behov".

When studying perceptions of eating insects among new consumer groups, the focus is often on factors that make people avoid novel foods. In order to switch perspective and broaden the understanding of drivers for choosing insects as food, this pilot study aimed to explore the reasons for eating insects among Swedish adults with an interest in entomophagy. Data were collected via a questionnaire combined with workshop discussions. The study highlighted how concerns about “the environment” and “health”, and a willingness to try something “exciting” were the three main reasons for choosing insects as an alternative protein source.   

Interest in eating insects has increased in Western countries; however, substantial challenges exist regarding acceptability and cultural ideas. Researchers have widely studied the acceptance of eating insects, but few studies have focused on children's thoughts. The aim of this study is to explore young children's perceptions about eating insects and how this insight might help understanding of ways to increase the willingness to eat insects. Three focus group interviews were conducted with children aged 4–5 years in a public preschool in Sweden. Each focus group consisted of four to five children; in total 13 (eight girls and five boys) participated. In exploring their perceptions of eating insects, the children were balancing between fantasy and reality, and between curiosity and fear, showing many, sometimes contradictory, emotions and relationships to insects as food. The children expressed a clear normative picture of what was considered food, illustrated by ideas about insects being something that are not allowed to eat. They were also concerned about whether the insect was dead before being eaten. Using children's fantasy and curiosity for new things, experimenting with insect-based products and ingredients in well-known dishes and contexts, and discussing different ways of eating them, acceptance of eating insects might increase.

The proportion of elderly people in the population is increasing, presenting a number of new challenges in society. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how elderly persons with motoric eating difficulties perceive and perform their food and meal practices in everyday life. By using Goffman's concept of performance as a theoretical framework together with Bourdieu's thinking on habitus, a deeper understanding of food and meal practices is obtained. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 elderly people (aged between 67 and 87 years) and meal observations were carried out with 11 of these people. Participants were found to manage food and meal practices by continuously adjusting and adapting to the new conditions arising as a result of eating difficulties. This was displayed by conscious planning of what to eat and when, avoiding certain foods and beverages, using simple eating aids, but also withdrawing socially during the meals. All these adjustments were important in order to be able to demonstrate proper food and meal behaviour, to maintain the façade and to act according to the perceived norms. As well as being a pleasurable event, food and meals were also perceived in terms of being important for maintaining health and as ‘fuel’ where the main purpose is to sustain life. This was strongly connected to the social context and the ability to enjoy food and meals with family members and friends, which appeared to be particularly crucial due to the impending risk of failing the meal performance.

With a growing number of people reaching older age, the need for care provided in long-term care institutions is increasing. Although the goal is to deliver person-centred care that includes choice and flexibility opportunities, pre-scheduled mealtimes and set menus are still used. The aim was to explore how food choice and flexibility practices were perceived and performed by residents and staff at three care homes in Denmark. Three food journey interviews with eight residents (aged 83 to 96 years) and three focus groups with twelve people from the care and kitchen staff were conducted. Food choice and flexibility practices were mainly performed informally and selectively by the staff, and through personal practices by the residents, implying that many residents were excluded from food choice and flexibility opportunities. However, food choice and flexibility practices were also inhibited by the staff’s time pressure and unfamiliarity with choice possibilities, and by the politeness of the residents, which often resulted in an acceptance of pre-defined mealtimes and the food served. Our findings suggest that food choice and flexibility practices must be understood and performed broadly, and include various ways of relating, listening and responding to the residents’ needs and preferences. Moreover, the study highlighted the importance of incorporating the essential embodied knowledge and emotional know-how, inherent in food choice and flexibility practices, into formal and more inclusive strategies concerning how to think and act in relation to the food and meal situation.

Protein-energy malnutrition can be a problem among elderly. A way to increase protein intake may be to enrich home-cooked foods. In this, special attention should be given to that the food is conveniently prepared and well accepted by the target group.

Insects is already part of the diet in many regions of the world, and in parts of Asia, Africa, Mexico and Southern America the eating of insects is part of a long tradition and cultural heritage3 . An example of a country where the consumption of insects is steadily increasing is Thailand4 .There were some cultural differences between Swedish and Thai students in regard to their disposition to react with disgust to certain food-related stimuli as measured by the Food Disgust Scale. Swedish students were more concerned than those from Thailand about putting animal cartilage into the mouth and by eating with dirty silverware in a restaurant. Thai students where on the other hand more disgusted than Swedes by eating hard cheese from which mold was cut off or to eat apple slices that has turned brown when exposed to air.

The world is facing a number of challenges related to food consumption. Food conduces to far-reaching health effects as well as environmental impact. System changes are needed tomeet a sustainable, healthy food production and consumption. Public and institutional mealsplay a vital role in promoting health and sustainability. In many countries public meals, in this study defined as meals taking place in institutional settings, constitutes a substantial part offood consumption, and may exert a a normative influence on peoples’ food habits. The aimof this study was to exploratively review how, and if, health and sustainability are addressedin the European scientific literature dealing with public meals. Of >3000 papers, 20 werefound to satisfy the criteria and included in the review. The results showed that schools andhospitals are the most dominant arenas where both health and sustainability have beenaddressed. Three different approaches in combining health and sustainability. In the first“Health as embracing sustainability” health is the point of departure and sustainability isincluded as part of health. This is emphasized in relation to health promotion initiatives andhow these could also be more sustainable, claiming that health should embrace both aspects.In the second, “Sustainability as embracing health” sustainability is in focus and health is seenas part of sustainability. This was for example illustrated when focusing on sustainable foodprocurement which is then also motivated by better nutrition in terms of knowing where thefood comes from and how it is produced. Last, for “Health and sustainability as separateconcepts” the link between heath and sustainability was unspecified or undefined. This couldbe exemplified by the stated, but not inter linked or combined, role of the school meal totackle societal challenges related to health and sustainability. In general, a clear motivationfor addressing both health and sustainability is most often missing. This indicates a need formore research within all public meal arenas regarding issues of health and sustainability, forexample in order to provide a more comprehensive foundation for decision-making.

Approximately 15 % of the Scandinavian population aged 60 and above suffer from eating difficulties with malnutrition as a risk factor. In an effort to improve their possibilities of a healthy and independent living, we have chosen the strategy to develop nutritious and tasty food in combination with functional eating aids to be integrated in the everyday lives of elderly.

This new, multi-disciplinary project concerns the design of meals for those who experience difficulties in transporting food from the plate to the mouth. The present paper, as part of the project, aims at presenting today’s knowledge of what home-living Scandinavian elderly with pre-oral eating difficulties experience as important factors concerning the meal. The review of peer-reviewed research publications will be complemented with in-depth interviews, surveys and observation studies. Data will be used in a co-designing process, where elderly are involved in developing meals and eating aids that support independence and integrity.

For elderly in general it is well known that food and drink preferences are affected by past experiences. However, impaired appetite, taste and smell as well as eating difficulties require special adaptations of food and beverages. Serving popular dishes and using distinct flavours and presentations improves meal satisfaction. Elderly suffering from e.g. hand tremor or difficulties in gripping often develop strategies to remain independent, of which one may be to omit meal constituents affecting the sensory and nutritional quality of the meal. Furthermore, the eating situation among people with eating difficulties is often associated with guilt and shame, and social withdrawal is therefore a common scenario.

Remaining independent in respect to eating is highly valued among elderly. By integrating various dimensions of the meal, including nutritional and sensory aspects, in the development of functional eating aids, the possibility of a healthy and independent living among elderly increases.

Remaining independent in respect to eating is highly valued among elderly. By integrating various dimensions of the meal, including nutritional and sensory aspects, in the development of functional eating aids, the possibility of a healthy and independent living among elderly increases.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review national experiences and policy initiatives within worksite eating in four Nordic countries, in order to compare the experiences and identify important lessons and needs for future research, experiments and governmental regulation.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on national reviews of analyses of worksite eating and initiatives regarding policy, research and experiments in relation to worksite eating. The national experiences are compared.

Findings – The paper shows awareness in all four countries about the role of the worksite in the shaping of dietary habits of the employees and some experiments with healthier worksite eating schemes. Blue-collar employees, employees with working hours outside normal working hours and employees with shifting worksites are likely to be offered less organised and less healthy food schemes. Worksites' experiments with healthier worksite eating schemes based on employee participation can change worksite eating substantially, including at blue-collar worksites. However, the generalising of findings to other worksites not participating in the experiments seems limited. There is need for more research in the embedding of experiments.

Originality/value – The paper has value as the first cross-national review covering four of the Nordic countries in the area of worksite eating and attempts to create healthier worksite eating. By combining research findings and policy initiatives from four countries, the paper gives access to a big pool of knowledge, which can inspire future research and policy initiatives, including future experiments and future governmental regulation.

The interest in eating insects as food is increasing, not least for sustainability reasons. However, the acceptance among consumers remains low. The aim of this review was to identify the key factors influencing consumer perception and acceptability of insect-based foods described in recent literature. Even though sustainability factors are important, they are seldom the main reasons influencing insect consumption. Instead, a complexity of emotional factors, such as disgust and neophobia, as well as familiar tastes, textures and contexts, were found to have a major influence. In addition, exposure and positive tasting experiences have been identified as important factors for increasing acceptance. It could be concluded that there is a great complexity of different factors influencing consumers’ perceptions and acceptability of insects as food.

The interest in eating insects as food is increasing, not least forsustainability reasons. However, the acceptance amongconsumers remains low. The aim of this review was to identifythe key factors influencing consumer perception andacceptability of insect-based foods described in recentliterature. Even though sustainability factors are important, theyare seldom the main reasons influencing insect consumption.Instead, a complexity of emotional factors, such as disgust andneophobia, as well as familiar tastes, textures and contexts,were found to have a major influence. In addition, exposure andpositive tasting experiences have been identified as importantfactors for increasing acceptance. It could be concluded thatthere is a great complexity of different factors influencingconsumers’ perceptions and acceptability of insects as food.