Har elever tillräckligt med tid för att äta? : En undersökning på högstadieelevers upplevelser av skolmåltiden

Sammanfattning: Meal at school is a part of the school studies and it is important for health, but is also a prerequisite for both learning and enjoyment.  The school meal can provide students an opportunity to recover from their studies but sometimes students perceive the meal situation as stressful. It is important that the food environment at school works well for school children, so they do not have to rush during the meal and they can get the opportunity to eat in peace. The purpose of this study was to investigate how students perceive lunch break at school. If they feel they get enough time to eat and how they feel during the meal situation in the school restaurant. The research approach of this study was qualitative and the method of data collection was focus groups. Data were analyzed as a content analysis. The aim of the study were secondary school students in grade 7 and 9, one class from each grade was selected. The study was conducted at a secondary school in a municipality in Sweden with approximately 210 000 inhabitants. The results of the study show that students at secondary school feel they have enough time to eat lunch, but the lunch break is too short. The meal environment in the school restaurant is perceived as very messy and stressful. The meal situation was experienced as more stressful at grade 7 students than 9th grade students.  The conclusion was that students need longer lunch break and meal environment is perceived as stressful.