{
  "id": 11486355,
  "title": "Adolescents often choose to eat outside school, Swedish study finds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/adolescents-often-choose-to-eat-outside-school-swedish-study-finds",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-02T17:20:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-adolescents-school-swedish.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent Swedish study has revealed that many adolescents choose to eat outside school grounds during the school day, according to researchers from Karolinska Institutet. Led by Ioannis Ioakeimidis, the IMPACT research group analyzed the eating habits of 483 students aged 13 to 19 from two central Stockholm schools. Over multiple data collection periods between 2019 and 2024, participants shared 4,562 photographs of food and drinks, with GPS locations and timestamps recorded for each image. The study found that 21% of all reported school-day meals and drinks were consumed off-campus. Unhealthy meals, characterized by low proportions of vegetables and fish, were more prevalent outside school (65%) compared to on-campus (43%). Conversely, sugar-sweetened drinks were more common among beverages consumed outside school, while water was the predominant drink at school. The researchers emphasize the importance of considering the food environment surrounding schools when examining adolescents' food choices, as meals eaten at school tended to include multiple components of a complete meal. The findings suggest that free school meals do not guarantee that students eat them on campus, and the results may inform future public health initiatives aimed at promoting healthier eating habits among adolescents.",
  "summary": "Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have investigated where adolescents eat during the school day and what types of food they choose. The study was conducted by the IMPACT research group at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge, led by Ioannis Ioakeimidis. The findings are published in the journal BMC Public Health.",
  "key_points": [
    "21% of school-day meals consumed off-campus",
    "Unhealthy meals more common outside school",
    "Water most common drink at school"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}