Investigating the possibility of providing a plant-based meal in schools as a strategy to increase vegetable consumption and obesity prevention in Indonesia: an insight from research in Swedish School Lunch Program

Introduction: from a survey in 2018, one in five elementary-aged children and one in seven adolescents in Indonesia were overweight or obese. Lacking consumption of vegetables associated with obesity prevalence in school-aged children. Insufficient intake of vegetables in children increases seven times risk of obesity. Accordingly, providing various vegetables in school meals can be an alternative to promote vegetable consumption in children to prevent obesity. This insight comes from a prior study investigating school lunches in Sweden. Vegetarian menus are served in Swedish school lunches as a strategy to increase vegetable consumption and serve nutritious food. Therefore, serving plant-based containing food may also increase vegetable consumption in Indonesian children. Aim: to explore the possibility of providing a plant-based meal in Indonesian schools as a strategy to promote vegetable and fruit intake to prevent obesity in children. Method: This study is a narrative review that discussed the further implication of the result from a prior study about vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals in Swedish school lunch programs. Seven of 48 articles that met the criteria of the PICO framework were selected to be included in this review. Result: Six of seven articles highlighted that introducing snacks containing fruit and vegetable can be done through school-based intervention programs to promote fruit and vegetable intake in schools. Conclusion: from the result, serving a plant-based menu in school lunches seems feasible to be implemented in schools with feeding programs and may be beneficial in preventing obesity and increasing vegetable consumption in Indonesian school-aged children.