Obesity among students and their lunch-time menus was the research topic examined by Andrew Barry of Coláiste Choilm, Ballincollig, Co Cork.
His project looks at the issue in two ways, surveying students and staff to assess their lunch-time preferences and analysing various luncheon options in the lab for fat content.
He devised his own survey covering areas including fast food, home-made lunches, television viewing time and exercise. His survey included 140 first- and second-year students plus teachers and the school principal.
He also bought foods available in the school shop, including burgers, pizzas and chips, burning them in the lab to estimate fat content.
The survey returned some interesting findings, including the fact that 83 per cent of students bought school lunches more than once a week and nearly a quarter of those surveyed went to a fast food outlet more than once a week.
Andrew also found that first- and second-years on average watched 2.5 hours of television a week.