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The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the energy density (ED) of preparations served by a food service and develop and evaluate the acceptability of preparations in which the ED was reduced by substitution and/or reduction of fat and sugar.

The preparations served most frequently by a food service were identified and described using datasheets. Nutritional assessment of the preparations was performed while the ED was estimated by the ratio of energy value to final weight of the preparations. The preparations were analyzed for their sensory characteristics and reproducibility. Sensory analysis was performed using acceptability and affective tests. The scores obtained on the hedonic scale (1‐9) were assessed by ANOVA and Tukey's test.

The percentage difference between the ED of traditional and modified preparations showed an ED reduction of 6 to 28 per cent in savory preparations and 5 to 63 per cent in sweet preparations. Preparations that had an average acceptance of greater than or equal to 7 were considered acceptable. All preparations were considered acceptable by the judges. Many preparations depend on ingredients with high ED for their success and removing these ingredients can undermine acceptance of the preparation. It is important to understand the role of each ingredient in recipes as a whole, in order to retain the characteristics and palatability of preparations.

The reduction of ED in preparations is an effective strategy for reducing energy intake and increasing weight loss, where ED of preparations can be reduced while maintaining the level of acceptability.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of an intervention to reduce the energy density of meals in the workplace food environment.

This study was conducted on a cosmetics manufacturer that employed 243 people, and was divided into three phases: diagnostic evaluation; development and testing of modifications to the energy density of the preparations; and evaluation of the results obtained. To evaluate the menus, the Meal Quality Index was used. This index consists of five components ranging from 0 to 20 points: “Adequacy of availability of vegetable and fruit”, “Carbohydrate availability”, “Total fat availability”, “Saturated fat availability” and “Menu variability”. The Kruskal‐Wallis test was used to evaluate differences in phases 1 and 3.

The classification, according to the scores for the Meal Quality Index, showed that there was an improvement in the menus, with a decrease in inadequate menus from 31 per cent to 5 per cent and in menus needing improvement from 44 per cent to 29 per cent.

Changes that are relatively simple to implement and reproduce regarding meal production may contribute towards controlling the obesity epidemic, through discouraging the obesogenic environment, especially among captive healthy customers such as workers who use the food services in their workplaces.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the influence of availability of fruits and vegetables on adult workers' consumption adequacy in the workplace.

A total of 1,344 workers, who have had meals in 30 different companies, located in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, are assessed. Two indicators are used to assess the following: workers' consumption of fruits and vegetables; usual consumption, found through a questionnaire on frequency of consumption of these foods; and workplace consumption, assessed with a food consumption questionnaire provided by the company. Availability of fruits and vegetables in the menus is obtained using the descriptions of meals given to workers on three consecutive days. Data analysis is performed with logistic regression models that used two outcomes: usual consumption of fruits and vegetables and consumption of these foods in the workplace. Explanatory variables are divided into two levels: the first one was comprised by workers' characteristics (sex, age and level of education), and the second one by food availability in the workplace.

Consumption of fruits and vegetables, both the usual one and that in the workplace, is higher in women, and also in older individuals and those with higher level of education. Availability of fruits and vegetables in the workplace has a significant impact on usual food consumption and especially on the workplace, in which case the variable shows greatest impact on consumption.

This study demonstrates the importance of the availability of fruits and vegetables in the workplace that influence consumption of food by workers, revealing the importance of using this environment to promote healthy eating.