Anne Gordon

Availability and Consumption of Competitive Foods in US Public Schools

BACKGROUND With ongoing efforts to develop and implement school wellness policies, there is a need for information about the availability and consumption of competitive foods in schools. OBJECTIVE To describe the availability of competitive foods in US public schools, consumption of competitive foods by children, and contributions of competitive foods to energy intakes. DESIGN The study used data from the third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study, a cross-sectional study that included a national sample of public school districts, schools, and children in the 2004-2005 school year. On-site observations were used to document the availability of competitive foods and a 24-hour recall was used to assess childrens consumption of competitive foods. SUBJECTS/SETTING The study included 287 schools and 2,314 children in grades 1 through 12. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED Most analyses were limited to estimation of means and proportions. Two-tailed t tests were used to test the significance of differences between children who did and did not eat a school lunch. RESULTS In school year 2004-2005, competitive foods were widely available in public schools. Overall, 40% of children consumed one or more competitive foods on a typical school day. The most commonly consumed competitive foods were foods and beverages that were low in nutrients and energy-dense. Children who ate a school lunch were significantly less likely than children who did not eat a school lunch to consume competitive foods (36% vs 45%; P<0.01); however, the leading competitive food choices for both groups of children were foods that were low in nutrients and energy-dense. On average, competitive food consumers who ate school lunches obtained 159 calories from competitive foods that were low in nutrients and energy-dense, compared with 201 calories for competitive food consumers who did not eat school lunches (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS In school year 2004-2005, competitive foods were widely available and consumed in US public schools and the most commonly consumed competitive foods were low in nutrients and energy-dense. These data support the need for improvements in school food environments and policies and provide a useful baseline for monitoring change as schools work to make these improvements.

Dietary effects of the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program.

In this paper we use 24-h dietary recall data to assess the dietary effects of participation in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). After adjustment for differences in characteristics between NSLP participants and nonparticipants, NSLP participation is associated with higher lunch intakes of vitamin A, calcium, and magnesium, and a lower intake of vitamin C. Although mean intakes of other key dietary components such as food energy, iron, cholesterol, and sodium are higher for NSLP participants than for nonparticipants, these differences appear to be due to underlying differences in unobserved characteristics (eg, food preferences, appetites, or food energy needs) rather than to the NSLP. Both at lunch and over 24 h, NSLP participation is associated with consumption of a higher percentage of food energy from fat and saturated fat. SBP participation is associated with higher breakfast intakes of food energy, calcium, riboflavin, phosphorus, and magnesium, and with a higher percentage of breakfast food energy from fat and saturated fat, and a lower percentage of food energy from carbohydrate.

Meals offered and served in US public schools: do they meet nutrient standards?

BACKGROUND Concerns about the diets of school-aged children and new nutrition recommendations for the US population have increased interest in the nutritional quality of meals available through the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. OBJECTIVE This article updates national estimates of the food energy and nutrient content of school meals and compares these estimates to federal nutrient standards established under the 1995 School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children. DESIGN Data were collected as part of the third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study, a nationally representative cross-sectional study fielded during school year 2004-2005. Menu and recipe data for a typical school week were collected in a mail survey with telephone assistance. Nutrient information for common commercially prepared food items was obtained from manufacturers, to supplement the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies used to analyze the data. Analyses were conducted for meals offered and meals served to (selected by) children. SUBJECTS/SETTING Samples of 130 public school districts that offered federally subsidized school meals, and 398 schools within those districts, participated in the study. Foodservice managers in each school completed a menu survey. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED Descriptive tabulations present weighted means, proportions, and standard errors for elementary, middle, and high schools, and for all schools combined. RESULTS Most schools offered and served meals that met the standards for protein, vitamins, and minerals. Fewer than one third of schools met the standards for energy from fat or saturated fat in the average lunch, whereas three fourths or more met the fat standards in school breakfasts. For both meals, average levels of sodium were high and fiber was low relative to Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 recommendations. CONCLUSIONS For school meals to meet nutrient standards and promote eating behaviors consistent with the Dietary Guidelines, future policy, practice, and research should focus on reducing levels of fat and sodium and increasing fiber.

The School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study: summary and discussion.

This paper summarizes the key findings of the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study and discusses the implications for policy and practice in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). Reducing total fat offered in NSLP lunches to the amount set in the Dietary Guidelines, as called for in the proposed regulations published by the US Department of Agriculture in June 1994, would be facilitated by changing the legislative requirement to serve whole milk. In addition, the following menu choices and meal preparation methods would reduce considerably the amounts of fat in NSLP lunches: reducing the average meat serving from 2 to 1.5 oz; eliminating high-fat meats, high-fat cheese, nuts, and nut butters; eliminating high-fat desserts and milk-based desserts; and reducing sharply the use of added fats in food preparation.

Sources of nutrients in students' diets

This paper describes foods consumed and nutrients derived from specific foods by participants and non-participants in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). Data are from 24-h dietary intake interviews with 3350 children in grades 1-12, collected as part of the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study. The meal-pattern requirements of the NSLP and SBP strongly influence what participants eat. NSLP participants are more likely than nonparticipants to consume milk, meats, grain mixtures, and vegetables, leading to higher intakes of fat and sodium, but also of calcium and vitamin A, and are less likely to consume cakes and cookies, soft drinks, and fruitades, which do not count toward program requirements. SBP participants are more likely than nonparticipants to consume milk and fruit juice, leading to higher intakes of calcium and magnesium, and are three times more likely to eat meat, leading to higher intakes of fat and sodium. Nonparticipants in the SBP obtain similar amounts of vitamins and minerals at breakfast but less food energy.

The third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study: summary and implications.

Bringing school meals in line with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines will involve more than changing nutrient standards and revising menu planning regulations. SNDA-III provides evidence that, despite the hard work of many individuals, schools, and organizations, SMI goals were not fully achieved. Strategies are needed to enhance the ability of schools to offer healthier meals.

Nutrition impacts in a randomized trial of summer food benefits to prevent childhood hunger in U.S. schoolchildren

ABSTRACT There is concern about food security and nutrition during the summer when low-income children do not have access to school meals. The Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (SEBTC) demonstration tested impacts on child nutrition of food benefits of

Delivering Summer Electronic Benefit Transfers for Children through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children: Benefit Use and Impacts on Food Security and Foods Consumed

60 or

A Summer Nutrition Benefit Pilot Program and Low-income Children’s Food Security

30 per eligible child per summer month. A

Dietary intakes of students.

60 benefit increased children’s mean fruit/vegetable consumption by 0.4 cup-equivalents, whole grains by 0.5 ounce-equivalents, and dairy items by 0.2 cup-equivalents. The