Deanna Montgomery

Nutritional status of children: What do we know?

Executive Summary Optimal nutritional intake during childhood for prevention of chronic disease in adulthood is not clearly defined, because of a lack of information regarding the relationship of nutrient intake in childhood to the later development of chronic diseases. Thus, criteria for nutritional intake in children are based on data regarding associations of foods and nutrients with chronic diseases that have been seen among adults. Using this current body of knowledge, an evaluation of the limited data regarding the nutritional status of children and adolescents indicates that certain age and/or gender subgroups may be at increased risk of developing chronic diseases late in life, if their current nutritional intake practices are continued. While there are extensive data on childrens intakes of some nutrients, such as calories, fat, and calcium, there is limited information available on dietary intake of many other foods and nutrients among children. Much work remains to be done to adequately evaluate childrens nutritional intake patterns. It is essential that new and more effectively and comprehensively monitor childrens dietary intake and nutrition behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes, and to utilize the information gleaned from these monitoring systems to provide effective and cost-efficient ways to evaluate dietary recommendations, implement nutrition interventions, and guide food distribution services.

Meeting the Dietary Goals for School Meals by the Year 2000: The CATCH Eat Smart School Nutrition Program

Abstract During the past decade health promotion for our nations school children has received considerable attention. The Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH) was the largest multicenter school-based health promotion program ever funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, involving 96 public elementary schools in four states and over 5,000 students in the baseline measurement cohort. The Eat Smart School Nutrition Program, the environmental component of CATCH, was tested for effectiveness in reducing fat, saturated fat, and sodium in school meals. This article provides an overview of the CATCH Eat Smart kitchen visits and intervention materials including the School Meal Program Guide, Fat and Sodium Criteria for recipes, ingredients, and vendor products, Recipe File Box, Vendor Product Handbook, Newsline, and intervention posters, training models, and process and outcome evaluation measures. All these components were essential in implementing a well tested model that...

Reducing the fat content of ground beef in a school foodservice setting

OBJECTIVE The objective was to develop and test the nutrient results of a two-step defatting procedure with ground beef in a school foodservice setting as part of the Eat Smart school lunch component of the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH). SETTING AND DESIGN The procedure was tested in a school foodservice setting to determine the effect of cooking, draining, and subsequent rinsing with hot water on nutrient composition of ground beef. Samples of raw; cooked and drained; and cooked, drained, and rinsed ground beef were collected and chemically analyzed for total fat, saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, cholesterol, iron, and niacin content. RESULTS The results indicated that the total fat and the saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids were significantly reduced 31% to 35% from cooking and draining (P < .005) and reduced by an additional 25% to 30% from rinsing (P < .0001). Cholesterol content was not affected. Iron content increased after the cooking and rinsing, although not significantly. Niacin content significantly decreased during rinsing by 28% (P < .005), but the mean value of the cooked, drained, and rinsed ground beef still met the criteria of the Food and Drug Administration for a good source of niacin. APPLICATION The two-step defatting procedure developed for use in a school foodservice setting lowers the total fat and saturated fatty acid content of ground beef without substantially reducing its nutritional quality.

Nutrient Intakes of Third Graders: Results from the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH) Baseline Survey

The purpose of this article is to report on baseline intakes of 1874 third-grade children representing a subsample of the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH) cohort. Intakes were assessed using a single, food record-assisted, 24-hour recall. The sample is unique in that it is drawn from four states and includes students from various ethnic backgrounds. Nutrients of interest include total energy, sodium, dietary cholesterol, and percent of energy from total fat and saturated fat. At baseline, third-grade students were consuming above nationally recommended levels of energy from fat, saturated fat, and sodium. The CATCH findings show a mean energy intake of 2031 kcal with significant differences by sex. Significant differences by site were seen for percent of energy from total fat, saturated fat, and dietary cholesterol. Children from Minnesota consumed the lowest proportion of energy from total fat and saturated fat while children from Texas had the highest proportion of energy from total fat and saturated fat. Intake of dietary cholesterol was lowest in Minnesota and highest in Louisiana. Nutrient differences by ethnic group were seen only for energy, with African Americans having the highest energy intake and Hispanics having the lowest energy intake. The number of meals consumed from school food service significantly influenced childrens nutrient, intake; children consuming two meals from school food service had significantly greater intakes of energy, saturated fat, and dietary cholesterol compared to students consuming one or no meals from school food-service. The results are compared to other national nutritional surveys of children.

Meal Skipping Patterns Among Children and Adolescents

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: Participants will be able describe the proportion of young people skipping meals and their attitudes about food consumption. These data are from an initiative supported by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and USDA to develop and test potential survey instruments that could be used to monitor school-based nutrition efforts. The instrument was developed using focus groups of 740 children. This report is from 392, 4-11 th grade children in 12 schools in central Texas who volunteered to provide self-report information regarding their dietary intake habits, attitudes, and knowledge. The focus of this report is on meal skipping patterns. Students were asked if they skipped any meals yesterday and also whether skipping a meal affects their ability to do well with their classes and activities. Of the overall sample, 23% reported having missed breakfast yesterday with greater frequency in older grades. Only 11% reported having missed lunch and all the students reported having had dinner yesterday. Interestingly, greater than 60% of students agreed that skipping meals affects their school and activity performance, and this varied significantly depending on whether they skipped breakfast (73% breakfast eaters vs. 52% for skippers). Trying to lose weight was also associated with skipping breakfast and lunch with 42% and 47% of breakfast and lunch skippers, respectively, trying to lose weight compared to 33% for both non-skipping groups. Finally, of those having breakfast, 45% felt their eating habits were much or somewhat healthier than their peers compared to only 32% of breakfast skippers. Even though most students believe that skipping a meal will decrease their performance, this attitude is in conflict with their behavior.

Modification of a school-based nutrition education curriculum to be culturally relevant for western Pacific islanders

Abstract This report describes the process of developing cultural adaptations to a nutrition curriculum. Curriculum modifications were initiated by the investigators and then extended by 22 teachers and the school nurse of an elementary school on Guam during a 15-hour in-service session. Investigators modified the curriculum for historical and technological issues while teachers focused on appropriate food substitutions, cultural foodways, and methods of presenting the curriculum. Teachers taught the lessons and provided written and oral evaluations. Effective components of the modified curriculum were the attention to local food and history, emphasis on group learning activities, and cultural sensitivity.

The Effect of A Food Service Intervention (catch Eat Smart) on School Meal Cost

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: To describe how a school-based food service intervention to lower fat and sodium affects average school lunch and breakfast meal costs. The Eat Smart School Nutrition Program, the school food service intervention component of the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health (CATCH), was designed to lower the fat, saturated fat and sodium in school meals. The purpose of this study was to determine how the intervention affected average meal costs. School meal cost data (breakfast and lunch) were calculated for Texas CATCH school cafeterias (14 intervention & 10 control). In October 1992, cost information was collected for recipe ingredients & vendor products for each menu item served during that month, including the fair market cost for commodity foods. Food costs were then calculated for complete breakfast and lunch menus during the month; these values were used to determine the percentage of the total food cost associated with breakfast (41%) & lunch (59%). The calculated percentages were then applied to monthly total food costs for individual cafeterias from September 1991 to May 1994. The average yearly food costs for lunch ranged from

Impact of Fat Reduction on Micronutrient Density of Children's Diets: the Catch Study

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Nutrition and Food Attitudes of School Children in Central Texas

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Three-Year Maintenance of Improved Diet and Physical Activity: The CATCH Cohort

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