CONTRIBUTION OF SCHOOL LUNCH TO DAILY ENERGY, FAT, FRUIT, JUICE, VEGETABLE AND BEVERAGE CONSUMPTION OF 7th AND 8th GRADE STUDENTS

CONTRIBUTION OF SCHOOL LUNCH TO DAILY ENERGY, FAT, FRUIT, JUICE, VEGETABLE AND BEVERAGE CONSUMPTION OF 7th AND 8th GRADE STUDENTS

Journal of the American Dietetic Association Online more fruits (65% vs. 51%, p...

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Journal of the American Dietetic Association Online

more fruits (65% vs. 51%, p<0.001) and 3 or more vegetables per day (36% vs. 24%, p= 0.001). Children who correctly identified low-fat foods were more likely to choose low-fat foods for a snack (13% vs. 3%, p<0.001). In schools completing post-intervention surveys, students were more likely to report eating 2 or more fruits per day (57% vs. 52%, p = 0.02), to know the 5-a-day recommendation (22% vs. 17%, p=0.005), and to correctly identify low fat foods (14% vs. 10%, p=0.01). While most children failed to meet nutritional guidelines and had poor nutrition knowledge, those who answered nutrition questions correctly were more likely to report healthier eating habits. Children reported modest improvements in nutrition knowledge and intake following a school-based nutrition and activity program. TITLE: CONTRIBUTION OF SCHOOL LUNCH TO DAILY ENERGY, FAT, FRUIT, JUICE, VEGETABLE AND BEVERAGE CONSUMPTION OF 7TH AND 8TH GRADE STUDENTS AUTHOR(S): V.J. Thompson, MS, K.W. Cullen, DrPH, RD, Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX LEARNING OUTCOME: To determine the contribution of school lunch to daily consumption of energy, fat, fruit, juice, vegetable and beverages of low-income 7th and 8th grade students. TEXT: National School Lunch Program (NSLP) meals are designed to meet the Dietary Guidelines and supply fruit (F), juice (J), vegetables (V) & milk for school children. Little is known about the contribution of NSLP meals to children's energy, fat, F, V, milk, and other beverage consumption. Up to six days of food records were collected from 102 7th and 8th grade students (47% African-American, 40% Hispanic, 10% White, 2% Asian; 43% boys; 50% 85th percentile for weight) attending two lowincome Houston area middle schools. The majority of the students were eligible for free/reduced price meals, and all students had access to snack bars and vending machines during lunch. Mean consumption was computed using NDS and hand coding. Mean daily consumption was 1798 kilocalories (kcal) and 38% of kcal from fat. School lunch meals contributed 607 kcal (34% of daily intake) and 40% of kcal from fat. Only 16% (n=17) of students reported consuming any fruit and 23% (n=23) reported consuming regular V (i.e., no French fries) at school. Students' daily mean consumption of F and regular V was 0.16 serving and 0.66 serving, respectively. School lunch consumption provided 0.10 F serving (63%) and 0.02 regular V serving (21%) of their daily mean consumption. Student mean daily juice consumption was 2 oz. and sweetened beverage consumption was 16 oz, with school lunch providing 5% of daily juice consumption and 32% of sweetened beverage consumption. Daily milk consumption was 6.5 oz with school lunch providing 37% (2.44 oz). The lunch consumption at school of these 7th and 8th grade students did not meet the NSLP guidelines. Intervention Strategies should be developed to enable 7th and 8th grade students to make healthy food choices at school. TITLE: SALES OF SOME COMPETITIVE FOODS AT MIDDLE SCHOOLS DIFFER BY SCHOOL ETHNICITY AUTHOR(S): C. Norwood, RD; K. Cullen, PhD, RD, Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

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