ABSTRACT
The object of this study was to determine whether students attending schools with self-service salad bars consume a greater amount of fruits and vegetables compared with students using preportioned servings and to evaluate the relationship between number of items offered and fruit and vegetable consumption. Two hundred ninety-four students in first through fifth grade were randomly selected from two schools with salad bars and two with preportioned servings. Weights of fruit and vegetable items were measured pre- and postconsumption and interobserver agreement +/-1 g was > or =95%. Presence of a salad bar was not associated with greater fruit and vegetable consumption. Fruit and vegetable consumption was positively related to the number of fruit and vegetable items offered at salad bars (P < .05), adjusting for sex and grade. Fruit and vegetable variety was associated with elementary school-age children's fruit and vegetable consumption when using salad bars.
Subject(s)
Food Preferences/psychology , Food Services/statistics & numerical data , Fruit , Students/statistics & numerical data , Vegetables , Analysis of Variance , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Diet Surveys , Feeding Behavior , Female , Humans , Male , SchoolsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The current study uses an ecological approach to describe the food environment at 24 middle schools and multiple food sources' dietary fat contribution. METHODS: Five consecutive days were sampled for collection of school meals, a la carte, and student store data. Bag lunch contents were observed on 3 days. Measurement included grams of saturated and total fat plus sales or participation data. RESULTS: Average total fat grams per meal were 21 g (SD = 2) for bag lunches, 14 g (SD = 5) for Type A breakfast, and 31 g (SD = 8) for Type A lunches. Average fat grams per item were 13 g (SD = 3) for a la carte and 6 g (SD = 2) for student stores. Students purchased or brought to school a mean of 26 g (SD = 3) of total and 8 g (SD = 1) of saturated fat. Contributions to total fat grams were 42% by Type A lunches, 27% by a la carte foods, 25% by bag lunches, 3% by Type A breakfast, and 2% by student stores. Findings for saturated fat were similar. CONCLUSIONS: Middle school students eat excessive amounts of fat at school, and multiple sources of food must be considered to understand the school food environment.
Subject(s)
Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Dietary Fats/administration & dosage , Food Preferences , Schools , Adolescent , California , Child , Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Data Collection , HumansSubject(s)
Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Food Services/standards , Health Promotion/organization & administration , Schools/organization & administration , Adolescent , Child , Dietary Fats/administration & dosage , Environment , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Food Services/economics , Humans , Male , Menu Planning , RestaurantsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Limited documentation exists on nutritional characteristics of bag lunches, although about 30% of adolescents take them. This study describes: (a) the prevalence of different types of foods in bag lunches, (b) the number of kilocalories, percentage of kilocalories from fat, amount of total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sugar, and (c) the differences related to gender and grade. METHODS: In 24 middle schools, observations were made on 1,381 bag lunches (about 58 per school) during one semester. RESULTS: The most common bag lunch components were beverages and sandwiches. Fruits were more common than vegetables; non-chip snacks and chips were more common than cookies, candy, and cakes/pies. Bag lunches averaged 596.2 kcal (29.7% from fat), 20.8 g of total fat, 6.2 g of saturated fat, 32.6 mg of cholesterol, and 21.3 g of sugar. Boys' bag lunches had significantly more kilocalories, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and percentage of energy from fat than girls' lunches. Significant grade differences were found only for total fat and cholesterol, with seventh graders bringing more than sixth graders. CONCLUSION: More research on the nutritional quality of foods brought to school in bag lunches is important for gaining a better understanding about how to improve students' nutrition.