Investigating the historic long-term population health impact of the US National School Lunch Program.

OBJECTIVE: The present research aimed to compare historic participation in the US National School Lunch Program (NSLP) during childhood and subsequent prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults at the population level. DESIGN: Regression models examined cross-sectional, state- and age-based panel data constructed from multiple sources, including the Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System, US Congressional Record, US Census and the US Department of Agriculture. Models controlled for cohorts' racial/ethnic composition and state poverty rates. SUBJECTS: Adult-age cohorts (18-34, 35-49, 50-64 and 18-64 years) by US state over a 25-year period (1984-2008). SETTING: The cohorts' prevalence of overweight and obesity was compared with the cohorts' estimated NSLP participation during schooling (1925-2007; the NSLP began in 1946). RESULTS: Among adults aged 18-64 years, a one percentage-point increase in estimated NSLP participation during schooling between 1925 and 2007 was significantly associated with a 0·29 percentage-point increase in the cohort's later prevalence of overweight and obesity. Analysis of narrower age cohorts and different schooling periods produced mixed results. CONCLUSIONS: The NSLP might have influenced population health historically. Longitudinal analysis of individuals from studies now underway will likely facilitate more robust conclusions about the NSLP's long-term health impact based on more recent experiences.

Racialized customer service in restaurants: a quantitative assessment of the statistical discrimination explanatory framework.

Despite popular claims that racism and discrimination are no longer salient issues in contemporary society, racial minorities continue to experience disparate treatment in everyday public interactions. The context of full-service restaurants is one such public setting wherein racial minority patrons, African Americans in particular, encounter racial prejudices and discriminate treatment. To further understand the causes of such discriminate treatment within the restaurant context, this article analyzes primary survey data derived from a community sample of servers (N = 200) to assess the explanatory power of one posited explanation­statistical discrimination. Taken as a whole, findings suggest that while a statistical discrimination framework toward understanding variability in servers' discriminatory behaviors should not be disregarded, the framework's explanatory utility is limited. Servers' inferences about the potential profitability of waiting on customers across racial groups explain little of the overall variation in subjects' self-reported discriminatory behaviors, thus suggesting that other factors not explored in this research are clearly operating and should be the focus of future inquires.

Reading, writing, and obesity: America's failing grade in school nutrition and physical education.

The childhood obesity epidemic has left healthcare professionals and laymen alike questioning the best strategy to improve children's health in the future. To effectively combat childhood obesity, we must have a thorough understanding of the establishment and development of programs currently responsible for pediatric health. This article explores the history of two influential programs affecting children's diet and physical activity levels in schools: the National School Lunch Program and physical education classes. It is revealed that the National School Lunch Program contributes to the overall school nutrition environment, including the presence of fast food and vending machines on campuses. The history of physical education is traced back to ancient Greece, and it is shown that the familiar sports-based curriculum is an advent of the 19th century, with the roots of physical education originating from the founders of preventive medicine. Select childhood obesity and health intervention studies are reviewed with a focus on identifying notable features pertaining to the effectiveness of these programs. Future directions and recommendations, based on the history of these programs as well as evidence from current pediatric health studies, outlining the basis for a modernized health-based physical education curriculum designed to address today's public health concerns, are further discussed.

Evolution of food provision to athletes at the summer Olympic Games.

The history of food provision at the summer Olympic Games (OG) over the past century (1896-2008) provides insight into the evolution of sports nutrition research and the dietary strategies of athletes. Early research favoring protein as the main fuel for exercise was reflected in OG menus from 1932 to 1968. Despite conclusive research from the 1960s demonstrating the clear benefit of carbohydrate on exercise performance, a specific emphasis on carbohydrate-rich foods was not noted until the 1970s. Athlete food preferences and catering complexity evolved rapidly between 1970 and 2000, driven predominantly by a dramatic expansion of the OG and the emergence of systematic sports nutrition research. Nutritional advice by experts and sponsorship by food companies became increasingly important beginning with the 1984 Los Angeles OG. More recent developments include nutritional labeling of menu items and provision of a nutrition information desk (Barcelona 1992), demand for a "high-starch, low-fat menu" (Atlanta 1996), the addition of a dedicated menu website and the systematic gathering of information on athletes' apparent consumption (Sydney 2000), and appointment of the first international dietetic review committee (Beijing 2008). The history of catering at the OG tracks the evolution of sports nutrition practice from anecdotes and myth towards an established specialty in nutrition and dietetics grounded in evidence-based science.

A history and review of school meal standards in the UK.

This review details the history of school meals in the UK, from their origin in the mid-19th Century, to the present day, and provides a summary of how each country has independently developed its own food and or nutrient-based standards for school meals. The standards in place in the UK are amongst some of the most detailed and comprehensive in the world. Regular monitoring to ensure that these standards are being met and that schools are improving healthy eating is essential to their success. Of no lesser importance are assessments to determine whether changes to school meals are having an impact on the diets of school children. It is early days in terms of evaluation because food-based standards have only recently been introduced and nutrient-based standards are in the process of being developed and implemented. Studies in England provide some evidence that the re-introduction of standards for school food is having a positive impact on both pupil's food choices and the nutritional profile of school lunches. At present, there does not appear to be a pattern between current obesity levels and the types of school meals provided, although it is anticipated that, in the long term, these comprehensive standards may contribute to a less obesogenic environment.

Lessons from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS): implications for infection control.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the first global epidemic in the 21st century, affected over 8500 people in approximately 30 countries . With a crude mortality of 9%, its cause was quickly identified as a novel coronavirus that jumped species from animals to man. The SARS coronavirus epidemic, which began in the Fall of 2002, was related to the exotic food industry in southern China, initially involving disproportionate numbers of animal handlers, chefs, and caterers. Subsequently, person-to-person transmission spawned the outbreak. What distinguished this illness clinically was the fact that approximately half of the victims were health care workers , infected while caring for recognized or unrecognized patients with SARS. There are many curiosities and uncertainties surrounding the epidemic of SARS with lessons that may be useful to the community of infectious diseases physicians, especially when looking ahead to the next epidemic. Herein we relate our perspectives on useful lessons derived from a review of the SARS epidemic.