Dataset Information

State laws governing school meals and disparities in fruit/vegetable intake.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Home access to fruits/vegetables (FV) is a consistent predictor of adolescent FV intake, but many adolescents face barriers to home access.

Purpose

To determine if state laws that require FV in school meals are positively associated with FV intake, particularly among students with limited home access to FV.

Methods

Student data on home food access and FV intake were obtained from the National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study (n=9574) and linked to state laws regarding FV requirements for school meals. All data were collected in 2010. Ordinary least-squares models were utilized in 2012 to estimate differences in intake between states with different FV laws, overall and by whether students had access to various foods at home (FV, unhealthy snacks). Models were weighted to account for the sample design and controlled for race, gender, age, fast-food intake, and school lunches consumed per week.

Results

The association between FV requirement laws and FV intake was strongest among students without regular home access to FV. Particularly among students who had home access to only unhealthy snacks and who regularly consumed school meals, mean FV intake was 0.45 and 0.61 cups/day higher, respectively (95% CIs=0.07, 0.84 and 0.21, 1.00), in states with FV requirements. Students with access to healthier foods at home tended to consume more FV, but such disparities in intake were smaller in states with FV laws.

Conclusions

Laws that require FV in school meals may improve FV intake, particularly among students with limited access to healthy foods at home.

SUBMITTER: Taber DR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3664760 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

State laws governing school meals and disparities in fruit/vegetable intake.

Taber Daniel R DR Chriqui Jamie F JF Chaloupka Frank J FJ

American journal of preventive medicine 20130401 4

<h4>Background</h4>Home access to fruits/vegetables (FV) is a consistent predictor of adolescent FV intake, but many adolescents face barriers to home access.<h4>Purpose</h4>To determine if state laws that require FV in school meals are positively associated with FV intake, particularly among students with limited home access to FV.<h4>Methods</h4>Student data on home food access and FV intake were obtained from the National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study (n=9574) and linked to stat ...[more]

PMID: 23498102

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Project description:This study assessed whether stronger school meal nutrition standards may improve student weight status. Results have immediate implications because of the ongoing implementation of new nutrition standards for the National School Lunch Program. OBJECTIVE To determine if state laws with stricter school meal nutrition standards are inversely associated with adolescent weight status, while controlling for unmeasured state-level confounders.Quasi-experiment.Public schools.Four thousand eight hundred seventy eighth-grade students in 40 states. Students were categorized by type of school lunch they usually obtained (free/reduced price, regular price, or none). INTERVENTIONS State laws governing school meal nutrition standards. States with standards that exceeded US Department of Agriculture (USDA) school meal standards were compared with states that did not exceed USDA standards. The parameter of interest was the interaction between state laws and student lunch participant status, ie, whether disparities in weight status between school lunch participants and nonparticipants were smaller in states with stricter standards.Body mass index percentile and obesity status.In states that exceeded USDA standards, the difference in obesity prevalence between students who obtained free/reduced-price lunches and students who did not obtain school lunches was 12.3 percentage points smaller (95% CI, -21.5 to -3.0) compared with states that did not exceed USDA standards. Likewise, differences in mean body mass index percentile between those student populations were 11 units smaller in states that exceeded USDA standards (95% CI, -17.7 to -4.3). There was little evidence that students compensated for school meal laws by purchasing more sweets, salty snacks, or sugar-sweetened beverages from other school venues (eg, vending machines) or other sources (eg, fast food).Stringent school meal standards that reflect the latest nutrition science may improve weight status among school lunch participants, particularly those eligible for free/reduced-price lunches.

Dataset Information

State laws governing school meals and disparities in fruit/vegetable intake.

Background

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

State laws governing school meals and disparities in fruit/vegetable intake.

Similar Datasets

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