The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in widespread school closures, reducing access to school meals for millions of students previously participating in the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National School Lunch Program (NSLP). School-prepared meals are, on average, more nutritious than home-prepared meals. In the absence of recent data measuring changes in children's diets during the pandemic, this article aims to provide conservative, back-of-the-envelope estimates of the nutritional impacts of the pandemic for school-aged children in the United States.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 2019, the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program served approximately 15 million breakfasts and 30 million lunches daily at low or no cost to students.Access to these meals has been disrupted as a result of long-term school closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially decreasing both student nutrient intake and household food security. By the week of March 23, 2020, all states had mandated statewide school closures as a result of the pandemic, and the number of weekly missed breakfasts and lunches served at school reached a peak of approximately 169.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In Spartanburg County, SC, nearly 33.7% of children are overweight or obese. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in eating behavior of youth by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Large chain restaurants reduced calories in their newly-introduced menu items from 2012 to 2015. The objective of this study was to provide updated calorie trends through 2018 and examine trends in the macronutrient composition of menu items across this time period.
Methods And Findings: Data were obtained from the MenuStat project and include 66 of the 100 largest revenue generating U.
Objective: To examine church leaders' views on the role of faith-based organizations in promoting healthy eating and physical activity in children.
Design: Qualitative research using semi-structured in-depth interviews.
Setting: South Carolina.
Background: Dietary self-monitoring (DSM) of foods and beverages is associated with weight loss in behavioral interventions; however, DSM may be burdensome, and adherence may decrease over time. Novel methods of DSM, including apps that track food using photographs, may decrease burden, increase DSM adherence, and improve weight loss.
Objective: The objective was to test a mobile photo DSM app compared to a calorie-tracking DSM app on tracking frequency and weight loss in a remotely delivered behavioral weight-loss intervention.
Background: Mobile dietary self-monitoring methods allow for objective assessment of adherence to self-monitoring; however, the best way to define self-monitoring adherence is not known.
Objective: The objective was to identify the best criteria for defining adherence to dietary self-monitoring with mobile devices when predicting weight loss.
Design: This was a secondary data analysis from two 6-month randomized trials: Dietary Intervention to Enhance Tracking with Mobile Devices (n=42 calorie tracking app or n=39 wearable Bite Counter device) and Self-Monitoring Assessment in Real Time (n=20 kcal tracking app or n=23 photo meal app).