Added Sugars in School Meals and the Diets of School-Age Children.

Research is limited on added sugars in school meals and children's dietary intakes after the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommended that added sugars be limited to less than 10% of total calories. This analysis uses data from the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) to examine levels of added sugars in: (1) school meals and (2) children's dietary intakes at breakfast, lunch, and over 24 h on school days. SNMCS data were collected in the 2014-2015 school year after updated nutrition standards for school meals were implemented.

Adolescent Participants in the School Lunch Program Consume More Nutritious Lunches but Their 24-hour Diets Are Similar to Nonparticipants.

Purpose: Meals offered through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) give students access to nutritious foods and have been found to make positive contributions to their diets. Consuming a healthy diet during adolescence is important to ensure that increased requirements for energy and key nutrients are met and to decrease the risk of chronic diseases. This analysis examined whether adolescent NSLP participants consumed more nutritious foods at lunch and over 24 hours than adolescents who ate lunch from home or other places.

Differences in Diet Quality between School Lunch Participants and Nonparticipants in the United States by Income and Race.

Prior research has shown that participation in the United States' National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is associated with consuming higher-quality lunches and diets overall, but little is known about differences by income and race/ethnicity. This analysis used 24 h dietary recall data from the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study to examine how NSLP participation affects the diet quality of students in different income and racial/ethnic subgroups. Diet quality at lunch and over 24 h was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2010, where higher scores indicate higher-quality intakes.

Updated Nutrition Standards Have Significantly Improved the Nutritional Quality of School Lunches and Breakfasts.

Background: Implementation of updated nutrition standards for school meals began during school year (SY) 2012-2013. The standards were designed to improve the nutritional quality of the meals and their consistency with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Objective: To assess the nutritional quality of school lunches and breakfasts after the updated standards were in place and compare it with the nutritional quality of the meals before the updated standards.