Foods Served in Child Care Programs Participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Alignment with Program Meal Patterns.

Objective: Assess Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) program compliance with meal component requirements for children aged 3-5 years by program type, and describe foods and beverages most commonly served.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of 1-week menu surveys during winter/spring 2017.

Setting: US CACFP-participating child care programs.

Dietary Intakes of Children Enrolled in US Early Child-Care Programs During Child-Care and Non-Child-Care Days.

Background: Early-child-care (ECE) programs may substantially influence child diet quality.

Objective: The Study of Nutrition and Activity in Child Care Settings describes the usual food group intake of preschool-aged children attending ECE programs relative to Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommendations, comparing intakes during child-care and non-child-care days.

Design: Meal observations and parent-completed food diaries in a cross-sectional nationally representative multistage cluster sample of Child and Adult Care Food Program-participating ECE programs.

Child and parent perspectives on healthier side dishes and beverages in restaurant kids' meals: results from a national survey in the United States.

Background: Children frequently consume foods from restaurants; considering the quick-service sector alone, 1/3 of children eat food from these restaurants on a given day, and among these consumers, 1/3 of their daily calories come from fast food. Restaurant foods and beverages are second only to grocery store foods and beverages in their contribution to total energy intake of U.S.

Promoting healthier children's meals at quick-service and full-service restaurants: Results from a pilot and feasibility study.

High-calorie restaurant foods contribute to childhood overweight. Increased consumer demand for healthier kids' meals may motivate the restaurant industry to provide additional healthy options. This study pilot-tested a combination of four strategies (toy incentive, placemats, server prompts, signage) designed to increase demand for healthier kids' meals, which were defined as those eligible for the National Restaurant Association's Kids LiveWell program.

Healthier Children's Meals in Restaurants: An Exploratory Study to Inform Approaches That Are Acceptable Across Stakeholders.

Objective: Assess parents', children's, and restaurant executives' perspectives on children's meals in restaurants.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Parents and children completed predominantly quantitative surveys at 4 quick- and full-service restaurant locations.