Strategies are needed to improve the dietary habits of children. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of implementing a school food programme on the dietary quality of lunches consumed by school children aged 7-13 years compared with packed lunches brought from home. A secondary objective was to investigate if a possible effect would differ between the younger children and the older. A quasi-experimental study design with four intervention schools and four matched control schools was conducted. In total, 984 school children participated. Data on packed lunches were collected at baseline. At the 1st follow-up the children in the intervention schools were offered free school meals and at the 2nd follow-up children paid for their school meals. The control group had packed lunches at all measurements. A digital photographic method combined with a Meal Index of dietary Quality (Meal IQ) was used for dietary assessment. Multilevel modelling was employed for data analyses. The quality of dietary intake was improved when free school meals were offered ( = 0·004); if the school meals were paid for the use was limited and no difference in change in dietary quality was found ( = 0·343). The school food programme had no difference in effect according to age ( = 0·083). In conclusion, offering a free school meal had a positive effect on dietary quality of the lunches consumed by school children aged 7-13 years. No effect was measured when the school meals were not provided for free. The dietary effect did not depend on age.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6360196 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/jns.2018.29 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Acute effect of a Mediterranean-style dietary pattern (MDP) on mood, anxiety and cognition in UK adults with mild to moderate anxiety and depression: the MediMood randomised controlled trial protocol.
BMJ Open
December 2024
Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
Introduction: Psychological disorders including depression and anxiety are significant public health concerns. A Mediterranean-style dietary pattern (MDP) has been associated with improved mental well-being in observational studies. Evidence of the acute (defined as postprandial to 1 week) effects of an MDP on brain function, mood, cognition and important modulators, including sleep and the gut microbiota is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood needs and health behaviors in the COVID-19 situation: a case study of quarantined communities in densely populated areas of Bangkok, Thailand.
J Health Popul Nutr
January 2025
Department of General Education, Faculty of Sciences and Health Technology, Navamindradhiraj University, 3 Khao Rd. Vajirapayaban Dusit, Bangkok, 10300, Thailand.
Background: The Thai government's initial response to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) led to confusion and food insecurity in quarantined low-income communities. Although free food programs were initiated, no official assessment of their impact exists. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of these food programs by surveying the food requirements, food needs, and health behaviors of quarantined, densely populated communities in Bangkok.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHow can consumer science help the foodservice industry replace meat? A critical review.
Appetite
January 2025
Örebro University, School of Hospitality and Meal Science.
In the pursuit of more sustainable diets, researchers have been studying ways to promote a transition from animal- to plant-based meals in foodservice contexts by influencing participants' conscious choices through names, labels, claims, and information. This critical review found that these interventions usually mobilize only those already engaged in reducing the consumption of animal products and often only during the intervention period, failing to influence those who eat most meat or to create long-lasting effects. Analyzing the choice for vegetarian meals against meals with meat in recently published studies conducted in foodservice contexts, we argue that the transition to more sustainable diets should rely less on consumers' willpower and more on public policies and institutional measures that change the availability, price, and visibility of plant-based meals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSociodemographic and behavioral factors associated with diet quality among low-income community health center patients with hypertension.
PLoS One
January 2025
Division of General Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Objective: Identify the most important sociodemographic and behavioral factors related to the diet of low-income adults with hypertension in order to guide the development of a community health worker (CHW) healthy eating intervention for low-income populations with hypertension.
Design: In this cross-sectional analysis, dietary recalls were used to assess Healthy Eating Index-2020 (HEI-2020) total (range: 0 to 100 [best diet quality]) and component scores and sodium intake. Self-reported sociodemographic and behavioral data were entered into a Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression model to determine the relative importance of factors related to diet quality.
Parenting Practices and Well-Being and Health Behaviors Among Young Asian American Children.
JAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Buehler Center for Health Policy and Economics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois.
Importance: Literature suggests that well-being and health status differ by generational status among Asian American individuals.
Objective: To compare young children's well-being and health behaviors and their parents' parenting practices among families of second-generation Asian American, third- or later-generation Asian American, and third- or later-generation non-Hispanic White children in the US.
Design, Setting, And Participants: For this survey study, secondary data analysis was conducted from September 2, 2023, to June 19, 2024, using data from the 2018 to 2022 National Survey of Children's Health participants aged 6 months to 5 years.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!