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Nutritional value of US school lunches improves significantly
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The proportion of schools in the United States that serves healthy school lunches increased significantly between 2006 and 2014, while the amount with unhealthy offerings decreased, according to a recent study in Preventing Chronic Disease.
“This study examined changes in lunches at nationally representative samples of U.S. public elementary schools from 2006-2007 to 2013-2014,” Lindsey Turner, PhD, a research associate professor, and director of the Initiative for Healthy Schools in the College of Education at Boise State University, and colleagues wrote. “Of particular interest were changes over time; disparities by region, locale, and student demographics; and the extent to which disparities persisted in 2013-2014.”
The researchers gathered school lunch characteristics from 4,630 elementary schools using data from the Food and Fitness annual cross-sectional survey. Information on schoolwide practices and policies was gathered from principals, while food and beverage data were gathered from food service professionals. Food and beverage data included information on the availability of vegetables, fresh fruit, salad bars and whole grains. Student demographic characteristics were gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Study results showed the overall availability of healthier foods increased, while the overall availability of unhealthy foods declined. Schools with vegetable availability increased from 75% during the 2007-2008 school year to 85.5% in 2013-2014 (P < .001). Over the study period, the proportion of schools offering fresh fruits increased from 60.9% to 81.6% (P < .001), and student access to salad bars increased from 16.4% to 31.5% (P < .001). Results also showed that whole grain availability grew from 14.6% of schools to 48.6% (P < .001). The percentage of schools that offered healthier pizza options also increased from 64.1% during the 2010-2011 school year to 88.1% in 2013-2014 (P < .001).
The researchers also determined that the proportion of schools that offered fattier milk options decreased from 78.3% to 29% (P < .001), while french fry availability fell from 73.5% to 53.1% (P < .001).
Turner and colleagues wrote that disparities between school meal offerings remained evident in their findings. Majority black and majority Latino schools were significantly less likely to offer fresh fruit when compared with predominantly white schools. Results also showed that schools with low socioeconomic status were less likely to serve salads than schools with higher socioeconomic status.
“At many schools, there is still room for improvement in providing healthful foods regularly,” Turner and colleagues wrote. “Supporting the implementation of salad bars in socioeconomically disadvantaged schools may be a key strategy for increasing access to healthful options for all students.” – by David Costill
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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