304320
When and Where to Serve School Breakfast: Ensuring Students Are Well Nourished and Ready to Learn
METHODS: A diary-assisted 24-hour recall was collected during the 2011-12 school year from 3,944 4th-5th graders attending 43 elementary schools in California. School breakfast characteristics were obtained from school staff. Student dietary recalls were coded using the USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies database. Associations of school breakfast type with dietary intake were estimated using GEE.
RESULTS: Students served breakfast in the classroom were significantly less likely to skip breakfast and had a higher daily diet quality compared to students served breakfast in the cafeteria. When breakfast was served in the classroom, students were more likely to eat breakfast at school, rather than home, compared to when breakfast was served in the cafeteria. When breakfast was served in the classroom, more students consumed two breakfasts, but daily energy intake did not differ between groups.
DISCUSSION: Serving breakfast in the classroom may help elementary students decrease breakfast skipping and improve diet quality. Further examination of school breakfast policies and practices in relation to longer-term dietary intake and BMI change is recommended.
Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programsLearning Objectives:
Identify different types of school breakfast policies and practices and associated characteristics of each.
Discuss the potential effect of different breakfast policies and practices on caloric intake at breakfast and throughout the day for elementary school children.
Compare the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores and sub-scores associated with different breakfast policies and practices.
Keyword(s): Nutrition, Obesity
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the principal or co-principal of multiple grants focusing on children and dietary quality in schools. I have been responsible for the direction and leadership of this study, which focuses on dietary intake during school breakfast.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.