Abstract
Widely adopted nutrition policies for afterschool programs (ASPs) focus on serving a fruit/vegetable daily and eliminating sugar-sweetened foods/beverages. The impact of these policies on the nutrient profile of snacks served is unclear. Evaluate changes in macro/micronutrient content of snacks served in ASPs. A 1-year group randomized controlled trial was conducted in 20 ASPs serving over 1700 elementary-age children. Intervention ASPs received a multistep adaptive framework intervention. Direct observation of snack served was collected and nutrient information determined using the USDA Nutrient Database, standardized to nutrients/100 kcal. By post-assessment, intervention ASPs reduced total kcal/snack served by 66 kcal (95CI −114 to −19 kcal) compared to control ASPs. Total fiber (+1.7 g/100 kcal), protein (+1.4 g/100 kcal), polyunsaturated fat (+1.2 g/100 kcal), phosphorous (+49.0 mg/100 kcal), potassium (+201.8 mg/100 kcal), and vitamin K (+21.5 μg/100 kcal) increased in intervention ASPs, while added sugars decreased (−5.0 g/100 kcal). Nutrition policies can lead to modest daily caloric reductions and improve select macro/micronutrients in snacks served. Long-term, these nutritional changes may contribute to healthy dietary habits.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 329-338 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Translational behavioral medicine |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1 2016 |
Keywords
- Children
- Community-based programs
- Dips
- Food
- Fruits
- Nutrition
- Obesity
- Policy
- School
- Standards
- Vegetables
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Applied Psychology
- Behavioral Neuroscience