Availability of Foods in High Schools

Abstract

The national school meal programs are undergoing major changes. In 1994, Congress passed the Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act, which amended the 1966 National School Lunch Act ( (1) Manu B.K. Better Nutrition and Health for Children Act of 1994. Congressional Record. 1994; 140: S14438-S14456 Google Scholar ). The new legislation requires that meals served through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs comply with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans ( (2) Nutrition and your health. 3rd ed. US Depts of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, Washington, DC1990 Google Scholar ), beginning no later than the 1996 to 1997 school year ( (1) Manu B.K. Better Nutrition and Health for Children Act of 1994. Congressional Record. 1994; 140: S14438-S14456 Google Scholar ). The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed rules that outline regulations for improving the nutritional standards of school feeding programs ( (3) Manu B.K. National school lunch program and school breakfast program nutrition objectives for school meals (7 CFR 210, 220). Federal Register. 1994; 59: 30218-30251 Google Scholar ) and implementing the requirements for food-based menu systems ( (4) National school lunch program and school breakfast program. Food and Consumer Service, US Dept of Agriculture, Washington, DC1995 Google Scholar ). The impetus behind the new legislation and the USDA proposed rules is that national studies consistently show that diets of American children, including meals served in schools, do not conform to the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines. For example, data from the 1987-88 USDA Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals found that fat constituted, on average, 35% of energy in the diets of children aged 6 to 19 years ( (5) Wright H.S. Gutherie H.A. Wang M.W. Bernardo V. The 1987-88 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey an update on the nutrient intake of respondents. Nutr Today. 1991; 26: 21-27 Google Scholar ). Also, findings from the USDA School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study ( (6) Burghardt J. Devaney B. The School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study Summary of Findings. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc, Princeton, NJ1993 Google Scholar ) showed that student lunches exceeded the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for intake of fat and saturated fat. Accumulating scientific research on the relationship between diet and chronic disease risk and the childhood origins of those diseases ( (7) Food and nutrition board. National Research Council committee on Diet and Health Diet and HealthI. National Academy Press, Washington, DC1989 Google Scholar , (8) The surgeon general's report on nutrition and health. US Dept of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC1988 Google Scholar , (9) National cholesterol education program. Report of the expert panel on blood cholesterol levels in children and adolescents. US Dept of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC1991 Google Scholar ) has focused national attention on the need to improve children's diets and the need for primary prevention of chronic diseases in adulthood.