School meals are the healthiest foods children eat, the study found

The researchers analyzed the diets of more than 21,000 children and 40,000 adults between 2003 and 2018 and found that the percentage of “poor nutritional quality foods consumed in schools” decreased from 55% to 24% over 15 years, according to a study published Monday in the JAMA Network Open.

Nutrition quality was measured using several scales, inclusive U.S. Department of Agriculture Health Nutrition Index, which evaluates a person’s diet using nine adequacy components (whole fruits, whole fruits, whole vegetables, greens or beans, whole grains, dairy, whole protein foods, seafood, or protein Vegetable and fatty acids) and four moderating components (refined grains, sodium, added sugars and saturated fats).

The act set new nutritional standards for school meals to provide children with access to healthy meals, according to the USDA. Some of the standards include providing students with fruits and vegetables every day and limiting the number of calories served depending on the age of the children.

“It shows you how a single policy adopted by Congress can dramatically improve the nutrition of millions of children,” Mozaffarian said.

In the results, the researchers also found that the increase in healthy eating in schools affected all ethnicities included in the study equally.

Most of the calories come from the grocery store

However, Mozaffarian noted, only 9% of the calories consumed by children come from schools. For adults and children, about two-thirds of the food consumed comes from the grocery store.

During the 15-year study, the amount of unhealthy food consumed by the grocery store by children decreased from 53% to 45%. For adults, the decrease was from 40% to 32%.

Mozaffarian said he sees grocery stores as “the biggest opportunity to improve the quality of the diet,” because most of the calories people consume are purchased in these units.

One solution would be true cost accounting, he said, which is the price of food based on societal costs, including human health costs.

“Foods that actually make people healthier should cost less and be more readily available,” Mozaffarian said. “Foods that make people sick and also affect the environment should be more expensive.”

When parents do not bring processed food into the home, it is a lesser opportunity for children to eat it, said Marion Nestle, professor emeritus Paulette Goddard for nutrition, food and public health at New York University, who was not involved in the study. .

Another strategy to reduce the amount of unhealthy food children eat in the grocery store is to stop companies from advertising unhealthy foods to children, Nestle said.

She said the children were brainwashed and thought they should eat “baby food”, such as cereals and fast food marketed for children. But in reality, Nestle said, there is no “baby food.”

Nestle continued: “Children should eat exactly what their parents do. And their parents should eat as healthy as they can, so there is no need to buy special baby food. ”

In addition, she recommended that grocery stores place healthier foods in locations that are first-class real estate, such as final aisles and shelves that are at eye level for adults and children.

“There’s no reason why kids shouldn’t appreciate healthy foods,” Nestle said, noting that nutritious foods at school and at home can be delicious.