Poor nutritional status is a primary concern for people with disabilities. Inadequate diets can contribute to and hasten the development of degenerative diseases and delay recovery from illnesses. Individuals who have disabilities are more at risk for malnutrition, as their disability may affect food intake and nutrient requirements. Because of…

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to provide baseline data and characteristics of food served and consumed prior to the recently mandated nutrition standards as authorized by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA). Methods: Over 600,000 school lunch menus with associated food production records from 61 elementary schools…

Background: Population health concerns related to physical inactivity and obesity appear in policy documents, government campaigns and popular media across western societies. Children and young people have been targeted for physical activity promotion and schools have been positioned as sites for intervention. In particular, Physical Education and…

Theories of eating regulation often attribute overweight to a malfunction of homeostatic regulation of body weight. With the goal conflict model of eating, we present a new perspective that attributes the difficulty of chronic dieters (i.e., restrained eaters) in regulating their food intake to a conflict between 2 incompatible goals--namely,…

Objectives: This teaching idea enables students to (1) access and analyze fast food nutrition facts information (Calorie, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sugar, and sodium content); (2) decipher unhealthy and healthier food choices from fast food restaurant menus for better meal and diet planning to reduce obesity and minimize…

Over 50 million children attend public elementary and secondary schools in the United States each day. Children spend a substantial portion of their waking hours in school and consume one-third to one-half of their daily calories there, making schools a promising site to influence dietary quality and potentially the risk of childhood obesity.…

Objective: To examine the association between income and the consumption of fruits and vegetables using the poverty income ratio (PIR). Design: Association between PIR and intake of fruits and vegetables combined. The PIR was divided into 5 groups ranging from less than poverty threshold (PT) to greater than or equal to 400% PT. Participants:…

Purpose/Objectives: Recent US Department of Agriculture regulations increased the amount and variety of vegetables required for school lunches. Vegetables are the most wasted components of lunch while entrées are selected and consumed by the majority of children. This study examined how adding vegetable purée to an elementary school lunch entrée…

Eating behaviours begin to develop during early childhood, but relatively little is known about preschoolers' nutrition knowledge. The current study examined age and gender differences in this knowledge using two tasks: food group classification and the creation of unhealthy, healthy and preferred meals. Sixty-nine three- to six-year-old children…

College students are a generally healthy lot. But as they grow heavier each year, reflecting the national rise in obesity rates, campus officials are trying to promote healthier habits--and, they hope, mitigate the impact of a sobering trend. More than one-third of college students have a body-mass index, the main measurement for obesity, that…

Currently patient education programs and urology practices provide individuals with "lists of foods to avoid" for dietary management of kidney stones. However, "planned diets" that include daily meal plans and recipes provide structure and specificity for diet management and are preferred by many individuals. This article describes the development…

Background. High overweight and obesity prevalence has instigated many programs to improve children's health. Farm to School (F2S) is a grassroots-organized program that seeks to improve children's dietary habits, especially fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption, through various educational activities. Long-term goals include reducing obesity…

Objective: To compare dietary knowledge, behaviors and self-efficacy of black middle school students of low socioeconomic status with their white counterparts of higher socioeconomic status. Design: Cross-sectional, school-based survey. Setting: Large metropolitan area in the United States. Participants: Middle school students (1,208 of low…

Background: Consumption of fruits and vegetables is often recommended to promote healthy weight. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between fruit and vegetable intake and common weight management behaviors among US high school students who were trying to lose or stay the same weight. Methods: Data from the 1999, 2001, and 2003…

We used data from the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment III Study to examine the dietary patterns of school meal program participants and nonparticipants and the relationship between school meal participation and children's BMI and risk of overweight or obesity. School Breakfast Program (SBP) participants consumed more low nutrient energy dense…