Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools Leading the Way Toward Healthier Youth (2007) / Chapter Skim
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Although food choices and eating habits derive from many sources, school environments can have a significant influence on children's diets and play an important role in teaching and modeling appropriate health behaviors. In addition to providing meals through federally reimbursable school nutrition programs, schools have become venues for "competitive" foods and beverages, those that compete with the traditional school lunch as a nutrition source.
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of school foods and beverages, including recent work by the Government Accountability Office, as appropriate; • synthesize lessons learned from relevant research, development of federal nutrition standards for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, and experience from the development of state- and local-based standards for foods and beverages offered outside federally reimbursable meals and snacks; • consider whether a single set of nutrition standards is appropriate for elementary, middle, and high schools, or if more than one set is needed; • develop nutrition standards based on nutritional science for foods and beverages, other than federally reimbursable meals and snacks, offered in school; • consider how to ensure that foods and beverages offered in schools contribute to an overall healthful eating environment; and • develop benchmarks to guide future evaluation studies of the application of the standards. APPROACH TO DEVELOPING NUTRITION STANDARDS To initiate the study process, the committee developed a set of guiding principles to support the creation of a healthful eating environment for children in U.S.
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with consideration given to the developmental differences between children in elementary, middle, and high schools. The committee systematically organized foods and beverages offered separately from federally reimbursable school nutrition programs into two tiers according to the extent of their consistency with the DGA.
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These standards have two major objectives: first, to encourage children to consume foods and beverages that are healthful -- fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nonfat or low-fat dairy products -- and second, wherever possible in all competitive foods and beverages offered at schools, to limit food components that are either not healthful when consumed at levels exceeding the DGA or fall outside DGA recommendations. Standards that contain specified ranges for fats, energy, added sugars, and sodium are the committee's best judgment based on its interpretation of limited available evidence.
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• Less than 10 percent of total calories from saturated fats • Zero trans fat (≤ 0.5 g per portion) • 35 percent or less of calories from total sugars • Sodium content of 200 mg or less per portion as packaged
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Dairy product exception Dietary intake of calcium-rich foods and beverages is very important throughout the school years, but many of the dairy products popular among school-age children that can make a positive contribution contain added sugars in excess of the recommended limit set by the committee. To avoid elimination of these dairy products due to sugar content, the committee made an exception to the recommended limit on added sugars.
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Research evidence in adult subjects strongly supports a correlation between higher salt intake and increased blood pressure, although associations in children and adolescents are not as well documented. The exception to the sodium recommendation for federally reimbursable school meal entrée items purchased à la carte reflects the fact that they generally represent greater energy value than the recommended limit for snacks (Standard 3 above)
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In considering nonnutritive sweeteners in competitive foods and beverages for school-age children, four related issues were evaluated: safety; displacement effect on intake of other foods and beverages to be encouraged (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nonfat or low-fat dairy products) ; efficacy for maintenance of healthy weight; and the role of choice and necessity.
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Efficacy Based on the principle of energy balance, nonnutritive sweeteners in foods might provide a tool for weight management; however, studies to test this in children are not conclusive and the complexities of the relationship between nonnutritive sweeteners and appetite have not been studied in this age group. Choice and necessity Although nonnutritive sweeteners may increase palatability, thereby increasing consumption of healthful foods, the potential increase in consumption may not be sufficient justification to include them in foods.
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Thus it is appropriate to make them available as competitive foods during the school day. Evidence supports the use of Tier 1 foods and beverages to increase consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nonfat and low-fat dairy products by school-age children, and to reinforce innovation by industry to create products more consistent with the DGA, thereby increasing healthful competitive food choices for school-age children.
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Establishing an emotional connection between food and acomplishment encourages poor eating habits, and in the committee's judgment should not be allowed. Standard 11: Minimize marketing of Tier 2 snacks, foods, and beverages in the high school setting by • locating Tier 2 food and beverage distribution in low student traffic areas; and • ensuring that the exteriors of vending machines do not depict commercial products or logos or suggest that consumption of vended items conveys a health or social benefit.
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The committee urges that when foods and beverages are used for such activities they be limited to items that meet Tier 1 and Tier 2 standards. IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDED STANDARDS The recommended nutrition standards are among several elements of a school policy that could significantly improve the nutritional quality of foods offered in schools.
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• Improved nutrient composition of children's diets • performance-based guidelines and technical and financial support to schools or school districts, as needed. Implementing the recommended nutrition standards for competitive foods and beverages offered in schools will require policy changes.
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In order for school foodservice operators to identify and evaluate foods and beverages that meet specified standards, detailed product information must be provided by manufacturers. CONCLUDING REMARKS The federally reimbursable school nutrition programs are traditionally an important means to ensure that students have access to fruits, vegetables, whole-grain-based foods, and nonfat and low-fat dairy products during the school day.
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