Background: The relationship between fruit and vegetable (FV) exposure, preference, and consumption among children has been a targeted topic of study due to the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity. The purpose of this study was to examine FV home exposure in elementary children and the selection of both fruits and vegetables and less familiar lunch entrées at school. Design: Cross-sectional data on 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students (N=59) from an elementary school in central Texas. Methods: Home and school FV exposure was collected via self-report using a six-item questionnaire. Students were placed into high and low groups for 1) the variety of FV offered at home, and 2) the variety of FV eaten at home. Absolute and relative ratings of eight lunch entrées were collected through taste-tests conducted at school. Results: Differences in the consumption of FV at school and the selection of lunch entrées between high and low groups were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U independent non-parametric tests. Results indicated that the distribution of consumption at school differed across high and low groups for parental offering of FV for: oranges (z=2.16, p<0.05), cucumber (z=2.44, p<0.05), pineapple (z=3.41, p=0.001), mandarin oranges (z=2.93, p<0.01), tomato (z=3.14, p<0.01), and broccoli (z=3.26, p=0.001). The distribution of consumption at school across high and low groups for the eating FV at home was significant for 10 out of the 11 FV items: oranges (z=2.24, p<0.05), cucumber (z=2.64, p<0.01), pineapple (z=4.19, p<.001), mandarin oranges (z=3.06, p<0.01), tomatoes (z=3.47, p=0.001), bell pepper (z=2.25, p<0.05), broccoli (z=4.00, p<0.001), melon (z=3.06, p<0.01), apples (z=2.79, p<0.01), and zucchini (z=2.27, p<0.05) Likewise, significant differences between high and low groups for parental offering of FV were found for the selection of the chef salad (z=2.546, p<0.05), the Greek salad (z=2.091, p<0.05), and the veggie humus plate (z=2.104, p<0.05). Absolute and relative ratings of eight lunch entrées are also reported. Conclusions: Children who are more frequently exposed to FV at home consume a wider variety FV at school and are more likely to select healthy, less familiar entrées at school lunch. / text

The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare Indiana school menus, wellness policies, nutrient analyses, and demographics to the 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations to explore associations between school characteristics and achievement of the IOM recommendations for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The results of this study provide information and baseline data for school corporations. Results indicated that only 57% of school menus met the saturated fat recommendation, less than half met the trans fat recommendations and no school met the sodium recommendation. Intakes of fats and sodium were not significantly correlated with the variety or amount of fruits and vegetables served (p>0.05). The results suggest that past efforts to improve nutrient content of meals served through the NSLP have been successful. However, lunch menus should be targeted for additional assessment and intervention. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

Thesis, PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 313-334)

Obesity and overweight attributable deaths together are the second highest cause of death in the United States, according to the National Institute of Health. Obesity, diabetes, and heart disease also have an enormous economic cost to the American government and its citizens due to the rising cost of health care. The medical community agrees that preventive care, particularly diet, plays a crucial role in solving this health crisis. The Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 drastically changed the requirements of the National School Lunch Program in order to increase nutrition in school lunches. This thesis seeks to understand how improved health outcomes for children as well as adults. This paper analyzes previous research from the fields of Health and Behavioral Economics. It also conducts an empirical analysis of data from the California Health Interview Survey to understand the effects of the policy food on consumption of children and adults. Using theories from Behavioral Economics, the study hypothesizes that child and adult consumption of nutritious food increased following the implementation of this policy. The results of the empirical analysis do not entirely support the hypothesis that children’s and adult’s consumption of nutritious food increased. Food consumption is highly sensitive to a wide range of influences, and further empirical research accounting for these influences must be conducted to fully understand the potential benefits of public policy on health.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF EMILY ROMANOWSKI, for the Master's of Science degree in FOOD AND NUTRITION, presented on NOVEMBER 25, 2013, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: THE IMPACT OF TASTE TEST INTERVENTIONS ON THE REDUCTION OF VEGETABLE PLATE WASTE IN A RURAL MIDDLE SCHOOL SETTING MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Sylvia Smith BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity is on the rise in the United States and throughout the world. Studies have shown that reducing vegetable plate waste and increasing vegetable consumption in children can improve health outcomes. Studies have also suggested strategies to reduce the amount of plate waste that children produce during lunchtime. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a nutrition education and taste test intervention would reduce plate waste of select vegetables in a middle school setting. DESIGN: The study used an experimental design. The study took place at an elementary school in the rural Midwest during the third and fourth quarters of the 2012-2013 school year. Plate waste measurements were originally taken for four specific vegetable items: zucchini and tomatoes, refried beans, mixed greens and black bean salsa. After the original measurements, students enrolled in a Family Consumer Sciences class during the third quarter participated in an intervention that involved nutrition education and tasting the specific vegetables. During the fourth quarter, plate waste measurements were taken again to determine if the nutrition education with taste tests helped to decrease the amount of plate waste produced by the students. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The independent variable being tested was participation in the taste tests with nutrition education intervention. The dependent variable being studied was the amount of vegetable based plate waste from Carbondale Middle School students. STATISTIAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Independent t-tests were used to determine statistical differences in the amount of plate waste pre- and post-intervention. The survey given after the taste test was assessed using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test to determine if one vegetable item was liked more than another. RESULTS: Results showed that the implemented nutrition intervention was not effective in reducing the amount of plate waste. There was a significant difference, however, in the opinions given by the students regarding the vegetables served (p=<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings are important in the implementation of new National School Lunch Program recommendations for vegetables and can provide insight on how to increase the amount of vegetables that students eat during school. This study can add to current research regarding plate waste, vegetable consumption, and strategies to increase healthful foods in children's diets.

The problem involved in this thesis is to examine the organization, administration, and equipment of the school kitchens, and point out certain educational values derived from such a project.

The purpose of this study is to determine the plate waste from the type "A" lunch served to the children in the Collinsville School Lunchroom during the school year of 1947-1948.

In this study it is proposed to survey ten selected school lunch programs in Bryan County, Oklahoma, in order to determine a sound procedure for the operation of a successful school lunch program. the increasing knowledge of nutrition as an element in the scholastic progress of children is a factor that the school administrator must consider.

Orientadora : Maria Amelia Chaib Moraes / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos e Agricola / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-15T16:16:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vieira_IsabelCristina_M.pdf: 24099049 bytes, checksum: 47713dbfb467d2b5aa18fc283023fc26 (MD5) Previous issue date: 1981 / Resumo: A Merenda Escolar tem despertado crescente interesse na medida que sua importância e alcance vem sendo compreendidos. Sendo um instrumento capaz de atingir a crianças de todas as idades, de todos os níveis econômicos, em todos os pontos do país, passou a merecer planejamento, direcionamento, avaliação nutricional, controle de qualidade e avaliação sensorial; deixando de possuir apenas carac-terísticas individuais e locais. Daí, a necessidade de programação baseada nos padrões de desenvolvimento de cada região do país, programações estas feitas em parte pelos órgãos financiadores, e na sua maior parte pelo poder público, através de programas gover-namentais.Na busca de melhor atender e satisfazer as necessidades das crian-ças, métodos têm sido usados ou especialmente criados, a fim de superar os problemas de entendimento e comunicação que se apresentam na aplicação prática dos mesmos. Este trabalho, por meio de índices objetivos baseados em medidas de volume (índice de aceitabilidade e frequência de consumo)e métodos hedônicos (escala hedônica facial e escala hedônica facial modifi-cada), baseados no grau de gostar e não-gostar de um alimento, procurou medir a preferência como critério de aceitação de uma sopa creme de feijão com macarrão e proteína texturizada de soja. Foram também con-siderados neste estudo os fatores: condição sócio-econômica, sexo, idade e consumo de merenda. As crianças eram alunas de 10 qrau deuma escola da rede estadual, na faixa etária de 07 a 14 anos. Os resultados estatísticos não indicaram diferenças significativas entre os quatro métodos utilizados, podendo os mesmos serem emprega-dos com eficiência na determinação de preferência de um alimento para o consumo escolar / Abstract: The school lunch program in Brazil has had a fast growing interest since its importance and social range application have been better understood. Attention to local and individual characteristics, a better planning and directioning, a wiser nutritional assessment and food quality and sensory controls have contributed to a closer approach to school children of all ages and social levels from every country in Brazil. A Government-private enterprises' joint program has been developed to comply with the different standards in the different regions in the country. Several methods have been employed or especially created to over- come problems as to understanding and communication between school lunch staff members and school children. The present work tried to measure preference as a means of acceptace of a school lunch dish (texturized soybean protein+beans+noodles soup). Four objective indexes such as consumption volume, frequency of consumption, a facial hedonic rating scale and a modified facial hedonic rating scale (like and dislike) were applied. Children's social economic condition, sex, age and frequency of consumption were also considered. Children were selected from an -elementary and junior-high state school from ages of 7 to 14. Sta-tistical results did not show significant differences between the four preference indexes under study. Such methods seem likely to be efficient in use for preference assessment of foods in the Brazilian school lunch program / Mestrado / Mestre em Tecnologia de Alimentos