Nutritional improvements and student food choices in a school lunch program

Corbett Grainger, Benjamin Senauer, C. Ford Runge

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study analyzed data on students' food purchases linked to their school records to examine factors affecting the healthiness of their food choices and the impacts of reforms to promote healthier eating in a high school lunch program. U.S. Department of Agriculture's Healthy Eating Index was used to evaluate the nutritional quality of the foods purchased, as well as an alterative ranking developed by the school dietitian. The new lunch program was associated with an improvement in the nutritional quality of students' food choices. Girls tended to purchase relatively healthier food than boys, but male students had a greater improvement in the healthiness of their food choices.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)265-284
Number of pages20
JournalJournal of Consumer Affairs
Volume41
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2007

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